Teammates congratulate Darcy Moloney on a goal during Saturday's win over Gold Coast Suns. Photo: AFL Photos

Geelong has finished its pre-season on a high with a commanding victory over Gold Coast Suns at Austworld Centre Oval on Saturday.

The Cats were irresistible in the tough conditions, setting up the 8.4 (52) to 2.4 (16) win with a dominant first half, kicking seven goals while keeping the Suns without a major.

Darcy Moloney was a standout with an impressive four goals in the first half – including three in the second term as the Cats piled on the pain – while Nina Morrison was brilliant around the contest with her repeat efforts making a big difference.

The Suns had the better of the attack early in the contest, but as they did last season, Geelong’s defence showed their mettle, conceding just one behind in the first quarter and repelling attack after attack.

1:25:39

The Cats made their first foray into attack count, with Darcy Moloney scoring the breakthrough, while Julia Crockett-Grills soccered through an opportunistic goal under pressure later in the term to help the Cats set up a 12-point lead at the first break.

As the rain fell heavier in the second term, the Cats appeared to revel in the conditions. The contested brand of footy suited them to a tee, as they once again stymied any Suns offence play.

But pleasingly for Cats fans, Geelong was just as strong on attack, piling on five goals.

The Suns responded in the second half, with increased pressure making the contest a real arm wrestle. They clamped down on the Cats’ offence, keeping the visitors goalless in the third term and for much of the fourth.

The Cats finally found a breakthrough through Georgia Clarke in the final term, restoring their lead to six goals, which they maintained until the final siren.

There were a few nervous moments in the fourth quarter as Meghan McDonald left the field with an apparent leg complaint, but coach Dan Lowther confirmed after the game it was bad cramp and the Cats' skipper was "good to go".

Lowther was pleased to see his charges able to bring the scoreboard pressure to match their defensive efforts, and respond when Gold Coast fought back.

"It's something we did really well last year - we didn't give up many points to the opposition, but we couldn't score as fluently as we wanted to, so to get the score on the board for us but also to hold the defence to limit shots on goal was impressive," he said.

"It was a really good hit out. Gold Coast really put the pressure on the first four-to-five minutes ... but to their (the Cats players') credit, they got the game back on their terms by winning the ball back.

"We lost a few one-v-ones early, but we started to win those critical contests, and once we started winning those contests, we started using the ball a much better.

"We were much more efficient with our ball use, which gave our forwards a really good look up ahead ... when we did get it inside 50, we were pretty dangerous at times."

With a pleasing performance to end the pre-season, the Cats will now turn their focus to Round 1 against Richmond at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday, 28 August.

AFLW Pre-Season Match

Geelong        2.1   7.3   7.4   8.4 (52)
Gold Coast   0.1   0.2   1.3   2.4 (16)

GOALS
Geelong:
Darcy Moloney 4, Julia Crockett-Grills, Chloe Scheer, Georgia Clarke, Mia Skinner