A Georgie Prespakis masterclass has propelled Geelong to a second consecutive AFLW finals appearance with a 40-point thrashing over Hawthorn.
Having lost three of their past five matches, the Cats avoided slipping out of the top eight with a 9.6 (60) to 3.2 (20) victory in their maiden clash against the Hawks at GHMBA Stadium on Saturday.
Geelong could place as high as fifth depending on other results across the round, while Hawthorn finishes its second season in 14th.
The 20-year-old racked up a game-high 35 disposals, eight clearances and 18 contested possessions.
Geelong’s forward power was also on show, with the hosts boasting seven goalkickers in Darcy Moloney, Aishling Moloney, Chloe Scheer (three goals), Rebecca Webster, Jacqueline Parry, Kate Surman and Morrison.
But the afternoon was far from easy for the hosts.
The expansion side laid 24 tackles to 10 in the opening term to curb Geelong’s signature handball game, while prolific tackler Emily Bates went to work on Prespakis.
Held to two points less than three minutes before quarter-time, Moloney finally broke through the stingy Hawthorn defence to draw first blood.
Aileen Gilroy and Jenna Richardson proved mighty roadblocks for the Geelong attack, collecting eight intercept possessions apiece while the Hawks finished with 86 tackles to 61.
After regrouping at quarter-time, Morrison and Webster were able to break away for the Cats with two consecutive majors.
A bag of three unanswered goals from Scheer in the second half blew the margin out to 39 points, comfortably sealing a top-eight finish for the Cats.
Kristy Stratton slotted two majors for Hawthorn, before setting up Tahlia Fellows for a goal of her own.
Bates (27 disposals, 18 contested possessions) was everywhere across the park, fighting valiantly to give a proper send-off to retirees Akec Makur Chuot, Catherine Brown and Tamara Luke.
A trailblazer in the women’s game, Makur Chuot was the first South Sudanese woman in the League and played 40 games across three clubs.