GEELONG started strongly and was able to be in front when the final siren sounded, but the Round 6 AFL Women’s match against Port Adelaide was anything but easy. In a “see-sawing affair”, the Cats kept the Power scoreless in the first term before conceding four majors in the second, eventually securing a 6.9 (45) to 6.4 (40) victory.

When asked what the most pleasing aspect of the game was, Cats coach Dan Lowther was straight to the point as always.

“The win was the most pleasing aspect,” he said. “The win clearly, but it was a really tough game from start to finish, and we knew it was going to be a really tough four-quarter game. To Port’s credit, it was a see-sawing affair, but the last three or four minutes for the girls had to really dig deep and play some late in game scenarios and see that last three minutes out to see out the score in our favour was as a coach a really proud moment and shows really great growth and maturity in the group so all those things combined was super.”

Lowther described the win as a “character-building one” which show great resilience and grit to get the job done even with a “couple of players” who were sore late. The Geelong coach praised players across the entire side in the win.

“I thought Piper Dunlop was really important for us as the game wore on against a really experienced ruck in (Matilda) Scholz,” Lowther said. “Our mids stepped up, I thought Amy McDonald late in the game was really important for us as well. Our defence was solid to the back end, so lots to love about the group.”

For the fifth consecutive week, Geelong scored more behinds than goals, and though inaccuracy has become a little bit of a theme for the Cats, Lowther said it was a double-edged sword.

“The upside is we’re getting looks and we’re getting opportunities to score, so things are connecting really well, it’s really just the little icing on the take with taking your chance in front of goal,” he said. “We’re getting good looks in terms of set shots on goal, which is nice. But accuracy, scoreboard pressure all amounts to positive outcomes as well, so hopefully going forward we can kick straighter.”

After starting the season at 0-3 – playing three quality sides – Geelong has evened its win-loss ledger with victories over Essendon, Richmond and now Port Adelaide. Lowther said the even competition made it all the more challenging, but he was pleased his side could get back on track with three consecutive victories.

“We spoke pre-game about building some momentum from the last two games we’ve won,” he said. “Each game’s a step forward for us. We know it’s a pretty even competition so we’re not going into games thinking it’s a win or a loss, it’s been a real challenge, so to win three is great.”

Looking ahead to Round 7, Lowther said he hoped 10,000 people would rock up to GMHBA Stadium on Thursday night for a traditional rivals clash with Hawthorn, just six days after the Cats eliminated the Hawks in the men’s competition to reach the AFL Grand Final.

“Short turnaround now into Hawthorn during the week which is an amazing week for the club to have the Cats in the granny and for our programs to unite even stronger,” Lowther said. “We’re going to look to hopefully get as many people to our game against Hawthorn on Thursday.

“I wouldn’t have thought 10,000 people would have been out of the wishlist there. There’s open training sessions, school holidays, there’s lots of reasons to get down to Geelong and support the group.”

While it was all smiles in the Geelong camp, Port Adelaide coach Lauren Arnell had to endure a fourth loss, and her young side is still yet to win consecutive matches in season 2025.

“Another really strong feeling of disappointment,” Arnell said. “I think the way we showed up early in the game and that whole first quarter isn’t what we work towards, so I think coming back from that despite the scoreboard not being too high at quarter time, I think it was only 10 points. I think we just gave them too much of a look early and weren’t able to show in the contest well enough which is real inconsistency.”

Port Adelaide has a must-win clash against St Kilda next Sunday at RSEA Park, with a loss putting the Power’s finals hopes in jeopardy.