Geelong veteran Shelley Scott will have to wait until next week to bring up her 75th AFLW game, with illness forcing her out of Saturday’s must-win meeting with Richmond.
The oldest and most experienced player on the Cats’ list has played every game this season but will be missing for the Pride Round clash against the Tigers.
Irish forward Kate Kenny will also be sidelined through injury.
They’ve been replaced by Kate Surman and Gabbi Featherston.
Surman suffered a concussion against Hawthorn on September 26 and missed the loss to Fremantle and the win over Sydney.
An Achilles issue kept Featherston out of the clash with the Swans.
Geelong needs to keep winning to have any chance of snatching a finals berth, while Richmond is in the mix for the double chance, sitting fourth with a 5-2 win-loss record.
“It will be a tough battle. It is a big game for us in particular; we feel like we are still building our footy to play the way we want to play,” Lowther said.
“Last week was a good step in that direction, but Richmond have had a really good start to the year.
“It will be a really interesting game for us; we feel like the hourglass has been tipped from the start, and that sand is coming to an end.
“This week, we want to make sure that we play our best footy against a strong team.
“They are a really strong midfield group – the way they get the ball from inside to out and move the ball with some real efficiency.
“That is something we need to make sure that we try and stifle.”
Meanwhile, the AFL has locked in the day and time for Week 10 of the season.
Geelong will host Adelaide at GMHBA Stadium at 7:15pm on Friday, November 1.
GEELONG
INS: K. Surman, G. Featherson
OUTS: S. Scott (illness), K. Kenny (injured)
FB [16] Chantel Emonson,[26] Claudia Gunjaca
HB [21] Rebecca Webster,[11] Meghan McDonald,[22] Rachel Kearns
C [20] Zali Friswell,[41] Georgie Prespakis,[6] Julia Crockett-Grills
HF [1] Mikayla Bowen,[5] Jacqueline Parry,[7] Kate Surman
FF [45] Aishling Moloney,[8] Kate Darby
FOL [32] Gabbi Featherston,[9] Nina Morrison,[4] Darcy Moloney
IC [18] Anna-Rose Kennedy,[2] Bella K. Smith,[10] Georgie Rankin,[25] Caitlin Thorne,[44] Melissa Bragg
EMG [24] Chantal Mason,[19] Brooke Plummer,[39] Abbey McDonald
