GEELONG coach Andrew Bruce is confident the Cats can challenge Collingwood when the two clubs meet in next week’s VFLW qualifying final.
The unbeaten Magpies held Geelong goalless in Saturday’s 19-point win at Victoria Park to end the home-and-away season.
It left the door open for Port Melbourne to snatch second spot from the Cats. However, the Borough suffered a surprise loss to Hawthorn on Sunday.
“We didn’t play anywhere near our best, and we lost by three goals,” Bruce told Bay 93.9’s The Sideline View.
“We know we can compete against them. They beat us by two points in the very first game of the year.
“So, we know our best will give us an opportunity to win, and that’s all you can ask for.”
It was the first time Geelong has been kept goalless in a VFLW game since entering the competition in 2017.
However, Bruce was remaining upbeat despite not registering a major.
“When you don’t score a goal, you probably think it’s been a hard one,” he said.
“Collingwood definitely played well, and we gave ourselves some opportunities to score but just didn’t quite finish.
“Funnily enough, we were well and truly in it with up until about 10 minutes to go.
“Things just didn’t work out well for us today.”
VFLW-listed ruck Olivia Fuller continued her impressive season, with fellow big Maddie Boyd, midfielder Paige Sheppard and AFLW duo Sophie Van De Heuvel and Renee Garing four-quarter performers.
Meanwhile, Bruce has confirmed the retirement of captain Michelle Fedele due to injury.
Fedele, who has been one of the Cats’ moist luckless VFL players, has called time after suffering a fractured hip during the season.
“She retired on Thursday night, which was quite emotional for the group,” Bruce said.
“We’ve missed her a lot in our games, but she’s there every day on the bench and still performing an important role for us.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
Collingwood 0.1, 1.2, 2.3, 3.5 (23)
Geelong 0.3, 0.3, 0.3, 0.4 (0.4)
GOALS; Collingwood: M. Cann, E. James, G. Ricardo
BEST; Collingwood: I. Purcell, A. Newman, E. James, M. Zander, M. Cann, E. O’Dea
Geelong: O. Fuller, S. Van De Heuvel, M. Boyd, P. Sheppard, R. Garing, C. Leonard
