Geelong ended its 2022 AFL Women’s season with an 18-point loss to the Greater Western Sydney Giants at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night, but coach Dan Lowther said he was pleased with the growth the club had shown throughout the year.
Lowther and his new coaching team took over after a disastrous 2021 season where the Cats finished second last with one win from nine games.
In his first season in charge, the Cats moved one spot up the ladder to 12th and finished with two wins from 10 games, but looked more competitive throughout the year.
Lowther said despite the results the club was moving in a positive direction.
“[We’ve had] a whole new list, new coaching staff, new approach to our program, which have all been positive,” he said.
“The first five or six weeks showed really good growth in our group and now it is about consistency and bringing those players along for the ride, making sure we stay the course and we buy into the change.
“Now is about making sure we can complement our group with other elements that will keep us in games for longer periods and make us more consistent which we are confident can happen over the next six months now.”
While their win-loss record was similar to 2021, the Cats were more competitive this season and doubled their percentage from 40.2 per cent to 80.4 per cent.
Scoring was an issue in 2021 and the Cats increased their average score by six points in 2022, but the biggest improvement came defensively, with the their average score conceded dropping from 45 points to 30.
Following a disappointing loss to St Kilda where the Cats were kept goalless, it didn’t take long for Geelong to bounce back against the Giants, with Becky Webster kicking the first goal with 30 seconds.
The Cats went on with Kate Darby and Phoebe McWilliams kicking two of the next three goals to take a 12-point lead halfway through the first quarter.
However the Giants were more efficient with their forward entries and were able to kick three of the next four goals to get the margin back to one point at half time.
Chloe Scheer extended the margin out to seven points early in the third term with her second goal, but it was all GWS from that point onward.
The Cats were kept to just two more behinds as the Giants ran away with a 5.5 (35) to 8.5 (53) victory.
Lowther said it was “disappointing” to see the Cats drop away after a strong first quarter.
“We were really keen on getting some inside 50s this week and we did early … we had some really good passages of play in the first quarter in particular where we scored,” he said.
“It was a good first quarter but then as we tend to do over the last couple of weeks, in the second quarter we started to fade away around our contest work and didn’t get the ball forward enough.
“That was frustrating to watch, but I couldn’t fault their endeavour and fight throughout the game and again it came down to a last quarter tussle and then it was the experience of the Giants.
“It was disappointing but we can see the wheels are in motion for us, which is positive.”
