Cats fail to take their chances

HAWTHORN’S experience across its list was the difference in yesterday’s VFLW grand final, according to Geelong coach Paul Hood.

The Cats had their chances, recording 10 more inside-50s than the Hawks, but their opposition’s ability to take contested marks and finish in front of goal proved defining in the result.

“The overall ability of the team to keep coming and keep contesting . . . we never, ever gave up, the Hawks were just better on the day — credit to them,” Hood said.

“They’ve got quite a few AFLW experienced players in their line-up and they all contributed today.

“They were the best team over the last month of the year, quite clearly.

“Our team was coming, but the experience will help us a lot.

“Our inexperience is something we can develop after today.”

The third quarter proved telling, with Geelong recording double-digit inside-50 numbers for 18 minutes, only to kick four points, before the Hawks went coast-to-coast to kick one goal from one inside-50 just before three-quarter time.

“That’s what happens on the last day of the year when you play against good teams, you’ve got to take your chances,” Hood said.

“Credit to the way the team worked, they just kept creating opportunities, getting the ball to people in the right spots, but today they just didn’t go through.

“They didn’t look like blowing us away, so I was pretty happy with how we held on and made it difficult to take marks inside-50.

“The tough thing for us is that we didn’t take marks of our own.”

The Cats players were visually emotional following the 13-point defeat, but Hood said they had to be proud about their campaign after missing finals in 2017.

“There was a lot of things to feel really proud about during the year, a lot of players have made amazing steps in their development,” he said.

“We got ourselves to a game that was something that was a long, long way from where we thought we were, at the start of the year anyway.

“But then it’s pretty bittersweet because if we take a few chances and the ball bounces our way a little bit, we probably kick a winning score.

“That’s disappointing for the now, but looking back over the last 12 months, it’s been a really, really good season and looking forward to what’s to come.”