THE game between the Geelong Cats and the Gold Coast Suns was one that could have been a close game given their standings on the AFLW ladder coming into the clash.

Both sides have a draw from three games with Gold Coast finishing level last weekend against the Greater Western Sydney Giants, while Geelong drew with North Melbourne the in Week 2.

However a close game was not what transpired, with the Cats producing an emphatic win and the Suns not troubling them in the slightest until the final quarter. Geelong enjoyed a 50-point lead at half-time before romping to a 69-point win at full-time.

After some hard games from the Cats’ perspective, head coach Dan Lowther was happy with his side getting its game going to come out with the first win in 2024.

“It was a really positive game for us, we knew the stakes too, like we hadn’t won a game and they were very much the same as us with wins and losses,” Lowther said post-game.

“[The] expectation from last year to continue to grow and bounce back from a poor performance last week from our standard and whatnot, [it] was a great performance from the girls, that’s what we were hoping to get out of today was a response.

“The start to the first three quarters was really positive, the last fifteen minutes was a bit off for us but credit to the girls they did really well.”

Reflecting on his side’s showings up until today, Lowther said he knew his group were not far off in terms of getting to play they way they did on Saturday afternoon.

“Scoreboard aside, I thought Round 1 we did well in terms of controlling the game against the Dees and just didn’t get the win, it’s just a growth part for us still,” he said.

“It was a bit of a gruelling game for us against the Kangaroos in Round 2 so we escaped with the draw. Last week it was a really poor performance but we kind of just pushed that to the side and so our performances haven’t been too bad.

“It was just nice to get some reward in regard to the four [premiership] points, so the way we played today was more like the progression from last year, so I presume it was more positives than negatives for us.”

For the Cats it was the contributions of Aishling Moloney and Mikayla Bowen in particular that were crucial to their win, alongside Jacqueline Parry and Nina Morrison in the midfield and up forward.

Moloney kicked four goals, Parry and Shelley Scott chipped in with three each, while Morrison notched up 26 touches, seven clearances and seven tackles.

Lowther was full of praise for his second-year Irish recruit Moloney.

“It was [a terrific performance], I thought she’d kick four [goals] maybe and had a quick word to her before and we wanted to use her assets of her speed and size,” Lowther explained.

“The Irish girls, they worry so much if the ball will come back to them [sometimes but] off they bounce so it came back to her so that’s great but her finishing in front of goal was great as well.

“I think she had two other snaps where she missed and she had a run-and-carry game going which is great, so she’s a huge asset for us.”

When asked about Bowen’s game, which included 25 disposals, six marks, four tackles and one clearance, Lowther was pleased with her performance after swapping from a wing to a high half-forward role this year.

“[She had a] great performance, I mean [the] changing to a new role too, last year she played predominantly on the wing, just she’s a great runner as well so playing her as a high forward now, we’ve got the flexibility to play her high and up the ground [that’s] good for us,” he said.

“She gets up and back so well, she applies really good physical pressure in our front half as well, she’s got some rewards too, some shots on goal today, which is great.

“Between her and Kate Surman playing that high half forward role, it’s a good combination for us but we’ve got a couple of players in our front half that can roll through that high half forward role too.

“She had a great game, it was a really good game for her, well she had two really standout games for her, for the start of the year so it’s very pleasing.”

From the Suns’ perspective, head coach Cameron Joyce said that it was a disappointing performance but it was not a true reflection of what the side can produce. He said they will have to study the game and work out where they can go to from here.

“I think the overriding emotion was that we were embarrassed by that performance that we dished up today, in front of our home crowd and [those] back at home,” Joyce continued.

“I think I said Round 1 that I didn’t think that [showing] was a true reflection of us, and I think what we spoke about inside is that’s now two from four in terms of performances like that, and we really need to go and have a deep dive around the why.”

When pressed further about the feeling about the game, Joyce explained that while they are embarrassed, the Cats were clearly the better of the two sides.

“On the flip side, all credit needs to go to the Cats, I obviously thought they played a really good brand of footy,” he said.

“I think competition is a funny one when you look at it a little bit at the moment, I think the truth was always somewhere in the middle when it comes to the Cats’ performances.

“They drew against North Melbourne and they got beaten last week against the Blues, they were only a kick away from playing in a grand final last year so I’ve got a fair bit of time for them and I think they played a great game of footy today.”