GEELONG has continued its recovery from a round one thumping, claiming a third consecutive win to sit inside the top four after the first month of football.

The Cats kept Essendon winless with a powerful 13.5 (83) to 7.9 (51) victory over Essendon at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday, despite the visitors providing a strong fight early and looking well up for the fight.

CATS V BOMBERS Full match details and stats

It was Geelong that kicked off the scoring with the first goal of the game, but the Bombers found their feet to kick the next three either side of quarter-time.

The second term was an arm wrestle before Geelong blew it open, kicking six of next seven goals before half-time, four of them coming off the boot of Aishling Moloney.

The Cats' dominance continued after the long break, with star midfielders Nina Morrison and Georgie Prespakis providing drive and opportunity that their forwards relished.

Moloney stopped kicking goals but started dishing them off instead, racking up eight disposals for the third quarter as Geelong stretched its lead to 29 points at the final change.

The home side also won the final term on the scoreboard but, similar to the early stages of the match, Essendon showed plenty of spark to finish out the day.

More to come

Moloney kicks a quaddie in a quarter
With Essendon taking the contest to Geelong early the Cats were looking for someone to stamp their authority on the game, and Aishling Moloney decided it would be her. The Bombers were 12-points to the good before Moloney slotted her first goal of the day, 15 minutes later she kicked her fourth to have her side three goals in front at half-time with all the momentum on their side.

Family face-off
Maddie and Georgie Prespakis are two of the best players in the competition, so there's always going to be plenty of interaction between the pair when these sides meet, but for a moment on Sunday it looked like they were headed for a crash rather than a clash. With Maddie attacking the ball at full tilt from one direction and Georgie coming from the other equally fast, family members in the crowd would have held their breath. The sisters did make contact at high speed but thankfully rolled off in different directions without major incident.

GEELONG     1.1    7.3    10.5    13.5 (83)
ESSENDON   2.1    4.3     5.6      7.9 (51)

GOALS
Geelong: Moloney 4, Scheer 2, Parry 2, Morrison 2, Surman, O'Rourke, Crockett-Grills
Essendon: Gough 3, Johnstone, Gee, Brothwell, Beloni

BEST
Geelong: Morrison, G.Prespakis, Bowen, Moloney, Surman
Essendon: Busch, Toogood, M.Prespakis, Gee

INJURIES
Geelong: Gunjaca (TBC)
Essendon: Brothwell (ankle)

Crowd: TBC at GMHBA Stadium