Georgia Clarke had an unforgettable first AFLW home game for the Cats.
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The 18-year-old Branxholme product got to run out in front of more than 7000 fans at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday as Geelong defeated Carlton in a five-point nail-biter.
And when the final siren blew, Clarke was sitting on the bench alongside Cats skipper Mel Hickey and midfield star Renee Garing.
"It was great to get around the other girls on the bench running onto the field," Clarke told The Standard from the club rooms after the game.
"We had the crowd the behind us, so I could hear the roar.
"And then we sang the song on the pitch as close as possible to them so they could join in, which was pretty special."
Geelong took an early lead over Carlton, with intense forward pressure helping the Cats lock the ball in their forward half and keep the Blues goalless heading into the main break.
The visitors immediately set about chipping away at the Cats 14-point half-time lead in the third quarter.
But some errant kicking prevented Carlton from taking control of the game, setting up an exciting final term in which Geelong managed to hold on for the 2.7 (19) to 1.8 (14) victory.
"Our small forwards have been really working on that forward pressure, especially the speedy ones like Sophie Van De Heuvel and Julia Crockett-Grills," Clarke said.
"But I think it was really an all-round effort today. We just really honed in our those fundamentals like getting our kicks right and hitting targets."
The team savoured the winning feeling, Clarke said, but will very soon turn their minds to facing Brisbane, which just claimed top spot in Conference B after dismantling reigning premiers Western Bulldogs by 32 points.
Clarke, who works part-time at Geelong in the HR department and enjoys winding down after football games by playing NBA 2K19 on her PS4, was supported throughout the match by family members.
She also had an entourage of friends from her high school days at Hamilton's Monivae College and her time at Deakin University Waurn Ponds, where she studies health science.
And while some of her mates have started to proudly wear her Geelong badge and number 17 guernsey, Clarke, who has now played three games in a row for the Cats in her debut season, said the reality of playing AFLW still hasn't quite sunk in yet.
Especially, she said, when the youngster has run-ins with Geelong Cats royalty.
"It was a bit crazy, the other day I was in the ice bath and Gary Ablett was in there too," she said.
"So there was a bit of a fan-girling moment.
"It was always a dream [to play AFLW] though...and I thought it might be possible. But I knew there was a lot of hard work involved.
"My goal this year is just to better myself, keep improving, and hopefully get some more games played."
