GEELONG has sewn up a top-two finish and a home qualifying final, after demolishing fellow finalists the Western Bulldogs by 68 points at GMHBA Stadium.

The Cats were a class above an understrength Bulldogs side, who were missing their two most recent best and fairests winners in Isabelle Pritchard (knee) and Ellie Blackburn (managed), and cantered to the 13.10 (88) to 3.2 (20) victory, orchestrated by a powerful midfield.

CATS v BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats

Jackie Parry kicked Geelong's opening goal within the first 50 seconds of the game (finishing with five and perhaps the competition's leading goalkicker award), and it was an early warning side for the Dogs.

While Tam Hyett's side is made of sterner stuff in 2026 compared to years past, its defensive zone left much to be desired, with the Cats finding easy chip-marks in space all the way down the ground.

The 12-2 inside 50 count at quarter-time was reflected with a comfortable 20-point lead, although the one time the Dogs managed to get it over the top of Geelong's defence – which was pushed high up the ground – was perhaps indicative of how teams may look to target them in finals.

The goalkicking firm of (Chantel) Mason, (Nina) Morrison and (Emma) Murray all hit the board in the second term, as the margin well and truly got away from the Bulldogs, doing critical damage to their percentage and quest for a home elimination final.

Last week's Telstra AFLW Rising Star nominee Mason continued her rise in her third season, kicking another three goals, as Geelong managed to boot another 13 major-haul, while the Dogs dropped 21 per cent.

In the absence of Pritchard, Blackburn and Jess Fitzgerald, the Bulldogs midfield was occupied by Cleo Buttifant, Sarah Poustie, Mikala Cann, Dom Carruthers and even forward Heidi Woodley as the magnets were flipped, desperately trying to arrest Geelong's clearance dominance.

And the Dogs did manage to stem the flow, although their hard work wasn't necessarily rewarded by making any headway on the scoreboard, and the disposal count was heavily skewed Geelong's way.

Rachel Kearns brought the stadium to light in a fairly ho-hum final term with a stunning run down the field, soloing the ball to herself twice, Gaelic football-style.

Elaine Grigg received treatment on an ankle injury in the third term, but played out the match.

Three votes G. Prespakis?
Did Georgie Prespakis do enough to lock away the 2026 AFLW best and fairest, or the AFLCA player of the year award? The superstar Cat has been in red-hot form this year, and the Dogs opted not to send tagger Elisabeth Georgostathis her way. Prespakis had 19 touches and four clearances to half-time, finishing with 30 and eight clearances. Teammates Amy McDonald, Mikayla Bowen and Parry may threaten in the quest for three votes.

Leading goalkicker race – Jac Jac Jackie, or Scheer brilliance?
Spearhead Parry has finished with 26 goals for the home-and-away season, two ahead of Chloe Molloy and Áine McDonagh, who are both due to play later this weekend. The Cat may not finish with the individual accolade, but has broken the record for most goals in a home-and-away season (25), despite playing one fewer match than Indy Tahau did last year. Scheer was only an outside chance of pinching the league leading goalkicker award, but only kicked the two majors, playing only about half the gametime as the Cats coasted to a comfortable victory.

Up next
Geelong is likely to finish second and host a qualifying final at Ikon Park, quite possibly against coach Mick Stinear's former side Melbourne. Barring absolute thumping losses by Carlton and Sydney, Western Bulldogs have coughed up a home elimination final, losing 21 percentage points in one match, and will likely finish seventh on the ladder.

GEELONG                          4.2     9.3     11.5     13.10 (88)
WESTERN BULLDOGS       1.0     2.1     3.2        3.2 (20)

GOALS
Geelong: Parry 5, Mason 3, Scheer 2, Moloney, Murray, Morrison
Western Bulldogs: Wilcox, Barwick, Berry

BEST
Geelong: Prespakis, Bowen, McDonald, Parry, Kearns, Morrison
Western Bulldogs: Cann, Laloifi, Woodley, Wilcox

INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Grigg (ankle)

Crowd: 3,126 at GMHBA Stadium