DESPITE her team going down to North Melbourne for their second loss in a row on Friday night, Meg McDonald had a stellar game, and again proved why she is such a general of Geelong’s defence.

This Player Focus will specifically look at her efforts on Friday night and why she is such a valuable, yet externally underrated member of Geelong’s team.

GeelongKey Defender

Meghan McDonald

Height: 177cm

Weight: -

DOB: 19-06-1991

AFLW Season 7: Round 4
North Melbourne 4.4 (28) def. Geelong 2.4 (16)

Player Focus: Meg McDonald (Geelong)
Stats: 22 disposals (15 kicks, 7 handballs), 7 marks, 3 tackles, 376 metres gained

FIRST QUARTER

In tough conditions early, McDonald did not have too much to do because the ball spent a lot of time in Geelong’s forward 50.

When it did get down into the Cats’ defensive 50, she proved strong in the contest, but if she was slightly behind her opponent she struggled to get in front and mark it. The one time she did play in front she almost took the mark, but couldn’t quite hold on due to the heaviness of the ball.

However, she did prove to be a powerful kicker in her ability to clear the ball out of defensive 50 and give her team some breathing space.

SECOND QUARTER

The second quarter really brought McDonald’s leadership to the fore.

Playing on the last line of defence, the chances to touch the ball were not always there, but she did have the footy smarts to not be a seagull on a chip in a contest, and played that rebounding out of defence role.

At one stage, she tried to take on a tackle in the middle of the park, but got caught and turned the ball over.  

THIRD QUARTER

Much like the first quarter, it took a while for McDonald to get involved in the third quarter simply because she did not have to, as the play was up Geelong’s attacking end.

Particularly later in the quarter, if McDonald found herself further up the ground she always tried to make herself useful, providing an outlet out the back of a contest and creating run from behind.

She also continued to show her leadership in defence when her first instinct was to run back to the goal line when there was a contest out the front of goal. That way if there was a quick kick out of the pack there was some defensive resistance to Geelong’s scoring attempt.

FOURTH QUARTER

As Geelong mounted quite the comeback early in the last quarter, it ensured McDonald could have a bit of a breather to start the period.

At times, she advanced further up the ground and leant on her excellent intercept game before setting off on the rebound. There was a period of time roughly halfway through the quarter where McDonald intercepted North Melbourne kicks three times in about a minute.