DOWN at the Cattery, it was Geelong who finally broke through for their first win of 2022, defeating West Coast by a mere three points. The Cats survived a late surge from the Eagles to take the chocolates and keep the visitors winless so far in 2022.

TALKING POINTS

Cats finally get reward for effort

For weeks now it has been close but no cigars for the Cats. They would push teams and get close to a win but ultimately fall short. Well not tonight.

They finally got some reward for all the promise and effort they had been showing over the past few weeks, and the fact that they won in a close one will give them a lot of confidence for future weeks.

Cats break home ground drought

Not only was tonight’s win the first for Geelong in 2022, but it also broke a bit of a winless drought the side has at their home ground. Before tonight, Geelong had not won at Kardinia Park since Round 1, 2019.

The Cats will certainly be hoping after tonight that they can start turning Kardinia Park back into a fortress for themselves, much like it is for the Cats men.

Aisling McCarthy’s injury

To add insult to injury for the Eagles, they also lost Aisling McCarthy mid match to a wrist injury. Now she has been an absolutely vital part of the Eagles side this season, so to lose her for a few weeks would be disaster for the Eagles. Time will tell how severe the injury is, but the Eagles will certainly be hoping for the less severe end of the scale.

Interesting coaching moves

There were a few interesting coaching moves from both sides that left fans scratching their heads. From a Geelong perspective, Dan Lowther had two spare players behind the ball in the third term, even though they had the breeze.

Alongside this, both coaches had key players on the bench in the dying stages. For the Cats, it was Nina Morrison and both Amy McDonald and Meghan McDonald, while for the Eagles it was Emma Swanson and Niamh Kelly.

This could be down to just bad timing, but we will never know how different things may have ended up if they were all on the ground.

Georgie Prespakis showed her class again

What more can be said about Georgie Prespakis? The young star had another brilliant game tonight, and showed why she has been so highly talked about for so long. Prespakis finished with 15 touches and seven tackles, with her talent and strength in the contest on full display.

NEXT WEEK

West Coast do not have to wait long for a chance at redemption, as the Eagles have another match on Tuesday, this time against the Saints. Meanwhile the Cats have a nine-day break before they travel to take on the Gold Coast Suns.