GEELONG has broken through for its first-ever win against Adelaide, a midfield masterclass from star Georgie Prespakis propelling the Cats to an impressive 11-point victory.

The Crows were looking to celebrate star defender Sarah Allan’s 100-game milestone with a win at Unley Oval on Saturday, but struggled to match it with Geelong’s high-powered onball brigade after quarter-time.

CROWS v CATS Full match coverage and stats

The Cats led by as much as 32 points but had to hold their nerve late.

Ebony Marinoff starred for the home side throughout and was instrumental in a late charge.

Grace Kelly booted back-to-back goals early in the last quarter and India Rasheed sliced the margin to 11 points with four minutes remaining.

But Bryde O’Rourke took a brilliant goal-saving mark in the square inside the last minute as Mick Stinear’s side held on for a historic victory.

"Not having beaten the Crows before, it was important to have our noses in front when the game finished," Stinear said. 

"Credit to Adelaide, in that last quarter they really ramped up the intensity, got the ball moving a lot quicker and we were on the back foot for a little bit. 

"But I think all the hard work done in the first three quarters was why we deserved the win."

Adelaide led by four points at the first break, courtesy of a well-crafted Rasheed goal, but Geelong hit back hard in the second term.

Led by Prespakis with 10 possessions for the quarter, the Cats’ midfield snatched the momentum as the visitors dominated the disposal count 92-53 for the term.

Playing against her old side, 2019 premiership Crow Chloe Scheer broke a run of five behinds with Geelong’s first two goals, and when Jacqueline Parry kicked truly to finish a brilliant piece of end-to-end play the Cats led by 15 points at half-time.

Alarm bells were ringing for Adelaide when Rachel Kearns made it four goals in a row with the first of the second half, but the Crows dug deep with majors to Caitlin Gould and Niamh Kelly slashing the margin to 10 points.

Kelly’s goal was a top-shelf stunner, the Irish star showing off her trademark pace and taking three bounces before slotting a brilliant running goal.

But Geelong’s midfield answered the call once again, Nina Morrison and Becky Webster impressing, with Julia Crockett-Grills booting back-to-back goals as the visitors finished the third quarter full of running to extend their lead to 26 points.

The result improved Geelong’s win-loss record to 4-1, while Ryan Davis’ side slipped to 2-3.

"We matched it with them in the first quarter, they got a little bit away from us in that second, and spent a lot of energy trying to wrestle it back in the third," Davis said. 

"But then I was really proud of the group the way they tipped into the fourth quarter, and got a hell of a lot of good scores going our way. 

"But we just left ourselves too much to do."

Rasheed goes bang, bang!
India Rasheed started the contest in a rush when she slotted the opening goal of the game from out near the boundary and she finished the first quarter in impressive style. As the seconds ticked down and with the Adelaide bench imploring her to move the ball on, Rasheed unleashed a superbly spiralling torpedo punt. Unfortunately for the home fans, it didn’t result in a score, but it was a sight to behold.

Milestones galore
It wasn’t just a big occasion for Sarah Allan, with four other players celebrating a milestone. Caitlin Gould and Niamh Kelly ran out for their 75th AFLW games, with Gould playing all of those matches with the Crows, while Kelly switched from West Coast where she made 22 senior appearances. Hannah Munyard played her 50th game for Adelaide after starting her career with three matches at the Western Bulldogs, and Chantel Emonson brought up her half-century with the Cats after 22 games with Melbourne.

Up next
The Crows will bring Round 6 to a close when they travel to Brisbane to take on the Lions at Brighton Homes Arena on Sunday at 5:05pm local time, while the Cats take on Collingwood at Victoria Park on Saturday at 12:35pm.

ADELAIDE    1.1    1.3    3.6    6.10 (46)
GEELONG     0.3    3.6    7.8    8.9 (57)

GOALS
ADELAIDE: G.Kelly 2, Rasheed 2, Gould, N.Kelly
GEELONG: Scheer 2, Crockett-Grills 2, Parry 2, Moloney, Kearns

BEST 
ADELAIDE: Marinoff, Newman, Egan, Biddell, Bown, Charlton
GEELONG: Prespakis, Morrison, Bowen, Webster, O’Rourke, Emonson

INJURIES
ADELAIDE: Nil 
GEELONG: Nil

Crowd: TBC at Unley Oval