In preparation for the club's entry into the league, Geelong were provided with a range of recruitment concessions, including early access to existing clubs' players prior to the league's signing period, and additional selections in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. Nina Morrison was selected by the Cats with the first overall selection in the draft.
Paul Hood was appointed the club's inaugural AFLW coach in February 2018, having previously coached Geelong's VFL Women's (VFLW) team since its inception in 2016.[3]Natalie Wood replaced Hood as the VFLW coach, and also secured a role as an assistant coach for the AFLW team.[4] The coaching team was finalised in November 2018, with Geelong AFL players Tom Stewart and Aaron Black joining Wood as assistant coaches, and Oscar Owens and David Morgan named as development coaches.[5]
Ford Australia and Deakin University were the major sponsors of the AFLW team for the 2019 season.[7][8] Ford's partnership extended a long-running sponsorship deal that had existed since 1925 with the Geelong Football Club.[7]
The playing list size of each AFLW team was set at 30 players for the 2019 season, with two of these players signed as "cross-code" rookies that had not participated in any Australian rules football competition during the previous three years.[9]
In preparation for the clubs' entry into the league, both Geelong and North Melbourne were provided with a range of recruitment concessions. This included an exclusive ten-day signing period held in May 2018 where the two expansion clubs could recruit players from existing AFLW clubs.[10] During this period Geelong signed: Richelle Cranston, Melissa Hickey, Erin Hoare and Anna Teague (from Melbourne);[10] Aasta O'Connor (Western Bulldogs); Maddie Boyd and Phoebe McWilliams (Greater Western Sydney).[11] There was also the potential to sign players over the age of 18 who did not play in the AFLW in 2018,[12] with the Cats recruiting six players from their VFLW team: Cassie Blakeway, Kate Darby, Renee Garing, Rebecca Goring, Jordan Ivey and Danielle Orr.[13]
Due to the club only signing thirteen players during the expansion club signing period (compared to North Melbourne's seventeen players), Geelong was awarded four compensation selections in the upcoming draft—including the first two picks.[14]
Following the expansion club signing period, all clubs could participate in a signing and trading period that ran from 23 May to 4 June 2018.[10] Geelong were not heavily involved in trading with clubs, preferring to focus on building their list through their VFLW player signings.[15]
Geelong utilised the majority of their playing list for this season, with only Elise Coventry and Hayley Trevean not appearing in an AFLW game.[17] There were ten players who played in all eight of the club's games.[18]Mia-Rae Clifford was the club's leading goalkicker, scoring six goals.[19][18]
Rebecca Goring was acting captain for Geelong's first two games of the season.
Due to the expansion in the number of teams participating in the AFLW competition, a conference system was introduced for the 2019 season.[21] This involved two conferences ("Conference A" and "Conference B") consisting of five teams, with each team playing the other teams in their conference once—as well as three games against teams from the alternate conference.[21] This equated to each team playing a total of seven matches in the regular season, with the two top teams in each conference qualifying for the finals series.[21] Geelong were placed in Conference B with Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney.[22]
Geelong began the regular season against Collingwood at GMHBA Stadium, narrowly winning their first AFLW match by one point.[23] Nina Morrison was nominated for the league's Rising Star award after accumulating 22 disposals and eight tackles and kicking the winning behind in a best-on-ground performance.[24] This was to be Morrison's only game for the season, as she ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee at training the following week, which required a reconstruction.[25] Geelong were defeated by reigning premiers Western Bulldogs in round two, recording an 18-point margin.[26]
Captain Melissa Hickey missed the first two matches of the season due to injury, with vice-captain Rebecca Goring assuming the captain's role in Hickey's absence.[27] Hickey played her first game for the Cats in round three, captaining a loss against Adelaide.[28] Geelong won their next two matches, defeating Carlton and Brisbane to move to first position on the Conference B ladder after round five.[29][30] Brisbane's score of 1.2 (8) was the lowest overall score in AFLW history at the time.[30] Geelong played Fremantle in round six and despite leading after the first quarter, were defeated by 36 points after not scoring in the second half of the match.[31] In the final round of the season, the Cats suffered a 31-point defeat by Greater Western Sydney, with a score of just 1.4 (10).[32]
The club finished the regular season with a 3–4 win–loss record and placed second on the Conference B ladder, qualifying for the 2019 finals series.[33][34] Geelong were subsequently defeated in a preliminary final against Adelaide by 66 points, and therefore did not progress to the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final.[35] Geelong's score of 1.1 (7) was the lowest overall score in AFLW history.[35]
Source: womens.afl Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
Awards
Meg McDonald won the club's best and fairest award for the season.
Geelong's inaugural AFL Women's best and fairest was announced in a ceremony held at GMHBA Stadium on 5 April.[37] The award was won by Meg McDonald, who received 182 votes; runner-up Olivia Purcell received 168 votes, with Renee Garing and Maddy McMahon in joint third place on 157 votes.[38] Additionally, captain Melissa Hickey received the ‘Hoops’ award, for best representing the club's values, and Kate Darby was presented with the 'Community Champion' award.[38]
McDonald and McMahon were both shortlisted for the honorary 2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team, however only McDonald was selected in the final team.[39][40] Geelong also had two players, Nina Morrison (round one) and Purcell (round five), who were nominated for the season's Rising Star award.[41][42]
↑ Geelong were eliminated from the finals series as a result of their preliminary final loss to Adelaide
Related Research Articles
Mia-Rae Clifford is an Australian rules footballer and rugby union player. She played for Melbourne, Geelong, and Fremantle in the AFL Women's competition. She currently plays for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super W competition.
The 2018 season was the Geelong Football Club's 119th in the Australian Football League (AFL). It was the club's eighth season under senior coach Chris Scott, with Joel Selwood appointed as club captain for a seventh successive year. Geelong participated in both the inaugural AFLX competition and the 2018 JLT Community Series as part of their pre-season schedule, and the club's regular season began on 25 March against Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Cats finished the home-and-away season with a 13–9 win–loss record and placed eighth on the league's ladder, qualifying for the 2018 finals series as a result. Geelong were defeated in an elimination final against Melbourne by 29 points, and therefore did not progress past the first finals week.
The Geelong Football Club has participated in the Australian Football League (AFL) Draft since it was first established in 1986, when it was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Cassie Blakeway is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Olivia Purcell is an Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Georgia Clarke is an Australian rules footballer who plays for Essendon in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for Geelong.
Madaleine McMahon is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
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Julia Crockett-Grills is an Australian rules footballer with the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
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Rene Caris is an Australian rules footballer who plays for St Kilda in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for Geelong and Greater Western Sydney.
The 2019 season was the Geelong Football Club's 120th in the Australian Football League (AFL). It was the ninth season under senior coach Chris Scott, with Joel Selwood appointed as club captain for an eight successive year. Geelong participated in the 2019 JLT Community Series as part of their pre-season schedule, and the club's regular season began on 22 March against Collingwood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Cats finished the home-and-away season with a 16–6 win–loss record and placed first on the league's ladder, earning Geelong their first minor premiership since the 2008 season. Progressing to the third week of the 2019 finals series, Geelong was subsequently defeated in a preliminary final against Richmond by 19 points, eliminating them before the 2019 AFL Grand Final.
Natalie Wood is a former Australian rules footballer and current senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Georgie Prespakis is an Australian rules footballer playing for Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
The 2022 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 158th season playing Australian rules football, with the club competing in their 123rd season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong also fielded a women's team in both 2022 AFL Women's season 6 and 2022 AFL Women's season 7, and a men's and women's reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW) respectively.
1 2 "Ford to drive AFLW". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
↑ Oates, Stacey (23 October 2018). "Deakin ready for AFLW". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
↑ Black, Sarah (16 October 2018). "AFLW: Draft order locked in". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
↑ Zanardo, Karla (19 February 2018). "AFLW: The next stage". nmfc.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
↑ Oates, Stacey (16 May 2018). "AFLW: Local six sign on". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
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