It is crunch time for Geelong as they look to ignite their 2025 AFLW season, taking on Essendon at Windy Hill on Sunday afternoon. 

The Cats were competitive last week but slipped to their third consecutive defeat to start the year, desperately needing a win in Round 4 to start building some momentum. 

But the challenge will not get any easier this week, as they face an undefeated Essendon team that has put together a trio of strong performances to open their campaign. 

Check out all the strengths of the Bombers game, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

Ladder 

Essendon: 4th (3-0)

Geelong: 16th (0-3)

Points For 

Essendon: 159

Geelong: 93

Points Against 

Essendon: 83

Geelong: 166

Recent History - Geelong v Essendon

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week - The Uncontested Possession Game

One significant area of Sunday's game will be the uncontested possession count, a statistic that the Bombers have excelled in so far this year and Geelong have not. 

Essendon rank third in the AFLW for uncontested possessions per game across the first three weeks, averaging 143.0 per match which is only behind North Melbourne and Sydney. 

The Bombers were able to control this facet of the game with a +22 differential over their opening three games, able to move the ball to the outside and play the game on their teams. 

By comparison, Geelong were soundly beaten in the uncontested possession count by North Melbourne (-37) and by Sydney (-24), any area they will need to focus on in Round 4.

Bombers Player to Watch - Georgia Nanscawen

One of the most in-form players in the competition, Georgia Nanscawen has made a blistering start to the 2025 AFLW season. 

The star Bomber sits sixth in the competition for disposals (25.7 per game), third for tackles (10.0), 15th for clearances (4.3) and fourth for contested possessions (14.0). 

Nanscawen has also performed strongly against Geelong in the past averaging 23 disposals (14.5 contested), 7.5 tackles and 6.5 clearances across the most recent two clashes between the teams. 

Where Geelong Can Improve - Defensive 50

Over the last three seasons (35 total games), Geelong had only conceded 50 points or more in a game on two occasions, but they have conceded that number to all three opponents so far in 2025. 

North Melbourne (51 points), Adelaide (65) and Sydney (50) were all able to pick holes through the Cats defensive structure, with Geelong conceding a total of 25 goals in three games which is tied for the fourth most goals conceded by any team so far. 

The AFLW competition average for scores per inside 50 sits at 37.4% so far, the Cats conceding 60.0% to Adelaide and 42.4% to Sydney which is something they will need to rectify. 

This will be an area of focus for Geelong this week in particular, facing an Essendon team that has scored on 47.3% of their inside 50 entries so far in 2025, ranked the third best team in the AFLW in that area.