Geelong Football Club

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian football club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. The club formed on the 13th of April 1859, making it the second-oldest AFL side after Melbourne and one of the oldest football clubs in the world.<ref name="catshistory">Official Website of the Geelong Football Club Template:Webarchive GFC History Template:Webarchive Retrieved on 10 June 2007.</ref>

In the 1860s, Geelong participated in a series of Challenge Cup competitions, and was a foundation member of both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897, now the national AFL.<ref name="l">Rodgers, Stephen (1983) Every Game Ever Played p. i. Melbourne: Lloyd O'Neil</ref> The club won the Western District Challenge Cup in 1875, a then-record seven VFA premierships between 1878 and 1886, and six VFL premierships by 1963, after which it experienced a 44-year waiting period until it won its next premiership, a Grand Final-record 119-point victory in 2007.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>The Bulletin publishes for the last time</ref> Geelong won a further three premierships in 2009, 2011 and 2022. The Cats have fierce competitive rivalries with Hawthorn and Collingwood.

Geelong play most of their home games at Kardinia Park (known for sponsorship reasons as GMHBA Stadium) and play the remainder at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Geelong's traditional guernsey colours are white with navy blue hoops. The club's nickname was first used in 1923 after a run of losses prompted a local cartoonist to suggest that the club needed a black cat to bring it good luck. Geelong also field teams in other competitions; a reserves men's team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), a senior women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and a reserves women's team in the VFL Women's (VFLW) competitions. The club's official team song and anthem is "We Are Geelong".

History

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

File:Performance Chart AFL GEE.svg

Chart of yearly ladder positions for Geelong in VFL/AFL

The club was founded in 1859 in the city of Geelong, Australia, and is the second oldest AFL club. It is believed to be the fourth oldest football club in Australia and one of the oldest in the world and one of the most successful.<ref name="catshistory"/> Initially playing under its own rules, some of which, notably, were permanently introduced into Australian Football, it adopted the Laws of Australian Football in the early 1860s after a series of compromises with the Melbourne Football Club.

Geelong went on to play for most of its existence in the premier competitions, the first competition, the Caledonian Society Cup, a foundation club of both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897.,<ref name="l" /> VFL and continues in the elite Australian Football League (AFL). The Cats have been the VFL/AFL premiers ten times, with four in the AFL era (since 1990) in 2007, 2009, 2011, and most recently, 2022, to be the second most successful club over that period one behind Hawthorn. They have also won ten McClelland Trophies, the most of any AFL/VFL club.<ref name="catshistory"/><ref name="yearstats">AFL Tables Finishing Summary 1897–2006.</ref>

Many of the club's official records before 1920 have disappeared.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Club identity and culture

Guernseys

File:Jim McShane.jpg

Club attire in 1895 (Jim McShane pictured)

Geelong's traditional navy blue and white hooped guernsey has been worn since the club's inception in the mid-1800s. The design is said to represent the white seagulls and blue water of Corio Bay.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The team has worn various away guernseys since 1998, all featuring the club's logo and traditional colours.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Nickname

Geelong has been nicknamed the 'Cats' since 1923, when the Herald sporting local cartoonist, "Wells" (Samuel Garnet Wells), suggested that adopting a black cat as a mascot might bring a football club good luck in his Herald cartoon of 6 July 1923.

Song: "We Are Geelong"

"We Are Geelong" is the song sung after a game won by the Geelong Football Club. It is sung to the tune of "Toreador" from Carmen. The lyrics were written by former premiership player John Watts. Only the first verse is used at matches and by the team after a victory. The song currently used by the club was recorded by the Fable Singers in April 1972.<ref>AFL Tunes to Remember The Melbourne Age, 23 July 2010</ref>

We are Geelong, the greatest team of all

We are Geelong; we're always on the ball

We play the game as it should be played

At home or far away

Our banners fly high, from dawn to dark

Down at Kardinia Park.

So! Stand up and fight, remember our tradition

Stand up and fight, it's always our ambition

Throughout the game to fight with all our might

Because we're the mighty blue and white

And when the ball is bounced, to the final bell

Stand up and fight like hell!

Stadium and training facilities

Geelong's administrative headquarters is its home stadium, GMHBA Stadium or also known as Kardinia Park. The club trains here during the season, however it also trains at its alternate training venue, the Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct. The latter features an MCG-sized oval and is used often by the club in the pre-season, when Kardinia Park is being used for other events.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Rivalries

Hawthorn

Template:Further The rivalry between Hawthorn and Geelong is defined by two Grand Finals: those of 1989 and 2008. In the 1989 Grand Final, Geelong played the man, resulting in major injuries for several Hawks players, Mark Yeates knocking out Dermott Brereton at the opening bounce; Hawthorn controlled the game, leading by approximately 40 points for most of the match; in the last quarter, Geelong almost managed to come from behind to win, but fell short by six points. In the 2008 Grand Final, Geelong was the heavily backed favourite and had lost only one match for the season, but lost by 26 points; Geelong then won its next eleven matches against Hawthorn over the following five years, under a curse, which was dubbed the "Kennett curse" which was attributed to disrespectful comments made by Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett following the 2008 Grand Final. It was later revealed that after the 2008 grand final, Paul Chapman initiated a pact between other Geelong players to never lose to Hawthorn again. The curse was broken in a preliminary final in 2013, after Paul Chapman played his final match for Geelong the previous week. Hawthorn went on to win the next three premierships. In 2016 Geelong again defeated Hawthorn in the qualifying final. In twenty matches between the two sides between 2008 and 2017, twelve were decided by less than ten points, with Geelong victorious in eleven of those twelve matches.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Collingwood

In 1925, Geelong won their first flag over Collingwood. In 1930, Collingwood defeated Geelong in the grand final making it four flags in-a-row for the Pies. Geelong would later deny Collingwood three successive premierships in 1937, winning a famous grand final by 32 points.

The two sides played against each other in 6 finals between 1951 and 1955, including the 1952 Grand Final when Geelong easily beat Collingwood by 46 points. In 1953, Collingwood ended Geelong's record 23-game winning streak in the home and away season, and later defeated them by 12 points in the grand final, denying the Cats a third successive premiership.

Since 2007, the clubs have again both been at the top of the ladder and have met regularly in finals. Geelong won a memorable preliminary final by five points on their way to their first flag in 44 years. In 2008, Collingwood inflicted Geelong's only home-and-away loss, by a massive 86 points, but the teams did not meet in the finals. They would meet in preliminary finals in 2009 and 2010, each winning one en route to a premiership. They finally met again in a Grand Final in 2011, which Geelong won by 38 points; Geelong inflicted Collingwood's only three losses for the 2011 season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Corporate

Sponsorship

At 99 years as of 2024, Geelong's sponsorship with the Ford Motor Company is one of the longest active sports sponsorship of any sports team in the world, with continuous sponsorship dating back to 1925. The sponsorship had previously been ratified as the longest in the world by the Guinness World Records,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> until a change in definitions.

In recent years Geelong-based retail company Cotton On Group has become synonymous with the club, with the company manufacturing on-field and other team merchandise since 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

AFL

Year	Kit Manufacturer	Major Sponsor	Shorts Sponsor	Bottom Back Sponsor	Top Back Sponsor
1925–1992	—	FordTemplate:Efn	—	—	—
1993	—		Ford	—
1994–1996	—			Ford
1997–1998	Adidas
1999–2002	Fila
2003–2006	Slazenger
2007			nib
2008–2016	ISC
2017–2021	Cotton On		GMHBA
2022–2023					Ford
2024–present			Simonds

AFL Women's

Year	Kit Manufacturer	Major Sponsor	Shorts Sponsor	Bottom Back Sponsor	Top Back Sponsor
2019-21	Cotton On	Ford	Viva Energy	Deakin University	—
2022 (S6)			Geelong Dairy
2022 (S7)–2023					Bulla Dairy Foods
2024–present			Viva Energy

Supporter base

File:Geelong Cats supporters.jpg

Geelong's supporters came out in force in the 2009 Grand Final against St Kilda

File:Geelong FC's one-man cheer squad.jpg

Well-known supporter Troy West, nicknamed "Catman"

File:Geelong Cats Banner 2013.jpg

Geelong players prepare to break a banner, which is created by its supporters, before a match against Template:AFL GWS in June 2013.

Table of club membership, with home attendance figures (since 1984)

Season	Members	Average home attendance<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Ref
1984	7,709	20,577
1985	7,718	19,463
1986	6,985	15,319
1987	6,981	20,462
1988	9,667	20,790
1989	7,760	29,296
1990	15,087	24,711
1991	11,356	23,525
1992	13,535	27,698
1993	15,500	26,920
1994	14,312	26,461
1995	15,922	25,317
1996	17,346	25,161
1997	18,858	28,324
1998	19,971	28,371
1999	21,032	24,840
2000	25,595	27,729
2001	25,420	27,093
2002	23,756	27,040
2003	24,017	25,971
2004	25,021	25,747
2005	30,821	27,783
2006	32,290	27,428
2007	30,169	31,547	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2008	36,850	29,474	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2009	37,160	30,069	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2010	40,326	39,129	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2011	39,343	35,401	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2012	40,200	31,508
2013	42,884	36,650
2014	43,803	33,915	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2015	44,312	29,582	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2016	50,571	30,497	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2017	54,854	35,111	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018	63,818	34,207	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019	65,063	33,405	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2020	60,066	4,569	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021	70,293	14,262	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2022	71,943	26,875	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023	82,155	31,271	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024	90,798	38,861	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Players and staff

File:Chris Scott 2018.1.jpg

Chris Scott is the club's current head coach.

File:Patrick Dangerfield May 2019.jpg

Patrick Dangerfield is the club's current captain.

Officials

• President: Craig Drummond
• Vice President: Diana Taylor
• Chief Executive Officer: Steve Hocking
• General Manager – Football: Simon Lloyd

Club records

Premierships and awards

Premierships
Competition	Level	Wins	Years Won
Australian Football League	Seniors	10	1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2022
	Reserves (1919–1999)	13	1923, 1924, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982
	Under-19s (1946–1991)	1	1962
Victorian Football League	Seniors (1877–1896)	7	1878, 1879, 1880, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886
	Reserves (2000–present)	3	2002, 2007, 2012
Other titles and honours
McClelland Trophy	Seniors	11	1952, 1954, 1962, 1963, 1980, 1981, 1992, 2007, 2008, 2019, 2022
Challenge Cup	Seniors	1	1863–64
VFL Night Series	Seniors	1	1961
AFL pre-season competition	Seniors	2	2006, 2009
Finishing positions
Australian Football League	Minor premiership	15	1897, 1901, 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1980, 1992, 2007, 2008, 2019, 2022
	Grand Finalist	9	1930, 1953, 1967, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2008, 2020
	Wooden spoons	5	1908, 1915, 1944, 1957, 1958
Victorian Football League Template:Small	Minor premiership	2	2002, 2013
	Grand Finalist	2	2006, 2013
	Wooden spoon	1	2005
VFL Women's	Grand Finalist	2	2018, 2021Template:Efn
	Wooden spoon	1	2024

Win–loss record

Statistics are correct to end of 2024 season<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Geelong's win–loss record against other VFL/AFL clubs

Club	T	W	L	D	Win%
	Template:AFL Ade	51	30	21	0	58.8
Template:AFL BB	15	10	4	1	70.0
Template:AFL BL	43	25	18	0	58.1
Template:AFL Car	226	104	120	2	46.5
Template:AFL Col	242	105	136	1	43.6
Template:AFL Ess	224	104	115	5	47.5
Template:AFL Fit	183	103	79	1	56.6
Template:AFL Fre	45	29	16	0	64.4
Template:AFL GC	16	12	4	0	75.0
Template:AFL GWS	16	9	6	1	59.4
Template:AFL Haw	172	95	76	1	55.5
Template:AFL Mel	225	134	89	2	60.0
Template:AFL NM	172	108	63	1	63.1
Template:AFL	43	28	14	1	66.3
Template:AFL Ric	203	108	92	3	53.9
Template:AFL StK	223	135	87	1	60.8
Template:AFL Syd	232	127	104	1	55.0
Template:AFL Uni	14	8	6	0	57.1
Template:AFL WC	59	31	27	1	53.4
Template:AFL WB	169	108	59	2	64.5
Totals	2573	1413	1136	24	55.4

Key
W	Wins	L	Losses	D	Draws	T	Total
Win%	Winning percentage

Match records

Table of club VFL/AFL match records

Club record	Round	Venue	Opponent	Details	Ref
Highest score	Round 7, 1992	Carrara	Template:AFL BB	Geelong 37.17 (239) v Brisbane Bears 11.9 (75)	<ref>V/AFL record</ref>
Lowest score	Round 3, 1899	Corio Oval	Template:AFL Fit	Geelong 0.8 (8) v Fitzroy 4.8 (32)	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Highest losing score	Round 6, 1989	Princes Park	Template:AFL Haw	Geelong 25.13 (163) v Hawthorn 26.15 (171)	<ref>V/AFL record. Geelong took both this record and that for the highest score from Fitzroy.</ref>
Lowest winning score	Round 9, 1897	Corio Oval	Template:AFL Mel	Geelong 1.9 (15) v Melbourne 0.10 (10)	<ref>Only one behind kicked in first quarter; aggregate of scoring shots lowest since 1953 and second lowest since 1905 Grand Final</ref>
Biggest winning margin	Round 19, 2011	Kardinia Park	Template:AFL Mel	186 points Geelong 37.11 (233) v Melbourne 7.5 (47)	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Biggest losing margin	Round 21, 1986	Princes Park	Template:AFL Haw	135 points – Geelong 13.12 (90) v Hawthorn 35.15 (225)	<ref>Geelong actually led early in the third quarter before Hawthorn kicked 25.7 (157) to 1.7 (13) for a record score for a half</ref>
Record attendance (home and away game)	Round 6, 2025	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Template:AFL Haw	88,746	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Record attendance (finals matches, excluding Grand Finals)	1968 VFL season preliminary final	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Template:AFL Ess	103,649
Record attendance (finals match)	1967 VFL Grand Final	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Template:AFL Ric	109,396

Reserves team

Template:See also The Geelong reserves (also known as the Bendigo Bank Cats for sponsorship reasons) are the reserves side of the club, playing in the Victorian Football League.

History

Geelong's reserves side began competing in the Victorian Junior Football League, later known as the VFL/AFL reserves, in 1922. The team won thirteen premierships during that time (1923, 1924, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1980, 1981 and 1982), the most of any club.

Since the demise of the AFL reserves competition, the Geelong reserves have competed in the Victorian Football League. Unlike all other Victorian AFL clubs, Geelong has never operated in a reserves affiliation with an existing VFL club, having instead operated its stand-alone reserves team continuously. The team is composed of both reserves players from the club's primary and rookie AFL lists, and a separately maintained list of players eligible only for VFL matches. Home games are played at GMHBA Stadium, with some played as curtain-raisers to senior AFL matches.

The side is also known as the Bendigo Bank Cats, referring to the club's commercial partnership with Bendigo Bank.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Club honours

• Premierships (3): 2002, 2007, 2012
• Runners-ups (2): 2006, 2013
• Minor premierships (2): 2002, 2013
• Wooden spoons (1): 2005

Women's teams

Template:Further In 2017, following the inaugural AFL Women's (AFLW) season, Geelong was among eight clubs that applied for licenses to enter the competition from 2019 onwards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2017, the club was announced as one of two clubs, along with Template:AFLW, to receive a license to join the competition in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The club has also had a team in the second-tier VFL Women's league since 2017.

The club has qualified for the AFL Women's finals on three occasions, making it through the preliminary final in 2023 before losing to eventual premiers Template:AFLW.

Match records

Table of club AFLW match records

Club record	Round	Venue	Opponent	Details	Ref
Highest score	Round 10, 2022 (S7)	Kardinia Park	Template:AFLW	Geelong 15.12 (102) v Sydney 4.3 (27)	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Lowest score	Week 3, 2024	Princes Park	Template:AFLW	Geelong 0.5 (5) v Carlton 4.5 (29)	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Highest losing score	Week 5, 2024	Kardinia Park	Template:AFLW	Geelong 9.7 (61) v Hawthorn 12.7 (79)
Lowest winning score	Round 1, 2022 (S7)	Kardinia Park	Template:AFLW	Geelong 2.3 (15) v Richmond 1.5 (11)
Biggest winning margin	Round 10, 2022 (S7)	Kardinia Park	Template:AFLW	75 points – Geelong 15.12 (102) v Sydney 4.3 (27)	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Biggest losing margin	Preliminary final, 2019	Adelaide Oval	Template:AFLW	66 points – Geelong 1.1 (7) v Adelaide 11.7 (73)	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Record attendance (home and away game)	Round 1, 2019	Kardinia Park	Template:AFLW	18,429	<ref name="AFLWCrowds">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Record attendance (finals matches, excluding Grand Finals)	Preliminary final, 2019	Adelaide Oval	Template:AFLW	13,429	<ref name="AFLWCrowds"/>
Record attendance (finals match)	Preliminary final, 2019	Adelaide Oval	Template:AFLW	13,429	<ref name="AFLWCrowds"/>

Activism

Same-Sex Marriage

During the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, Geelong Football Club supported the Yes vote.<ref name="nso">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Voice to Parliament

Geelong Football Club was a supporter of the Voice to Parliament.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• Sport in Australia
• Sport in Victoria
• List of Geelong Football Club players, captains and coaches
• 1963 Miracle Match

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Official website of the Geelong Football Club
• Official AFL website
• Geelong Football Club Honour Roll – list of all Presidents, captains, coaches and Best & Fairest winners since 1879.
• Geelong Cats results - Latest scores for Geelong Football Club