The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Geelong Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
The Western Bulldogs is a professional Australian rules football club based in the inner-west Melbourne suburb of Footscray, Victoria.The club was founded in 1877 and has competed in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 1925.
Leigh Raymond Matthews is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions.
Mark "Bomber" Thompson is a retired Australian rules footballer and former senior coach. He played 202 games for the Essendon Football Club from 1983 to 1996, captaining the side from 1992 until 1995. After retiring, he was an assistant coach at Essendon and then at North Melbourne before becoming the senior coach of the Geelong Football Club from 2000 to 2010 and coaching them to two premierships. In November 2010, Thompson returned to Essendon as a senior assistant coach and was then appointed the senior coach for the 2014 season. He left the club at the end of 2014. On 2 May 2018, he was charged with seven counts of drug trafficking and possession. He was released on $20,000 bail to appear in court at a later date. He was later cleared of trafficking but convicted of possession.
John Kennedy Sr. was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and coached Hawthorn and the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He coached Hawthorn to premierships in 1961, 1971 and 1976.
Michael Tuck is a seven-time premiership-winning player, Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) / Australian Football League (AFL), where he was the games record holder until 30 July 2016 when Brent Harvey played his 427th game for North Melbourne Football Club.
Rodney Eade is a former Australian rules footballer and coach in the Australian Football League. He is a former coach of the Sydney Swans, the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Football Club. He has, to date, coached 377 games of AFL football, placing him first on the all-time AFL/VFL list of most games coached without a premiership.
Rivalries in the Australian Football League exist between many teams, most of which typically draw large crowds and interest regardless of both teams' positions on the ladder. The AFL encourages the building of such rivalries, as a method of increasing publicity for the league, to the point of designating one round each year as Rivalry Round where many of these match-ups are held on the one weekend. Whilst some rivalries, such as between teams from adjacent areas, are still strong, the designation of an entire round of fixtures as Rivalry Round is often criticised due to some arbitrary match-ups, or ignoring stronger, more recent rivalries.
The 1972 Victorian Football League season was the 76th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.
The 1973 Victorian Football League season was the 77th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.
Tim McGrath is a former Australian rules footballer for the North Melbourne Football Club from 1989 to 1991, and the Geelong Football Club from 1992 to 2002, in the Australian Football League (AFL), which was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) when McGrath made his debut for North Melbourne in 1989.
Bruce Norman Lindner is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the nephew of legendary North Adelaide footballer Don Lindner.
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawthorn, making it the youngest Victorian-based team in the AFL.
The 1989 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Geelong Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1989. It was the 93rd annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1989 VFL season. The match, attended by 94,796 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 6 points, marking that club's eighth premiership victory. It is regarded as one of the greatest grand finals of all time.
The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2008. It was the 112th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the Premiers for the 2008 AFL season. The match, attended by 100,012 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 26 points, marking that club's tenth premiership overall and first since 1991. Hawthorn's Luke Hodge was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground.
The 1976 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 25 September 1976. It was the 80th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1976 VFL season. The match, attended by 110,143 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 30 points, marking that club's third premiership victory.
Rod Lester-Smith is a former Australian Rules Footballer who played with East Fremantle in the West Australian Football League, as well as Hawthorn and the Brisbane Bears in the VFL/AFL. He was also a member of the 1985 All-Australian team.
The 1985 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1985. It was the 89th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1985 VFL season. The match, attended by 100,042 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 78 points, marking that club's 14th premiership victory.
Garry Hamer is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in the city of Geelong, Australia and playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). The Cats have been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with three in the AFL era. They have also won nine McClelland Trophies, the most of any AFL/VFL club.
