2023 Geelong Football Club season

The 2023 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 159th season playing Australian rules football, with the club competing in their 124th season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong also fielded a women's team in the 2023 AFL Women's season, and men's and women's reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW) respectively.

AFL team

Geelong Football Club

2023 AFL season
President	Craig Drummond
Coach	Chris Scott (13th season)
Captain(s)	Patrick Dangerfield (1st season)
AFL season	10 wins, 12 losses, 1 draw (12th)
Best and Fairest	Tom Stewart
Leading goalkicker	Jeremy Cameron (53)
Highest home attendance	86,595 vs. Collingwood (Round 1)
Lowest home attendance	19,617 vs. Melbourne (Round 15)
Average home attendance	31,271
Club membership	82,115 [1] [2] [3]
← 2022 2024 →

Season summary

It was the club's thirteenth AFL season under senior coach Chris Scott, with Patrick Dangerfield appointed as club captain, replacing the retired Joel Selwood. ^{[4] [5]}

After a poor start to the season, Geelong would become the first reigning premiers to lose their opening three matches since 1976. ^[6]

With the debut of Oisín Mullin in just his fourth game of Australian football, ^[7] Geelong fielded three Irish players against Greater Western Sydney in round 11, becoming the first club in VFL/AFL history to field three in the same team. ^[8]

After losing to St Kilda in the penultimate round of the season, Geelong were eliminated from finals contention, missing the finals for just the second time in Chris Scott's 13-year tenure. ^[9] Geelong joining Richmond (2021), Western Bulldogs (2017) and Hawthorn (2009) as premiers in the last 20 years to miss finals the following season. ^[9] A number of injuries to key players was one of the driving reasons behind the club's slide down the ladder. ^[10]

Three consecutive losses to end the season saw the club equal its lowest ever finish, ending up in 12th place on the ladder.

Forward Jeremy Cameron would be the club's leading votegetter at the 2023 Brownlow Medal count, polling 13 votes including two best-on-ground matches. ^[11]

Pre-season

Geelong defeated Hawthorn in a pre-season scratch match at GMHBA Stadium played over eight periods with both senior and reserves players. The final score was Geelong 31.34 (220) versus Hawthorn 18.25 (133). ^{[12] [13]} Geelong also played an official AFL practice match against Brisbane Lions on 2 March, and were defeated 13.13 (91) versus Geelong's 6.9 (45). Geelong's home-and-away season began on 17 March against Collingwood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Coaching staff

Chris Scott continued as the club's men's senior coach for a thirteenth season, having signed a two-year contract extension until the end of the 2024 season. ^[14] Scott would coach his 300th AFL game in round 15 against Melbourne, with Geelong winning by 15 points. ^{[15] [16]}

Scott would break Reg Hickey's long-standing record of 304 matches as coach of the club, coaching his 305th match in round 20 against Fremantle. ^{[17] [18]}

2023 Geelong coaching staff

Role	Name
Senior coach	Chris Scott
Assistant coach	Nigel Lappin
Assistant coach	Shaun Grigg
Assistant coach	James Kelly
Assistant coach	Shane O'Bree
Head of player development	Matthew Egan
Development coach	Daisy Pearce
Development coach	Josh Jenkins
Ruck coach	Brad Ottens

Playing list

Changes

Deletions from playing list Player Reason Ref. Cooper Stephens Traded to Hawthorn [19] Francis Evans Delisted [a] [20] Shaun Higgins Retired [21] Joel Selwood Retired [22] Luke Dahlhaus Retired [23] Quinton Narkle Delisted [b] [24] Nick Stevens Delisted [24] Paul Tsapatolis Delisted [24] Zane Williams Delisted [24]

Additions to playing list Player Acquired Ref. Tanner Bruhn Traded from Greater Western Sydney [25] Jack Bowes Traded from Gold Coast [26] Oliver Henry Traded from Collingwood [19] Jhye Clark No. 8, 2022 national draft Phoenix Foster No. 52, 2022 national draft Oscar Murdoch No. 18, 2023 rookie draft Osca Riccardi No. 32, 2023 rookie draft Oisín Mullin Category B rookie [27] Ted Clohesy Category B rookie Mitch Hardie No. 7, 2023 mid-season rookie draft [28] [29] [30]

• ^a Francis Evans was subsequently signed by Port Adelaide during the 2022 free agency period.
• ^b Quinton Narkle was subsequently selected by Port Adelaide in the 2023 mid-season rookie draft after starting the season with Essendon in their VFL squad.

Statistics

Updated as at round 24

Key

^	Denotes player who was on the club's standard rookie list, and therefore eligible for senior selection.
#	Denotes Category B rookie where player needed to be elevated to club's senior list during this season to be eligible for senior selection.

Playing list and statistics ^{[31] [32]}

Player	No.	Games	Goals	Behinds	Kicks	Handballs	Disposals	Tackles	Marks	Hitouts	Milestone(s)
Tom Atkins	30	23	4	1	195	251	446	175	33	0	100th match (round 19)
Jed Bews	24	15	0	1	79	78	157	30	36	0
Mark Blicavs	46	19	12	7	154	147	301	88	65	202
Jack Bowes	12	17	4	6	156	105	261	88	65	0	Club debut (round 2) 100th match (round 24)
Tanner Bruhn	4	19	8	1	176	134	310	92	56	0	Club debut (round 1)
Jeremy Cameron	5	20	53	34	255	66	321	27	114	1
Jonathon Ceglar	15	6	0	0	34	42	76	8	21	153
Jhye Clark	13	1	0	0	4	2	6	5	0	0	AFL debut (round 9)
Ted Clohesy #	40	1	0	0	2	4	6	1	1	0	AFL debut (round 24)
Brad Close	45	21	21	6	124	153	277	56	53	0
Toby Conway	6	1	0	0	2	4	6	3	1	24	AFL debut (round 24)
Patrick Dangerfield	35	18	11	8	213	156	369	67	59	0
Sam De Koning	16	19	0	0	129	105	234	11	86	32
Oliver Dempsey ^	28	5	1	3	16	22	38	10	8	0
Mitch Duncan	22	16	5	5	224	135	359	40	110	0
Phoenix Foster	19	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cameron Guthrie	29	6	0	0	77	57	134	31	25	0
Zach Guthrie	39	23	3	2	251	120	371	59	128	0
Tom Hawkins	26	20	49	26	146	68	214	18	91	63
Jack Henry	38	11	4	0	81	37	118	15	47	6
Oliver Henry	36	22	41	20	139	86	225	35	82	0	Club debut (round 1)
Max Holmes	9	21	7	5	228	172	400	88	69	0	50th match (round 23)
Mitch Knevitt	10	8	2	3	61	34	95	19	24	0
Jake Kolodjashnij	8	19	0	3	136	82	218	29	89	0
Flynn Kroeger	25	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sam Menegola	27	1	0	1	17	10	27	3	6	0
Gryan Miers	32	23	7	13	259	179	438	67	108	0	100th match (round 18)
Oisín Mullin #	34	6	0	1	22	27	49	9	12	0	AFL debut (round 11)
Oscar Murdoch ^	19	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Shannon Neale	33	3	1	2	9	12	21	9	12	19
Mark O'Connor	42	22	3	2	186	123	309	68	96	0	100th match (round 14)
Brandan Parfitt	3	9	1	1	58	56	114	50	6	0
Esava Ratugolea	17	16	0	0	93	49	142	22	70	2
Osca Riccardi ^	21	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Gary Rohan	23	15	18	9	89	45	134	35	45	5
Sam Simpson	37	6	7	3	26	29	55	7	12	0
Isaac Smith	7	22	10	12	326	147	473	36	139	0
Rhys Stanley	1	13	0	3	78	77	155	32	30	368
Tyson Stengle	18	19	27	9	146	71	217	42	48	0
Tom Stewart	44	22	1	0	408	99	507	43	182	0	Acting captain (rounds 9–12, 15)
Zach Tuohy	2	20	6	9	248	115	363	32	71	0	150th club match (round 23)
Cooper Whyte	11	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	AFL debut (round 2)
James Willis	20	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Results

Key

H	Home game
A	Away game
N	Neutral venue game

Table of 2023 AFL season results ^[33]

Round	Date	Result	Score			Opponent	Score			Ground		Attendance	Ladder
			G	B	T		G	B	T
1	17 March	Lost	16	7	103	Collingwood	19	11	125	Melbourne Cricket Ground	H	86,595	13th
2	23 March	Lost	12	10	82	Carlton	13	12	90	Melbourne Cricket Ground	A	55,861	14th
3	2 April	Lost	7	12	54	Gold Coast	10	13	73	Heritage Bank Stadium	A	13,122	18th
4	10 April	Won	19	13	127	Hawthorn	6	9	45	Melbourne Cricket Ground	H	65,355	13th
5	16 April	Won	21	10	136	West Coast	13	11	89	Adelaide Oval	N	30,120	10th
6	22 April	Won	20	10	130	Sydney	5	7	37	GMHBA Stadium	H	23,134	9th
7	30 April	Won	20	12	132	Essendon	16	8	104	Melbourne Cricket Ground	A	67,457	7th
8	6 May	Won	14	14	98	Adelaide	11	6	76	GMHBA Stadium	H	21,415	6th
9	12 May	Lost	11	12	78	Richmond	16	6	102	Melbourne Cricket Ground	A	58,141	7th
10	20 May	Lost	11	11	77	Fremantle	16	10	106	Optus Stadium	A	45,811	7th
11	27 May	Lost	10	14	74	Greater Western Sydney	12	9	81	GMHBA Stadium	H	21,349	10th
12	3 June	Won	15	7	97	Western Bulldogs	10	15	75	Marvel Stadium	A	41,944	8th
13	Bye												9th
14	15 June	Lost	11	6	72	Port Adelaide	16	14	110	Adelaide Oval	A	36,316	10th
15	22 June	Won	11	12	78	Melbourne	8	15	63	GMHBA Stadium	H	19,617	9th
16	30 June	Draw	7	12	54	Sydney	6	18	54	Sydney Cricket Ground	A	32,098	9th
17	9 July	Won	19	11	125	North Melbourne	9	9	63	GMHBA Stadium	H	21,066	8th
18	15 July	Won	18	14	122	Essendon	7	3	45	GMHBA Stadium	H	23,185	5th
19	22 July	Lost	7	11	53	Brisbane Lions	9	10	64	The Gabba	A	32,586	8th
20	29 July	Lost	9	10	64	Fremantle	10	11	71	GMHBA Stadium	H	21,619	9th
21	5 August	Won	14	13	97	Port Adelaide	12	13	85	GMHBA Stadium	H	21,279	9th
22	11 August	Lost	15	11	101	Collingwood	16	13	109	Melbourne Cricket Ground	A	78,749	11th
23	19 August	Lost	8	7	55	St Kilda	12	16	88	Marvel Stadium	A	40,103	11th
24	26 August	Lost	11	13	79	Western Bulldogs	16	8	104	GMHBA Stadium	H	20,533	12th

Ladder

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Collingwood (P)	23	18	5	0	2142	1687	127.0	72	Finals series
2	Brisbane Lions	23	17	6	0	2180	1771	123.1	68
3	Port Adelaide	23	17	6	0	2149	1906	112.7	68
4	Melbourne	23	16	7	0	2079	1660	125.2	64
5	Carlton	23	13	9	1	1922	1697	113.3	54
6	St Kilda	23	13	10	0	1775	1647	107.8	52
7	Greater Western Sydney	23	13	10	0	2018	1885	107.1	52
8	Sydney	23	12	10	1	2050	1863	110.0	50
9	Western Bulldogs	23	12	11	0	1919	1766	108.7	48
10	Adelaide	23	11	12	0	2193	1877	116.8	44
11	Essendon	23	11	12	0	1838	2050	89.7	44
12	Geelong	23	10	12	1	2088	1855	112.6	42
13	Richmond	23	10	12	1	1856	1983	93.6	42
14	Fremantle	23	10	13	0	1835	1898	96.7	40
15	Gold Coast	23	9	14	0	1839	2006	91.7	36
16	Hawthorn	23	7	16	0	1686	2101	80.2	28
17	North Melbourne	23	3	20	0	1657	2318	71.5	12
18	West Coast	23	3	20	0	1418	2674	53.0	12

Source: afl.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for
(P) Premiers

Awards

League awards

• Tom Wills Award: Tom Hawkins (Round 7 vs Essendon) ^[34]
• AFLPA 22 Under 22 team: Sam De Koning (Defence) ^{[35] [36]}
• All-Australian: Tom Stewart ^{[37] [38]}

Club Awards

• Carji Greeves Medal: Tom Stewart (135 votes) ^{[39] [40]}
• Best Young Player Award: Ollie Henry
• Tom Harley Best Clubman: Tom Atkins
• Carter Family Community Champion Award: Tom Stewart

VFL team

Geelong Football Club

2023 VFL season
President	Craig Drummond
Coach	Mark Corrigan (1st season)
Captain(s)	Angus Byrne (1st season)
Home ground	GMHBA Stadium
VFL	8 wins, 9 losses, 1 draw (13th)
Best and Fairest	Jye Chalcraft

Season summary

Casey 2022 VFL premiers coach Mark Corrigan was appointed as coach of Geelong's VFL team in October 2022, replacing Shane O'Bree who had been promoted to the club's AFL program. ^[41] Corrigan had previously played with the club from 2011 to 2014 and was a member of the club's 2012 VFL premiership team. Angus Byrne was appointed as captain, with Tom Feely and Daniel Capiron as vice-captains. ^[42]

Jye Chalcraft would win his second successive Geelong VFL best and fairest award, polling 163 votes after appearing in all 18 matches. Vice-captain Daniel Capiron would finish in second place, with Ted Clohesy rounding out the top three placegetters. ^[43]

Results

Key

H	Home game
A	Away game

Table of season results ^[44]

Round	Date	Result	Score			Opponent	Score			Ground
			G	B	T		G	B	T
1	24 March	Won	12	13	85	Carlton	10	9	69	Princes Park	A
2	2 April	Lost	11	9	75	Gold Coast	28	14	182	Heritage Bank Stadium	A
3	10 April	Lost	7	10	52	Box Hill	16	11	107	Melbourne Cricket Ground	H
4	15 April	Won	9	6	60	Werribee	5	17	47	Avalon Airport Oval	A
5	Bye
6	30 April	Won	6	20	56	Coburg	7	6	48	Piranha Park	A
7	7 May	Lost	10	4	64	Southport	16	12	108	GMHBA Stadium	H
8	13 May	Draw	10	15	75	Richmond	11	6	75	Swinburne Centre	A
9	Bye
10	28 May	Won	10	13	73	Port Melbourne	8	12	60	GMHBA Stadium	H
11	3 June	Lost	7	8	50	Footscray	15	18	108	Avalon Airport Oval	A
12	Bye
13	16 June	Won	10	12	72	Frankston	11	4	70	GMHBA Stadium	H
14	23 June	Lost	5	10	40	Casey	11	14	80	GMHBA Stadium	H
15	30 June	Won	12	5	77	Sydney	10	6	69	SCG	A
16	9 July	Lost	9	4	58	North Melbourne	15	11	101	GMHBA Stadium	H
17	16 July	Lost	7	12	54	Essendon	9	10	64	GMHBA Stadium	H
18	22 July	Lost	12	5	77	Brisbane	17	10	112	Brighton Homes Arena	A
19	30 July	Won	19	18	132	Northern Bullants	6	6	42	GMHBA Stadium	H
20	Bye
21	12 August	Lost	8	7	55	Collingwood	20	9	129	Victoria Park	A
22	19 August	Won	14	8	92	Greater Western Sydney	11	12	78	GMHBA Stadium	H

Ladder

Further information: 2023 VFL season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts
11	Carlton (R)	18	10	8	0	1412	1326	106.5	40
12	Greater Western Sydney (R)	18	9	9	0	1454	1658	87.7	36
13	Geelong (R)	18	8	9	1	1247	1549	80.5	34
14	Southport	18	8	10	0	1494	1384	107.9	32
15	Port Melbourne	18	6	12	0	1270	1512	84.0	24

Source: AFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for
(R) = Reserves

Awards

• VFL Team of the Year: Oliver Dempsey (forward) ^[45]

Club Awards

• Best and Fairest: Jye Chalcraft (163 votes) ^[43]
• Little Vic Award (Best first year player): Mace Cousins

AFL Women's team

Geelong Football Club

2023 AFL Women's season
President	Craig Drummond
Coach	Daniel Lowther (3rd season)
Captain(s)	Meg McDonald (4th season)
Home ground	GMHBA Stadium
AFLW season	6 wins, 4 losses (6th)
Finals series	Lost Preliminary Final
Best and Fairest	Georgie Prespakis
Leading goalkicker	Chloe Scheer (20)
Highest home attendance	6,678 vs. Essendon (Elimination final)
Lowest home attendance	2,166 vs. Fremantle (Round 7)
Average home attendance	4,021
Club membership	7,190

Season summary

Meg McDonald was reappointed captain ahead of the season, as part of a five-woman leadership group. Nina Morrison was re-elected as vice-captain, with Chantel Emonson, Becky Webster and Mikayla Bowen the other members of the leadership group. ^[46]

The team would have its best season in the competition, qualifying for the final series for the second consecutive season. In the finals, Geelong would win their first AFLW finals matches, defeating Essendon and reigning premiers Melbourne to progress to a preliminary final against Brisbane. In a controversially umpired match, Brisbane would eliminate Geelong one match short of the 2023 AFL Women's Grand Final, winning by four points.

Despite their high ladder position, Geelong would only have two players shortlisted for the 2023 AFL Women's All-Australian team, with both Georgie Prespakis and Amy McDonald both surprising omissions from the final squad announcement. Both players would feature in the top 10 in the count for the 2023 AFL Women's best and fairest medal behind eventual winner Monique Conti of Richmond. McDonald finishing in a tie for second place, with Prespakis finishing tied for seventh.

Irish import Aisling Moloney would be recognised at the 2023 AFL Players Association awards, winning the best first year player award after excelling in her first year playing the sport. ^[47]

Pre season

In the club's first official action before the start of the new season, Geelong defeated Collingwood by 13 points in a four-quarter match simulation at Victoria Park on 12 August. ^[48] The Cats then played Adelaide in their only official practice match, losing a tight contest 7.8 (50) to 8.8 (56) at the Adelaide Oval. Kate Darby kicked two goals in the match, with Irish recruit Aishling Moloney impressing. ^[49]

Coaching staff

Daniel Lowther continued as head coach of the AFLW program for a third season. Former Geelong VFL Women's coach Andrew Bruce (forwards), Josh Finch (midfield), and 2023 Geelong VFL Women's coach Elise Coventry (defence) were appointed as assistant coaches. Current men's team player Gary Rohan, and former Geelong VFL player Will Sexton, joined the coaching staff as development coaches. ^[50]

Playing list

Changes

Deletions from playing list Player Reason Ref. Maddy McMahon Retired [51] Georgia Clarke Delisted [a] [52] Kalani Scoullar Delisted Maddy Keryk Traded to Port Adelaide [53] Laura Gardiner Traded to Sydney [54]

Additions to playing list Player Acquired Ref. Kate Surman Traded from Port Adelaide [53] Aishling Moloney International rookie selection from Tipperary GAA [55] Anna-Rose Kennedy International rookie selection from Tipperary GAA Erin Hoare No. 1, 2023 supplementary draft [56] [57]

• ^a Georgia Clarke was subsequently signed by Essendon during the 2023 free agency period.

Statistics

Updated to end of season

Key

#	Denotes player who was on the club's rookie list.
^	Denotes player who was on the club's inactive list.

Playing list and statistics ^{[58] [59]}

Player	No.	Games	Goals	Behinds	Kicks	Handballs	Disposals	Marks	Tackles	Hitouts	Milestone(s)
Mikayla Bowen	1	13	2	1	92	71	163	35	56	0	—
Annabel Johnson	2	1	0	0	10	1	11	3	1	0	—
Amy McDonald	3	13	5	1	133	162	295	28	94	0	—
Darcy Moloney	4	13	3	6	95	90	185	24	64	0	—
Jacqueline Parry	5	13	16	11	101	43	144	56	23	20	—
Julia Crockett-Grills	6	12	3	3	81	52	133	28	55	0	50th AFLW match (round 8)
Kate Surman	7	13	4	5	76	56	132	25	49	0	Club debut (round 1)
Kate Darby	8	12	2	2	53	23	76	28	36	137	—
Nina Morrison	9	13	6	5	150	148	298	30	67	0	—
Georgie Rankin	10	12	0	0	47	41	88	22	34	0	—
Meg McDonald	11	13	0	0	80	45	125	42	21	0	50th AFLW match (round 4) 50th club match (round 8)
Renee Garing	12	10	1	0	34	55	89	9	69	0	—
Olivia Fuller	13	2	0	0	3	6	9	2	3	21	—
Chloe Scheer	14	12	20	7	49	25	74	24	21	0	50th AFLW goal (round 10)
Shelley Scott	15	7	3	3	30	19	49	17	21	1	—
Chantel Emonson	16	13	0	0	147	44	191	31	43	0	50th AFLW match (round 7)
Anna-Rose Kennedy #	18	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	AFLW debut (preliminary final)
Brooke Plummer	19	1	0	0	7	3	10	1	1	0	—
Zali Friswell	20	12	1	1	51	77	128	19	43	0	—
Rebecca Webster	21	10	2	3	104	75	179	27	21	0	50th AFLW match (preliminary final)
Rachel Kearns	22	11	1	1	60	25	85	17	17	0	—
Samantha Gooden ^	23	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Mia Skinner	25	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Claudia Gunjaca	26	13	0	0	99	41	140	51	19	0	—
Ingrid Houtsma	31	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Gabbie Featherston	32	4	0	0	7	8	15	3	6	0	—
Abbey McDonald	39	4	0	0	16	5	21	6	8	0	AFLW debut (round 1)
Georgie Prespakis	41	13	4	7	183	132	315	17	93	0	—
Melissa Bragg	44	7	0	1	11	19	30	2	8	5	—
Aishling Moloney #	45	13	10	15	98	39	137	43	19	1	AFLW debut (round 1)
Erin Hoare	46	12	0	0	15	56	71	7	19	250	—

Results

Key

H	Home game
A	Away game
EF	Elimination final
SF	Semi-final
PF	Preliminary final

Table of season results ^[60]

Round	Date	Result	Score			Opponent	Score			Ground		Attendance	Ladder
			G	B	T		G	B	T
1	2 September	Won	10	5	65	Western Bulldogs	2	5	17	GMHBA Stadium	H	4,404	1st
2	9 September	Won	10	8	68	Sydney	5	11	41	North Sydney Oval	A	2,878	4th
3	15 September	Lost	3	4	22	North Melbourne	4	7	31	GMHBA Stadium	H	2,907	6th
4	23 September	Won	11	4	72	Port Adelaide	5	12	42	Alberton Oval	A	2,132	5th
5	28 September	Lost	4	1	25	Melbourne	11	8	74	GMHBA Stadium	H	4,312	6th
6	8 October	Lost	2	7	19	Essendon	4	5	29	Reid Oval, Warrnambool	A	2,832	8th
7	14 October	Won	6	11	47	Fremantle	3	5	23	GMHBA Stadium	H	2,166	6th
8	22 October	Lost	3	6	24	Collingwood	4	6	30	Victoria Park	A	2,527	8th
9	28 October	Won	6	13	49	Richmond	1	5	11	Ikon Park	A	2,021	7th
10	4 November	Won	9	6	20	Hawthorn	3	2	20	GMHBA Stadium	H	3,658	6th
EF	12 November	Won	7	9	51	Essendon	5	3	33	GMHBA Stadium	H	6,678	—
SF	19 November	Won	7	8	50	Melbourne	6	9	45	Ikon Park	N	5,057	—
PF	25 November	Lost	5	4	34	Brisbane	6	2	38	Brighton Homes Arena	A	4,903	—

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Adelaide	10	9	1	0	599	314	190.8	36	Finals series
2	Melbourne	10	8	2	0	653	293	222.9	32
3	North Melbourne	10	7	3	0	478	213	224.4	28
4	Brisbane (P)	10	7	3	0	505	339	149.0	28
5	Gold Coast	10	6	3	1	416	351	118.5	26
6	Geelong	10	6	4	0	449	318	141.2	24
7	Essendon	10	6	4	0	379	354	107.1	24
8	Sydney	10	6	4	0	462	432	106.9	24
9	St Kilda	10	6	4	0	408	399	102.3	24
10	Richmond	10	5	5	0	382	379	100.8	20
11	Collingwood	10	5	5	0	331	399	83.0	20
12	Carlton	10	4	6	0	361	420	86.0	16
13	Fremantle	10	4	6	0	289	402	71.9	16
14	Hawthorn	10	3	7	0	307	456	67.3	12
15	Port Adelaide	10	2	7	1	404	538	75.1	10
16	Greater Western Sydney	10	2	8	0	316	596	53.0	8
17	West Coast	10	2	8	0	269	530	50.8	8
18	Western Bulldogs	10	1	9	0	320	595	53.8	4

Source: afl.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for
(P) Premiers

Awards

League awards

• Rising Star: Zali Friswell (nominated, round 10)
• AFLPA 22under22 squad: Georgie Prespakis, Nina Morrison (midfield) ^[61]
• AFLPA Best First Year Player: Aishling Moloney

Club Awards

• Best and fairest: Georgie Prespakis (188 votes) ^{[62] [63]}
• Geelong AFLW Fan MVP: Georgie Prespakis
• The 'Hoops' Award: Renee Garing
• Community Champion: Kate Darby

VFLW team

Geelong Football Club

2023 VFL Women's season
President	Craig Drummond
Coach	Elise Coventry (1st season)
Captain(s)	Chloe Leonard (1st season)
Home ground	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct, Waurn Ponds
VFLW	7 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses (8th)
Best and Fairest	Charlotte Simpson
Leading goalkicker	Olivia Cicolini (11)

Season summary

Former Geelong player Elise Coventry was appointed as the club's VFL Women's coach in December 2022, replacing Andrew Bruce. ^[64] Coventry was joined by assistant coaches Anna Teague, Alf Della Monica and Aiden Yelland. ^[65]

Chloe Leonard was appointed captain, after serving as vice-captain in 2022. Poppy Schaap, Abby Favell, Sachi DeGiacomi, and former captain Bree Beckley were the rest of the team's leadership group. ^[66]

After losing to North Melbourne in round 1, Geelong went on a five game winning streak, including turning the tables on North Melbourne in round 6, with a last second goal to Olivia Cicolini to secure a 28–22 win. ^[67]

Analea McKee and Charlotte Simpson were both selected in an invitational Under-23 All-Stars squad for a match against the AFLW Academy at Marvel Stadium during round 12 of the season. ^[68]

The team would sit a game clear atop the competition ladder after round 9, but would endure a five-match winless streak to eventually miss the finals, finishing eighth.

Results

Key

H	Home game
A	Away game

Table of season results ^[69]

Round	Date	Result	Score			Opponent	Score			Ground
			G	B	T		G	B	T
1	25 March	Lost	3	2	20	North Melbourne	4	5	29	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct	H
2	1 April	Won	3	4	22	Carlton	2	9	21	Ikon Park	A
3	8 April	Won	12	6	78	Darebin	0	2	2	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct	H
4	16 April	Won	2	5	17	Southern Saints	1	1	7	Trevor Barker Beach Oval	A
5	22 April	Won	6	7	43	Western Bulldogs	2	3	15	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct	H
6	29 April	Won	3	10	28	North Melbourne	3	4	22	Arden Street Oval	A
7	6 May	Lost	4	3	27	Collingwood	4	6	30	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct	H
8	14 May	Won	4	9	33	Darebin	0	4	4	La Trobe University, Bundoora	A
9	20 May	Won	4	4	28	Essendon	4	2	26	NEC Hangar	A
10	27 May	Lost	3	7	25	Port Melbourne	5	2	32	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct	H
11	3 June	Lost	2	2	14	Casey	4	11	35	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct	H
12	17 June	Draw	4	3	27	Box Hill	3	9	27	Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct	H
13	25 June	Lost	0	3	3	Collingwood	5	13	43	Olympic Park Oval	A
14	1 July	Lost	5	7	37	Williamstown	8	3	51	DSV Stadium	A

Ladder

Further information: 2023 VFL Women's season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
6	Carlton	14	8	6	0	526	349	150.7	32	Finals series
7	Southern Saints	14	8	6	0	365	334	109.3	32
8	Geelong Cats	14	7	6	1	402	344	116.9	30
9	North Melbourne	14	7	7	0	410	427	96.0	28
10	Casey	14	6	8	0	505	473	106.8	24

Source: AFL.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.

Awards

• Lambert–Pearce Medal: Charlotte Simpson (14 votes) ^[45]
• Debbie Lee Medal (VFLW Rising Star): Charlotte Simpson ^[45]
• VFL Women's Team of the Year: Charlotte Simpson (midfield) ^[45]

Club Awards

• Best and Fairest: Charlotte Simpson (72 votes) ^[70]

References

1. "AFL breaks all-time club membership record". afl.com.au. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
2. "Geelong Celebrates 80,000 Members In 2023". Geelong Football Club. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
3. Wakefield, Bryn (6 September 2023). "AFL membership numbers 2023: All-time record broken for competition". Sporting News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
4. Sutton, Ben (25 February 2023). "Geelong appoint superstar Patrick Dangerfield as captain for 2023 season". 7news.com.au. Seven West Media. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
5. Kalaja, Sarah (25 February 2023). "Patrick Dangerfield appointed Captain of the Cats, Tom Stewart named Vice". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
6. "Fremantle survive against injury-obliterated West Coast, Melbourne impress against Sydney, Gold Coast stun Geelong". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023. Geelong became the first team since North Melbourne in 1976 to lose the opening three games in their premiership defence, upset 10.13 (73) to 7.12 (54) at Carrara Stadium
7. Barnes, Josh (29 May 2023). "Pluck of the Irish". The Geelong Advertiser . Geelong, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. pp. 31–32.
8. Australian Associated Press; Kimber, Howard (27 May 2023). "Giants stun Cats on the Greene, Greene grass of Geelong". afl.com.au. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
9. "Jack Sinclair-inspired St Kilda ends Geelong's premiership defence". espn.com.au. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
10. Atkinson, Cody; Lawson, Sean (24 August 2023). "Geelong's gap year — how the Cats' AFL premiership defence unravelled in 2023". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
11. "Cameron Leads Cats in Brownlow Medal Count". Geelong Football Club. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
12. Daniel, Troy (23 February 2023). "Match Sim: Key Takeaways". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
13. Zita, David (23 February 2023). "Cats recruit fires, potential Hawkins fill-in hurt as Hawks struggle with 'basics' — 3-2-1". foxsports.com.au. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
14. "Cats confirm new deal for Scott, 202cm teenager to debut" . Retrieved 26 August 2022.
15. Schmidtke, Connor (21 June 2023). "Scott Reaches 300 Games as Geelong Coach". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
16. Hope, Shayne (22 June 2023). "Geelong keep season alive with stunning last-quarter blitz to sink Melbourne". 7news.com.au. Seven West Media. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
17. "Chris Scott to Celebrate Historic Milestone on Saturday". Geelong Football Club. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
18. Caffrey, Oliver (28 July 2023). "Guthrie praises record-breaking Cats coach Chris Scott". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
19. "Three-way deal lands Henry, Mitchell and Stephens at new clubs". AFL.com.au. Telstra. 12 October 2022. Tom Mitchell will be a Collingwood player in 2023, Ollie Henry will join brother Jack at Geelong and Cooper Stephens has joined the Hawks from the Cats
20. "Francis Evans heads to Port Adelaide". 3 November 2022. Delisted free agent forward Francis Evans has joined Port Adelaide.
21. "Higgins Calls It a Day". Geelong. 20 September 2022. Shaun Higgins has announced his retirement after 260 games across three clubs
22. "From Strathdale to Immortality: Selwood Calls Time". Geelong. 28 September 2022. Joel Selwood has announced his retirement from football
23. "Dahlhaus Hangs Up The Boots". Geelong. 29 September 2022. Luke Dahlhaus has called time on his career after 225 games across two clubs
24. "Five Cats Depart GMHBA Stadium". 27 September 2022.
25. "Tanner the Cat: First-round pick gets trade wish to join Geelong". AFL.com.au. Telstra. 7 October 2022. Tanner Bruhn has finally made his way to Geelong, where he grew up and played as a junior
26. "Sun for a steal: Cats pick up mid, No.7 pick in high-priced deal". AFL.com.au. Telstra. 11 October 2022. Jack Bowes has officially made his way to Geelong
27. "Mullin To Join The Cats For 2023". GeelongCats.com.au. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
28. "Hardie lands at the Cats". Geelong Football Club. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
29. Lamacraft, Tim (1 June 2023). "Cats use draft to plug midfield". Bay 93.9. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
30. Milbank, Zac (31 May 2023). "Two SANFL players selected in 2023 AFL Mid-Season Draft". sanfl.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
31. "2023 Stats – Player Lists – Geelong". AFL Tables. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
32. "2023 Player Stats (Geelong)". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
33. "2023 Season Scores and Results". AFL Tables. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
34. Gabelich, Josh (30 April 2023). "MATCH REPORT Hawkins boots career-high eight goals as Cats maul Bombers". afl.com.au. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
35. Di Piertro, Kav (23 August 2023). "2022 22UNDER22 – BY THE NUMBERS". aflplayers.com.au. AFL Players Association . Retrieved 24 August 2023.
36. "De Koning Named in AFLPA 22under22 Team". Geelong Football Club. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
37. Schmook, Nathan (30 August 2023). "All-Australian team: Toby captain, 12 new faces named". Australian Football League . Retrieved 30 August 2023.
38. "Zak Butters, Marcus Bontempelli honoured with major AFL awards as Greene makes history". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
39. "Stewart Claims His Second Carji Greeves Medal". Geelong Football Club. 5 October 2023. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
40. King, Tom (5 October 2023). "Stewart claims second Carji". Krock Football. Geelong Broadcasters Pty Limited. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
41. Kalaja, Sarah (13 October 2022). "Corrigan appointed VFL Senior Coach". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
42. @geelongvfl (10 March 2023). "Captain Byrne reporting for duty Angus Byrne will lead the VFL Cats in 2023, with Tom Feely and Daniel Capiron to be vice-captains" – via Instagram.
43. "Chalcraft Goes Back to Back with Second VFL Best and Fairest Win". Geelong Football Club. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
44. "2023 Season Scores and Results" . Retrieved 20 March 2023.
45. "2023 VFL and VFLW Awards: Lyons wins Liston; three-way tie for Lambert-Pearce". afl.com.au. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
46. Lucarelli, Patrick (11 August 2023). "McDonald to lead the Cats in 2023". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
47. "AFLW players join coaches in honouring North's Garner". espn.com.au. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
48. Schmidtke, Connor (12 August 2023). "AFLW Match Sim Report - Cats Return to Action". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
49. Schmidtke, Connor (19 August 2023). "AFLW Practice Match Report Cats Impressive in Final Tune Up Against Adelaide". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
50. "Cats Announce 2023 AFLW Coaching Group". Geelong Football Club. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
51. Giese, Susie (17 March 2023). "Maddy McMahon to Retire from AFLW". Geelong . Telstra.
52. Giese, Susie (17 March 2023). "Cats Make Two Changes to AFLW List". Geelong . Telstra. Geelong has informed Georgia Clarke and Kalani Scoullar they will not be offered contracts for Season 8
53. Giese, Susie (16 March 2023). "Cats welcome Surman to GMHBA Stadium". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
54. Giese, Susie (20 March 2023). "Cats Receive Pick 1 in Gardiner Trade". Geelong . Telstra.
55. "Cats Sign Irish Duo". Geelong . Telstra. 28 March 2023.
56. Vinall, Marnie (4 April 2023). "Cats select Hoare as No.1 pick in AFLW supplementary draft". theage.com.au. Nine Media. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
57. Black, Sarah (4 April 2023). "The coffee catch-up that brought a high-achieving Cat back to Geelong". womens.afl. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
58. "Australian Football - Geelong WFC Stats (2023)". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
59. "Geelong AFLW". AFLWStats. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
60. "2023 Season Scores and Results". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
61. Schmidtke, Connor (22 November 2023). "Prespakis and Morrison Recognised for Brilliant Form in 2023". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
62. King, Tom (9 December 2023). "Georgie goes one better". Krock Football. Geelong Broadcasters Pty Limited. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
63. "LATEST NEWS Prespakis Crowned Geelong AFLW Best and Fairest". Geelong Football Club. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
64. Giese, Susie (5 December 2022). "Coventry Excited by VFLW Challenge". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
65. Giese, Susie (23 February 2023). "Teague Joins VFLW Coaching Ranks". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
66. Giese, Susie (22 March 2023). "New Leader for VFLW Cats". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
67. Macquire, Luke (30 April 2023). "VFLW R6 match report: Heartbreak on siren in thriller". nmfc.com.au. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
68. Black, Sarah (9 June 2023). "Young guns to get chance to shine in AFLW Academy v All-Stars clash". womens.afl. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
69. "2023 Season Scores and Results" . Retrieved 20 March 2023.
70. Giese, Susie (22 July 2023). "Simpson Crowned Cats' VFLW Best and Fairest". Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 23 July 2023.

External links

• Official website of the Geelong Football Club