GEELONG will have to take the long route if it’s to win its first VFLW premiership after falling six points short of Collingwood in Saturday’s qualifying final at Olympic Park Oval
Inaccuracy in front of goal came back to haunt the Cats, who had four more scoring shots than the Magpies.
Despite the loss, coach Andrew Bruce couldn’t fault Geelong’s effort against the unbeaten minor premiers.
“That was the message to the girls straight after (the match),” he told Bay 93.9’s The Sideline View.
“I said to them I was really proud of them they worked throughout the day.
“And they have themselves some opportunities to kick some score, but we couldn’t quite get it done.
“We worked really hard throughout the season to give ourselves the double-chance, and now we cash it in.”
Despite now being on the end of three losses to Collingwood in 2021, Bruce remains confident Geelong can turn the tables if they were to meet again in a preliminary or grand final.
“We’re yet to play our best footy against them,” he said.
“And if we’re good enough to play them in the next few weeks again, we’d be really confident our best football would get the job done for us.”
VFLW-listed ruck Olivia Fuller continued her impressive season, with AFLW duo Maddy Keryk and Becky Webster also among Geelong’s best.
The Cats will host the lowest-ranked elimination final winner in a first semi-final next weekend, with their opponent either Essendon or the Southern Saints
Twitter: @tom_king79
COLLINGWOOD 2.2, 3.2, 3.2, 4.2 (26)
GEELONG 1.0, 1.4, 1.4, 2.8 (20)
Goals; Collingwood: C. Molloy, E. O’Dea, O. Meagher, C. Bunker
Geelong: R. Caris, D. Moloney
Best; Collingwood: C. Bunker, J. Ferguson, M. Cann, J. Lin, M. Neal, A. Porter
Geelong: O. Fuller, M. Keryk, R. Webster, T. Meissner, M. Boyd, T. Smith
