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.[6] 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.[7][8][9] Geelong won a further three premierships in 2009, 2011 and 2022.
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".
The history of the Geelong Football Club, begun in 1859 in the city of Geelong, Australia, is significant as the club is the second oldest AFL club, 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.[5] 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.,[6] 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 most successful club over that period (sharing that title with Hawthorn). They have also won ten McClelland Trophies, the most of any AFL/VFL club.[5][10]
Many of the club's official records before 1920 have disappeared.[11]
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.[12]
The team has worn various away guernseys since 1998, all featuring the club's logo and traditional colours.[13]
Moniker
Geelong has been nicknamed the 'Cats' since 1923. A run of losses prompted a local cartoonist to suggest that the club needed a black cat to bring it good luck.
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.[14]
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, Deakin University's Elite Sport 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.[15]
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.[16]
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.[17]
Corporate
Sponsorship
At 98 years as of 2023, Geelong's sponsorship with the Ford Motor Company is the longest active sports sponsorship of any sports team in the world, with continuous sponsorship dating back to 1925, a record recognised by Guinness.[18][19]
Geelong's supporters came out in force in the 2009 Grand Final against St KildaWell-known supporter Troy West, nicknamed "Catman"Geelong players prepare to break a banner, which is created by its supporters, before a match against Greater Western Sydney in June 2013.
Table of club membership, with home attendance figures (since 1984)
Geelong footballer Edward "Carji" Greeves, winner of the inaugural Brownlow Medal in 1924, and namesake of the Carji Greeves Medal, awarded to Geelong's best and fairest player of the season
The Geelong reserves team began competing in the VFL Reserves competition with the league's other reserves teams from 1919. From 1919 to 1991 the VFL/AFL operated a reserves competition, and from 1992 to 1999 a de facto AFL reserves competition was run by the Victorian State Football League. The Geelong Football Club fielded a reserves team in both of these competitions, allowing players who were not selected for the senior team to play for Geelong in the lower grade. During that time, the Geelong reserves team won thirteen premierships (1923, 1924, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982), the most of any club.
Since the demise of the AFL reserves competition, the Geelong reserves team has competed in the new Victorian Football League, having won three premierships in that time. 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.
Premierships (3): 2002, 2007, 2012
Runners-ups (2): 2006, 2013
Minor premierships (2): 2002, 2013
Wooden spoons (1): 2005
AFL Women's team
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.[42] In September 2017, the club was announced as one of two clubs, along with North Melbourne, to receive a license to join the competition in 2019.[43] The club has also had a team in the second-tier VFL Women's league since 2017.
↑ Used for most of the club's home matches in the AFL all home matches in other competitions.
↑ The stadium is currently undergoing construction, which has reduced the stadium's capacity to around 26,000.[2][3] The stadium will have a capacity of 40,000 once construction is complete.[4]
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club was formed in 1892 in the suburb of Collingwood and played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) before joining seven other teams in 1896 to found the breakaway Victorian Football League, today known as the AFL. Originally based at Victoria Park, Collingwood now plays home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and has its training and administrative headquarters at Olympic Park Oval and the AIA Centre.
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent and only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season in 1897. It changed its name to Australian Football League in 1990 after expanding its competition to other Australian states in the 1980s. The AFL publishes its Laws of Australian football, which are used, with variations, by other Australian football organisations.
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.
VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL), and has since evolved into what is also the second primary competition for AFL Women's (AFLW) clubs in Victoria. The competition has been held concurrently with the AFLW since 2021.
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.
Nina Morrison is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A midfielder who won multiple accolades at junior level and played in the VFL Women's (VFLW) as a teenager, Morrison was the first selection in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. She received a nomination for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award in round 1 of the 2019 season, her debut match.
Olivia Purcell is an Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Julia Crockett-Grills is an Australian rules footballer with the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Maighan Fogas is an Australian rules footballer who played with the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Rebecca Webster is an Australian rules footballer with the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Georgia Gourlay is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).
Jayde Van Dyk is an Australian rules footballer playing for St Kilda in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A defender who played with Hawthorn in the VFL Women's (VFLW), she was drafted by Carlton with the twenty-first selection in the 2018 AFLW draft. Van Dyk debuted in the opening round of the 2019 season and played in the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final.
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.
Tyla Hanks is an Australian rules footballer playing for Melbourne in the AFL Women's (AFLW). An inside midfielder, she played junior football in the TAC Cup Girls and VFL Women's, and competed at four AFL Women's Under 18 Championships. Hanks was recruited by Melbourne with pick 6 in the 2018 AFLW draft and debuted in the opening round of the 2019 season.
The 2019 season was Geelong Football Club's first in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. Geelong joined the league as an expansion club alongside North Melbourne, having initially been denied entry into the competition's first season in 2017. Paul Hood was the club's inaugural senior coach, and Melissa Hickey was appointed club captain.
The 2018 VFL Women's season was the third season of the VFL Women's (VFLW). The season commenced on 5 May and concluded with the Grand Final on 23 September 2018. The competition was contested by thirteen clubs.
The 2022 VFL Women's season was the sixth season of the VFL Women's (VFLW). The season commenced on 12 February and concluded with the grand final on 3 July. Essendon went through the season undefeated and won its first VFLW premiership, defeating the Southern Saints by 35 points in the grand final; this resulted in the first completed VFLW season since 2019 after COVID-19 disruptions affected the previous two seasons.
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 the 2022 AFL Women's season and AFL Women's season seven, and a men's and women's reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW) respectively.
The 2023 Collingwood Football Club season is the club's 127th season of senior competition in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club also fielded its reserves team in the Victorian Football League and women's teams in the AFL Women's and VFL Women's competitions. Prior to the season, Scott Pendlebury stepped down as captain after nine years as skipper.
The 2023 Geelong Football Club season is the club's 159th season playing Australian rules football, with the club competing in their 124th season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong will also field a women's team in the 2023 AFL Women's season, and a men's and women's reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW) respectively.
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