Cats hold off Swans to keep AFLW finals hopes alive
Geelong have held off a surging Sydney to keep their AFLW season alive with a three-point victory.
The Cats led at every change on Sunday before the Swans mounted a serious fourth-quarter challenge to reduce a game-high 21-point lead.
Lexi Hamilton brought the Swans within four points late in the last quarter, but the Cats held on to win 5.14 (44) to 6.5 (41) in front of 3,127 fans at Sydney’s Henson Park.
Their second victory of the year comes past the halfway mark of the 11-round season, having started their campaign with one win, four losses and a draw.
Starting the round in 16th, Dan Lowther’s charges can finish as high as 11th by the end of the weekend, with four matches remaining.
Georgie Prespakis (19 disposals, 13 contested possessions) starred in the absence of injured ball winner Amy McDonald, alongside Julia Crocket-Grills (one goal) and Jacqueline Parry (one).
Sydney’s season hangs by the threads after their third-consecutive loss.
Their path towards a second-straight finals appearance won’t grow any easier, with matches against competition heavyweights Brisbane and North Melbourne ahead.
Geelong brought the heat early against the Swans, kicking the opening three goals to build a 3.2 to 0.2 lead at the first change.
With the breeze behind them in the second term, Sydney finally found reward on the scoreboard when Irish import Paris McCarthy kicked three goals in seven minutes.
McCarthy stunned the Cats’ defenders when she snapped overhead after teammate Bec Privitelli’s shot at goal fell short to reduce the margin to two points.
The former Gaelic footballer, playing her first match of the season, had never kicked an AFLW goal before Sunday.
Veteran forward Shelley Scott had an opportunity to rebuild a comfortable lead before halftime for the Cats after marking just in front of goal, but sent the ball wide.
Ahead by just seven points, Geelong could not make the most of their advantage with the wind and kicked one goal and three behinds before the final change.
The Swans came alive in the last term, with goals from Bella Smith, Privitelli and Hamilton, but could not leap ahead.
Laura Gardiner (30 disposals, five clearances) was the star in a Swans engine room missing Ally Morphett and Chloe Molloy, alongside Sofia Hurley (20, two).
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