GEELONG was able to edge to within four points and percentage of the top eight after a hard-fought victory over GWS Giants to keep its finals hopes alive. Boasting a 30 per cent advantage on fellow four-win side Fremantle, Geelong can make the top eight if the Cats win the remaining three games, and possibly even two depending on other results.

Geelong coach Daniel Lowther said the 11.6 (72) to 6.9 (45) victory on Saturday “was a really good sign of maturity” and his team was focused on not underestimating the bottom four Giants.

“It was an important game to win, last game at home for us as well,” he said. “To come out and play a game that had some really strong ebbs and flows throughout it and to be challenged from the Giants which we expected that to be the case, and then to come out and play a really strong last quarter was a really good sign of maturity.

“The message to the group post-game around the Giants are a team that is going to be on the rise, we know that. But to be able to fight through when they pushed us to the limit and finished really strong was really pleasing, so rapt for the girls.”

After GWS kicked three second quarter goals to cut the deficit from 14 points to just two at the main break, Lowther said at half-time the team discussed how to get the game back on the Cats’ terms.

“We just lost a bit of control of how the ball was being moved,” he said. “They did a great job to win contested footy and equal those numbers up, and get some field position off the back of it and put out defence under a lot of pressure with the way the ball was going with some speed.

“Full credit to the Giants, but we just couldn’t get the footy enough to maintain that control element which we had in that first quarter and a half, so we thought off the back of that after half-time the control part’s clearly something that some teams trying to dictate and we got that back on our terms late in the game, but kind of lost our way through the middle of the game.”

GWS Giants coach Cam Bernasconi said he was pleased with his side’s fight, but the bookended quarters by the Cats proved to be the difference.

“I just think they got the early jump on us,” he said. “At three quarter time we felt like the game was in really good stead and we’ve been running out games pretty well.

“I just think they got momentum, three quick goals and then that was the game, and then I think once they got that head start then you end up just chasing and you’re less proactive. I know Zar (Zarlie Goldsworthy) kicked a good goal late, but unfortunately that five-minute period was enough to give it up.”