West Coast’s hopes of a second straight AFLW finals campaign have been emphatically put to bed as Geelong powered to a 53-point victory on Saturday.
Needing to win their final three games of the season to have any chance, the Eagles fell to their biggest defeat of the season in an 8.18 (66) to 1.7 (13) defeat at Sullivan Logistics Stadium
It came despite a bright start that saw the Eagles dominate portions of the first half with the second-placed Cats looking well off their best.
But with leading goalkicker Amy Franklin (personal reasons) missing the clash, it was hard to see where the goals would come from.
The answer was Bella Lewis, but it unfortunately did not come until late in the fourth quarter as she at least prevented her side from being held goalless for a fourth time in club history.
A three-goal third term put the contest to bed as Georgie Prekspakis ran wild, racking up 39 possessions with eight of the top 10 ball winners all in the hoops.
Ella Roberts looked sore at times, having done a mountain of work last week, finishing with 19 touches, though still won the most clearances for the home side.
Newly re-signed coach Daisy Pearce said the performance was a stark reminder of the gap between themselves and the top end of the competition.
“They were clean and predictable for each other. It just goes to show that we have a lot of work to do to catch up,” she said.
“Our attitude next week is important. The girls will be disappointed after that, but we have to go after it again next week.”
The Eagles weren’t without their chances early as Lucia Painter hit the post from less than 10m out to deny the Eagles the perfect start, while Bella Lewis overcooked a kick running onto open goal to miss the pass to Painter and fly through for a behind.
Against a Cats side looking for a ninth straight AFLW win, they were errors the Eagles simply could not afford to make as Geelong slowly worked into the game.
After getting smashed in the tackle count against Port Adelaide, recording just two tackles in the opening term was a disappointing response, as a defensive lapse allowed Aishling Moloney to kick the first goal time on into the first term.
Pleasingly, the Eagles were able to lift their pressure in congestion, but they were powerless to stop the Cats once they got off the leash as they began to rack up uncontested ball.
That was compounded by a lack of composure from West Coast, whose disposal efficiency was sitting below 60 per cent for most of the game.
It meant they were often caught in transition as Geelong were able to stream through an outnumbered Eagles defence, though their own poor finishing kept West Coast in the game.
Their halftime score of 2.8 (20) was their lowest since their 16 points against powerhouses North Melbourne in round one, which is something the Eagles defence could take pride in.
But West Coast just could not threaten the other way and the weight of numbers was starting to bury the Eagles with the Cats eventually finishing with a whopping 114 more disposals.
As the Eagles grew increasingly frustrated, some ill-discipline started to creep in as Geelong were able to rack up the score in the final term and drive the nail into the coffin of West Coast’s finals hopes.
SCOREBOARD
GEELONG 1.3 2.8 5.12 8.18 (66)
WEST COAST 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.7 (13)
GOALS - GEELONG: J Parry A Moloney B O’Rourke K Surman J Stewart N Morrison C Mason R Kearns. WEST COAST: I Lewis.
BEST - GEELONG: G Prespakis M Bowen C Mason N Morrison A McDonald. WEST COAST: C Thomas E Roberts I Lewis K Gibson.
INJURIES - B Schilling (illness) replaced in the selected side by G Cleaver.
UMPIRES: J Ball J Kerr E Stark. CROWD: 2,234 at Sullivan Logistics Stadium