Emotional scenes as Geelong captain fights back tears after club honored his late father following his shock death
There were emotional scenes on Sunday as Geelong captain Meghan McDonald honored her late father with an 18-point win over Essendon in the AFLW finals.
The cub confirmed that McDonald’s father ‘suddenly and sadly passed away this past week’, although did not disclose the cause of death.
The cats wore black armbands in tribute to the McDonald family and she fought back tears after the final siren.
The Cats kicked the first three goals in the opening seven minutes to kill off Sunday’s home elimination final and won in a canter, 7.9 (51) to 5.3 (33).
But after setting up Geelong’s first goal and kicking their third, the Cats’ leading goalkicker, Chloe Scheer, was forced out of the game in the opening term with a shoulder injury.
The Cats kicked the first three goals in the opening seven minutes to kill off Sunday’s home elimination final and won in a canter, 7.9 (51) to 5.3 (33).
But after setting up Geelong’s first goal and kicking their third, the Cats’ leading goalkicker, Chloe Scheer, was forced out of the game in the opening term with a shoulder injury.
Much to the delight of rival clubs, earlier this month Essendon’s AFL team reached the dismal milestone of 7000 days without an AFL finals win, dating back to 2004.
In their second season, the Bombers women have likewise endured a rugged finals debut.
Essendon kept Geelong scoreless and kicked three goals in the last quarter to avert a heavy loss, but the damage was done.
Lowther said the Cats had to manage their players, given Scheer’s absence, and it told in the last quarter.
‘Our wheels fell off in the last quarter; it was a bit chaotic, but the first half was enough,’ he said.
The tone was set in the opening minute when Gun Cats midfielder Georgie Prespakis won the ball out of the middle and found Scheer with a pass.
In turn, Scheer’s perfect kick found Aishling Moloney, who scored the first of her two goals.
Once Scheer left the game soon after, Moloney stood up and the Irish import played a key role.
Essendon only managed one goal behind in the first term and were 31 down in uncontested possessions as the Cats ran riot.
Bomber Amber Clarke was also stretchered off after she was crunched in a marking contest, but returned in the second half.
Trailing by 21 points at the first break, Essendon started the second quarter better and a 50-meter penalty set up Sophie Alexander for their first goal after four minutes.
But the Cats quickly killed off the challenge and led by six goals at halftime.
Prespakis, Amy McDonald, Rebecca Webster and Nina Morrison were outstanding for Geelong, while Georgia Nanscawen was a lonely shining light on another dirty finals day for Essendon.
Maddy Prespakis, Georgie’s older sister, kicked two goals for the Bombers, who were no match for the early Cats onslaught.
‘We knew they were going to be hard to stop. We knew we needed to make it a bit of a contest, to try and stop their work on the outside,’ said Essendon coach Natalie Wood.
