Geelong has fired an ominous warning shot to the rest competition on Thursday night, comfortably defeating Hawthorn by 36 points at GMHBA Stadium to extend their winning streak to six. 

The damage was done early as the Cats ran rampant in the opening half, piling on 13 scoring shots to one in the opening half to extend their lead beyond 40 points at the main break, before professionally taking care of business in the latter stages of the match to further entrench themselves in the top four. 

When the game was there to be won, it was the dynamic on-ball quartet of Georgie Prespakis, Nina Morrison, Amy McDonald on return and Mikayla Bowen who shone brightest, dominating through the middle of the ground and helping to give the Cats first use around stoppages. 

Rachel Kearns and Aishling Moloney brought plenty of Irish flair in the forward half, Jasmin Stewart booted the opening two goals of her Cats career, while Becky Webster and Evie Cowcher were brilliant in defence. 

It was billed as a blockbuster battle between two of the competition's heavyweights, but Geelong were running on top of the ground early as they piled on three unanswered goals in the opening six minutes of the game. 

They would keep the foot down in a dominant opening term, the Cats capitalising on their dominance around the ground to build a substantial 25-point lead at quarter time. 

The pedal was firmly planted to the floor and Geelong continued to pull away in the second term, restricting Hawthorn to just one scoring shot in the opening half and extending their margin to 42 points at the main break. 

Geelong's star studded midfield division did the damage early with Nina Morrison, Georgie Prespakis and Mikayla Bowen combining for 46 disposals and 11 score involvements in the opening half alone. 

Aishling Moloney recorded six score involvements of her own, Rachel Kearns was dangerous with ball in hand, while Becky Webster picked off eight intercept possessions which was double any other player on the ground. 

The Cats continued to keep Hawthorn at bay in the third term despite their opponents ramping up the pressure, maintaining a healthy 43-point buffer at the final change. 

General play opened up in the final term for both teams and the scoring continued to flow, with Geelong continuing their impressive scoreboard presence to close out a 36-point victory at GMHBA Stadium. 

2026 AFLW Season - Round 7

GEELONG CATS     5.1   7.6   9.9   12.10   (82)  
HAWTHORN           1.0   1.0   3.2     7.4    (46) 

GOALS
Geelong Cats: Parry 3, Stewart, Kearns, Scheer 2, Moloney, Crockett-Grills, Webster 1
Hawthorn: McDonagh, Dupuy 2, Martin, Antony, Flockart 1

BEST
Geelong: Prespakis, Morrison, Parry, Webster, Bowen, Gunjaca
Hawthorn: West, Wales, Fleming, Elliott

INJURIES
Geelong: Gregor (concussion)
Hawthorn: Nil

Crowd: 3,430 at GMHBA Stadium