Giants women create a lethal combination

GEELONG West Giants senior women’s coach Steve Toohey says his players have exceeded expectations.

The pre-season goal at West Oval was as simple as getting enough numbers to field a side, but it wasn’t until the Giants began practice matches that Toohey believed he had a potential Division 1 outfit at his disposal.

Not a lot can be read into the Giants’ 90-point win over St Joseph’s in Round 1 yet, but Toohey hopes the next month will give him a better guide on where his team sits.

They meet Colac Imperials this weekend.

“It was a very good start to the season,” Toohey said.

“Hopefully we can continue it.

“We’ve done a lot of work on our structures and the improvement in them in the two months we had in preseason has been amazing, it’s unbelievable.

“Our first expectation was to field a side, but the numbers and inquiries we were getting from girls wanting to play over the summer was unbelievable.

“Our first training night we had 40-odd there. Winning is a big part of it, but it’s not the be-all or end-all.”

Former Geelong Supercats captain Cortney Williamson was the star in Geelong West’s season opener, booting five goals in a beston-ground effort.

“She’s a gun,” Toohey said of the former basketballer.

“Whether you play her in the backline or forward line or in the midfield, she just seems to attract the football. Even though she’s only new at football, it’s amazing that she knows the right spots to run to. The ball seems to follow her or she follows the ball.

“We’ve got a spread of everything. We range from 19-year-olds to 37-year-olds with kids.”