A dour West Coast Eagles found a Geelong team with an edge in overall class too tough to conquer in another competitive performance at Ikon Park today.

The Eagles battled throughout against a Cats combination that held the advantage in territory for the majority of the game, but showed great tenacity before going down by nine points – 4.10 (34) to 4.1 (25).

Led by their founding stars – Emma Swanson and Dana Hooker – the Eagles persisted and refused to yield, although they trailed for most of the match.

The Eagles opened with a brilliant centre clearance that resulted in a goal to young star Ella Roberts inside the first 30 seconds. But after that brilliant start they found goals tough to come by as Geelong controlled the ball through the midfield.

With their young star Georgie Prespaskis, Nina Morrison and Amy McDonald winning their share of the ball and applying relentless pressure the Cats held sway and ensured they won their fourth game in succession.

Again the Eagles found themselves needing to reap maximum efficiency from their opportunities when in attack, conceding almost double the amount of forward 50 entries – losing the count 16 to 31.

When they did go forward Aimee Schmidt looked dangerous and Hooker, when ‘resting’ forward also presented well in the absence of an imposing key forward.

While the defence was under constant pressure, they held up well with the ball spending so much time in the area. Sophie McDonald continued her strong season with a ‘points’ victory over Chloe Scheer in an enthralling one-on-one battle while Jess Sedunary and Charlie Thomas were also solid with the experienced Belinda Smith.

But it was once more  Swanson and Hooker who led the Eagles assault. Swanson had 24 possessions, four marks and five tackles to continue her remarkable season while Hooker had 20 disposals, six tackles and a goal as they tried to steer their team home.

While disappointed with the loss, the young Eagles continue to make progress with Roberts again ubiquitous up forward.

Details

Geelong 1.4 1.6 4.8 4.10 (34)
West Coast Eagles 1.0 1.0 3.1 4.1 (25)

Goals 

Geelong: Scheer, Scott, Crockett-Grills, Moloney, Gardiner, McDonald. 
West Coast Eagles: Roberts, Hooker, Scmidt, Humphries.

Best

Geelong: Prespakis, A McDonald, Morrison, Webster, Fuller, Gardiner.
West Coast Eagles: Swanson, Hooker, McDonald, Roberts, Sedunary, Thomas.

Injuries

Geelong: (nil)               
West Coast Eagles: Western (arm)