O’Dea impresses in debut as Geelong continues hot form
A DEVELOPING Geelong VFLW side continued its hot form, collecting a hard-fought seven-point win over Hawthorn on Saturday.
Depleted and trying players in different positions, the Cats enjoyed good patches of dominance but failed to fully make the Hawks pay.
Similarly, Hawthorn also enjoyed its own impressive spells, forcing Geelong’s backline to defend hard after the Hawks jumped two goals clear by quarter-time.
But the Cats got their noses in front in the final term and held on to secure a crucial win. Wood said after the 3.6 (24) to 4.7 (31) win at Box Hill City Oval.
Rocky Cranston was at her contested best, moving back into the midfield after spending time forward.
Maddie Keryk also continues to grow her game after shifting into defence.
“She has been playing down back the last couple of weeks and learning that role,” Wood said. “Late in the game her transition work was just outstanding.”
Wood also praised the performance of key forward Maddie Boyd.
The victory is the Cats’ third in-a-row and the first in their short history against Hawthorn. “We have said from the outset that it’s all about development for the players,” Wood said. “You look at the results and whether they are wins or losses, we keep coming back to, ‘What’s the development (that we’ve got from the game)?’.
“It is easier for the playing group to have some belief in what you’re working on when you do get the wins and they do get that level of confidence and do feel better about themselves.
“The wins have been really hard-fought over the past three weeks, all different games. The group of players we’ve had have changed a fair bit. We had quite an inexperienced team out today. We were really low on player availability.
“From a continuity point of view, we haven’t had the continuity you would have in a normal season. So for the group to show some nerve and fight that last quarter out right to the end … those wins mean a lot.”