Geelong Football Club

Geelong Football Club
File:Geelong2008Logo.jpg
Names
Full name	Geelong Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Cats
Leading goalkicker	Cameron Mooney
Best and fairest	Gary Ablett Jnr
Club details
Founded	1859
Competition	Australian Football League
Chairman	Frank Costa
Coach	Mark 'Bomber' Thompson
Captain(s)	Tom Harley
Ground(s)	Skilled Stadium (capacity: 28,000)
Other information
Official website	www.gfc.com.au

Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian professional Australian rules football club based in the city of Geelong, Victoria at Kardinia Park, known by its sponsored name "Skilled Stadium". Playing in the Australian Football League (AFL), they are one of the most successful clubs in Australian football, having won seven VFL/AFL Premierships, twenty-five reserves/VFA/VFL Premierships, and eight McClelland Trophies.

Formed in 1859, it is the second oldest club in the AFL after Melbourne, and one of the oldest football clubs in the world. The club's traditional guernsey colours are navy blue and white hooped shirts, navy shorts, and navy and white hooped socks.

Between its sixth premiership in 1963 and its seventh in 2007, Geelong gained a reputation for being under-achievers. Geelong played in five grand finals (Grand Final appearances 1967, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995) losing all of them. Geelong won the 2007 AFL Grand Final by a record margin of 119 points. Geelong Football Club President Frank Costa led a Board that administered Geelong's rebirth as a financially sound, efficiently administered football power.

The club's VFL team is a stand-alone entity also known as the "Geelong Cats". The team wears a uniform identical to the AFL team, and also plays home games at Skilled Stadium. The team won the VFL premiership in 2002, finished runners-up in 2006, and were victorious again in 2007.

History

Club beginnings

Geelong Football Club was established at a meeting held in the Victoria Hotel on 18th July, 1859. Geelong Football Club is the third oldest Australian Rules football club (after the Melbourne Football Club and the Castlemaine Football Club). The club is one of the oldest football clubs in the world.

Geelong played most of its early home games at the Argyle Square, situated between Aberdeen Street and Pakington Street. However, in 1878 the club was evicted from the ground by the private owner who ploughed up the paddock because the club had neglected to pay its rent. Geelong then moved to Corio Oval for the 1878 season - the year the club won its first VFA premiership in only the second VFA season.

Geelong moved to Kardinia Park (now Skilled Stadium) at the end of the 1940 season. For many years they were known as the Pivotonians, after the city's nickname 'The Pivot'. Seagulls was also an earlier nickname, with the dark blue and white striped uniform still worn today representing the blue water of Corio Bay and the white seagulls so numerous in the Bay. They were nicknamed the 'Cats' 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. When one ran onto the ground in a match and Geelong won that match, breaking the losing streak, they decided that cats were indeed good luck.

A boys football team from Geelong, c. 1860-1900.

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Club attire in 1895 (Jim McShane pictured).

The Geelong Football Club was among the most powerful teams in the VFA (Victorian Football Association), winning many VFA premierships up to the birth of the VFL (Victorian Football League) in 1897. Geelong helped form the new league with other clubs, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Melbourne and South Melbourne. Carlton and St Kilda were later additions, but still joined the VFL in 1897. Geelong was originally based at Corio Oval and originally flew the Geelong banner under the nicknames of the Seagulls, or the Pivotonians.

VFL

Despite dominating in the VFA, Geelong found the premiership harder to win in the VFL. In 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL, no grand final was played, but instead a round-robin finals system. Essendon won all three of its games, while Geelong lost to Essendon during this series. As a result, Geelong finished second in the inaugural season, a good start to the new league.

1920s

Geelong finally won its first VFL premiership in 1925.

The VFL/AFL's award for the fairest and best player in a season is named after Charles Brownlow, a Geelong and VFL administrator who died in early 1924. Fittingly, in 1924, the first player to win the award was Geelong's champion, Edward Greeves. Greeves attained a second and third place in votes for the award in later seasons, emphasizing his skill and sportsmanship.

1930s

Geelong followed up on its 1925 premiership with wins in 1931 and 1937. The 1937 Grand Final is widely regarded as a game of fantastic quality, with wonderful kicking and high marking being notable highlights.

1940s

In 1941, the club moved to the more centrally located Kardinia Park (Stadium) in South Geelong. Geelong experienced a lean period in the 1940s. World War II wartime restrictions on travel prohibited Geelong from participating in the VFL competion in 1942 and 1943. However, at war's end the club recruited many players who represented the club during its most successful era in the early 1950s.

1950s

In the 1950s, Geelong flourished. Led by Geelong's greatest coach (officially named at Geelong's team of the century 2000) Reg Hickey, Geelong won the premiership flags of 1951 and 1952.

The 1951 premiership was won under memorable circumstances. Essendon was favoured to win the third of a hat-trick of premierships. However, in the preliminary final the previous week, Essendon's champion full forward, John Coleman retaliated against Carlton full back, Harry Caspar and was cited by the umpire, reported and later suspended. He therefore was unable to play in the grand final.[1] Bob Davis acknowledges the possibility that had Coleman played, Essendon may well have won, given that Geelong had no true match for him, as Coleman was simply too skilled.

Regardless, Geelong buried a toy bomber in the Kardinia Park turf to celebrate their victory. This ceremony was inspired by the rumour that Geelong's premiership players of 1937 had buried a magpie in the middle of the ground after their premiership win over Collingwood that year. Players of note in this golden era include Bob Davis, Leo Turner (father of future star, Michael Turner), Peter Pianto, Fred Flanagan, and Bernie Smith. Bernie Smith's quality was recognised with his win in the 1951 Brownlow Medal. In 1952, Geelong easily defeated Lou Richards' Collingwood team. To celebrate the win, the next day the players buried another dead magpie in the middle of Kardinia Park. In 1953, Collingwood defeated Geelong in the Grand Final.

In 1956, Geelong recruited Billy Goggin, Geelong's greatest rover, who also coached Geelong in the 1980s.

At the end of 1959, Reg Hickey decided to retire as coach, making way for Bob Davis, a star in the 51-52 premierships.

1960s

Geelong's most notable recruitment coup ever was the transfer of perhaps the greatest ruckman of all time, Graham "Polly" Farmer from East Perth. At Geelong's first practice match, a crowd of 20,000 attended just to witness his legendary skills.

In 1962, another of Geelong's star players, Alistair Lord won the Brownlow Medal playing in the centre. His twin, Stewart Lord also played with the club, both playing significant roles in the club's premiership win. High expectations of success were somewhat disapointed in 1962. Graham Farmer injured his knee three times during the season, causing him to miss crucial games. However, as Farmer's and Goggin's partnership developed from 1963 onwards, their teamwork at ruck duels inspired admiration and envy. These two players spearheaded the club's next premiership in 1963.

In 1963, Geelong played Hawthorn 4 times. Early in the season the clubs played a draw. However, in the final round of the season, the semi finals and the grand final (the only instance of two teams playing three matches in a row against each other), Geelong defeated John Kennedy's Hawthorn Hawks. Captained by Fred Wooller, Geelong clearly distinguished itself as the team of 1963 with an easy 49 point win.

Unfortunately, this would be the last time that Geelong enjoyed premiership success until 2007.

At the beginning of 1964, Geelong recruited John "Sammy" Newman as a ruckman from Geelong Grammar School. In an interview with Lou Richards on Channel 7's World of Sport, Bob Davis predicted that Newman would enjoy a stellar career. Sam Newman played more than 300 games for Geelong and went on to become a prominent media personality.

Geelong played in finals in every year between 1962 and 1969. Graham Farmer succeeded Fred Wooller as captain in 1965, leading the club until the end of 1967. In 1966, the Geelong Board decided to declare the coaching position open. Applications were sought but Bob Davis declined to reapply. The Board chose Peter Pianto as Davis' replacement. Pianto coached Geelong to the 1967 Grand Final. Geelong narrowly lost this match by nine points to Richmond. Graham Farmer played his 101st and final match for Geelong on this day.

1970s

The 1970s provided no major joy for the club as the club tried and disposed of many coaches such as Graham Farmer and Rod Olsen. 1976 saw the emergence of full forward, Larry Donahue, who kicked over 100 goals to lead the goal kicking in the VFL that year. 1978 yielded a similar result for Donahue, kicking 95 goals. Footscray's Kelvin Templeton would win the Coleman Medal that year however with his 116 goals. Geelong finished 5th at the end of the home and away season, only to lose to Carlton in the first week of the finals.

1980s

During the 1980s Geelong recruited well but underperformed on the field. Under Billy Goggin, Geelong finished on top of the ladder at the home and away season. Geelong defeated Richmond once during the season but could not do it again in the first week of the finals. Geelong played Collingwood in the Preliminary Final for the right to play Richmond in the Grand Final, however lost the match.

In 1981 Geelong's finals campaign inflicted more heartbreak. Geelong beat Collingwood in the Qualifying final but lost to Carlton in the Second Semi-Final. Geelong were beaten by Collingwood by the narrow margin of seven points when they clashed again in the preliminary final.

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Geelong 1980s shield logo

In 1982 the club collapsed on-field, missing the finals. Billy Goggin was sacked. Richmond premiership coach, Tom Hafey took over in 1983. However, the club did not improve and under Hafey, Geelong failed to play in the finals during Hafey's tenure. One bright moment during the Hafey years was the recruitment of former Hawthorn player, Gary Ablett from Myrtleford for the 1984 season. In his first season, Ablett won his only best and fairest for the club, an early indication of Ablett's football genius.

The most notable incident for the club in 1985 was when Hawthorn legend Leigh Matthews swung his arm at ruck-rover Neville Bruns' jaw and broke it. The incident received huge media coverage. Matthews was charged by police. While the law courts did not punish Matthews, the VFL suspended his playing permit for one month. The club also recruited future champion midfielder and dual Brownlow Medallist, Greg Williams and another Brownlow Medallist and future three-time club champion, Paul Couch. Due to a lack of on-field improvement during his tenure as coach, Tom Hafey was sacked at the end of the 1985 season. Hafey was soon afterwards appointed coach of the Sydney Swans. Three players followed him to Sydney: David Bolton, Bernard Toohey, and Greg Williams.

In 1986 John Devine, a member of the 1963 premiership team was appointed as coach. Under Devine, the club recruited magnificently, signing future club legends Barry Stoneham, Garry Hocking, Mark Bairstow and Billy Brownless. However, the club missed the finals during Devine's tenure. In 1986, as a sign of things to come, Paul Couch won the first of his three club best-and-fairest awards.

In 1987 and 1988, veteran defender Mark Bos won the club champion award, with Geelong narrowly missing the finals in 1987, and then finishing tenth in 1988 after a disappointing second half the of the season.

In the pre-season of 1988, in a foretaste of approaching frustrations, Geelong contested Hawthorn for the pre-season cup, the National-Panasonic Cup. Geelong lost by two points despite being in control for much of the match.

In 1989 Geelong signed North Melbourne champion Malcolm Blight to coach the club. Malcolm's signing immediately bolstered the club. The club started well, making the National-Panasonic pre-season Grand Final once again, this time against Melbourne. The Cats lost once again.

Geelong kicked mammoth scores and during the 1989 season. It is the first and only club so far to win by 100 points for three weeks in a row, defeating lowly clubs Richmond, St Kilda and the Brisbane Bears. Gavin Exell had a productive season, kicking 61 goals during the home-and-away season, narrowly pipping team-mate Gary Ablett, who kicked 60.

Ablett's notable goalkicking feats of the year included a bag of 14 goals against Richmond, 10 against Brisbane and 7 against Collingwood (where he amassed 38 possessions on the wing in the wet). In this match against Collingwood, Gary Ablett also kicked the goal of the year.

However, the Gary Ablett show had not even started yet. Geelong finished third at the completion of the home-and-away season and met Essendon in the Qualifying Final in the first week. Geelong's lack of finals experience was telling as Essendon ended a 3-year losing streak to Geelong, thrashing them by 76 points. Gary Ablett and Shane Hamilton each kicked 3 goals each in this match.

Geelong then met Melbourne in the semifinals. The previous week, Essendon had assigned "taggers" to Geelong's star midfielders, Paul Couch and Mark Bairstow to great effect, nullifying both. Melbourne coach John Northey predictably did the same. However, his move was so predictable that Malcolm Blight benched both Couch and Bairstow for the first quarter, completely throwing Melbourne's plans into disarray. The result saw Geelong easily beat Melbourne by over 10 goals. Gary Ablett kicked 7 goals in an awesome display, as well as taking one of the marks of the year over Melbourne's Steven Febey.

The preliminary final in the 3rd week saw a rematch between Geelong and Essendon at VFL Park. And early on, it appeared that Essendon would repeat their win of two weeks prior. However, Geelong soon got back on track and began to kick goals at will. Gary Ablett continued his awesome form, kicking 8 goals and constructing many more. The result saw Geelong cause a 170 point turnaround from a fortnight ago, to comprehensively defeat Essendon by a mammoth 94 points, to march into the club's first Grand Final since 1967.

The Grand Final proved to be an epic battle. At the opening bounce, Mark Yeates, retaliating to an incident incurred by Dermott Brereton in round 6, bumped off Brereton to protect Paul Couch from any possible harm, breaking Brereton's ribs. During this period, Ablett had managed to mark and kick the opening goal of the match. Brereton was ordered off the ground, but refused and instead rested in the pocket. Brereton took a mark shortly after and goaled, leading Hawthorn to a 40 point quarter time break.

The second and third quarters were won by Geelong by 2 and 1 point respectively. The final quarter proved frantic, as Geelong managed to get within 6 points of the tiring and wounded Hawks, before the siren sounded. Gary Ablett was awarded the Norm Smith Medal (for a best on ground performance - only the 2nd player to that stage to win the medal in a losing team at that point in time (Collingwood's Nathan Buckley won in 2003, and West Coast's Chris Judd won in 2005) in this match for his outstanding performance in kicking 9 goals 1 behind to equal Collingwood's Gordon Coventry’s goalkicking record in a grand final. His 2nd quarter goal and 3rd quarter marks were two of his notable highlights of his day.

To cap a remarkable season, Paul Couch won the Brownlow Medal by 2 votes from Hawthorn's John Platten. The club looked forward to a bright season in 1990.

1990s

The club opened the 1990 season with a nightmare in Round One, thrashed by Hawthorn with full-forward Jason Dunstall kicking 12 goals, setting a record for the most goals scored by an individual in the first round of the season. The rest of the season proved fruitless as Geelong missed the finals, finishing a miserable tenth. Barry Stoneham would win the best and fairest.

1991 was a mixed year. On the eve of the season, Gary Ablett retired for personal reasons. The club however marched on and posted large victories early on. Ablett returned mid-season to the club. The club would finish third at the end of the home and away season and meet 4th placed St Kilda in the first week of the finals. The match would prove to be one of high quality with Tony Lockett kicking nine goals to three-quarter time. However, Barry Stoneham was moved onto Lockett and held him goalless for the final quarter. With this, along with eight goals from Billy Brownless, the Cats managed to win by seven points and advance to the second week of the finals. Ablett would be suspended for elbowing St Kilda's Nathan Burke, and would consequently miss the rest of the season due to suspension. Over the next 2 weeks, Geelong met Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles, both losses for the club. Consistent with the close finish of 1989, Hawthorn stole the match to win by two points. The loss against the Eagles was by a little more; by nonetheless, convincing to suggest the club had tried, but narrowly fallen short. Garry Hocking would win his first best-and-fairest award.

In 1992 Geelong returned to the spectacular form of three seasons ago. The club would kick a VFL/AFL record score of 37 goals 17 behinds (239 points) against the hapless Brisbane Bears at Carrara. This record score still stands today and looks unlikely to be surpassed as quarter lengths have been shortened to 20 minutes (plus time-on) from their original length of 25 minutes. Gary Ablett snr. and Billy Brownless would both kick more than 70 goals for the season to form a potent forward-line combination. Geelong finished the regular season on top of the ladder, eclipsing their previous record for total points scored in a home-and-away season (2916 in 1989) and becoming the first team to score over 3000 points in a home-and-away season. The first week of the finals saw Geelong play the second-placed Footscray Bulldogs at the MCG. Although the Bulldogs were very competitive in the first half, and even led at halftime 14.4 (88) to 11.6 (72), the superior skills and fitness of the Cats saw them run away with the second half, resulting in a 61-point win 26.16 (172) to 17.9 (111). Brownless kicked nine goals for Geelong, while at the other end, Danny Del-Re kicked eight goals for Footscray. The second week saw Geelong play their nemesis-to-be, West Coast at the MCG. Peter Matera led the Eagles to an easy win, giving them a spot in the Grand Final. Geelong would meet Footscray again at the MCG for a spot in the Grand Final. The club was able to win by a bigger margin than two weeks prior, and would meet the Eagles in the Grand Final. The Cats got off to a wonderful start, at one stage leading by five goals during the second quarter. However, in the second half West Coast's Peter Matera ran riot, booting five goals and earning himself the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground as the Perth based West Coast won by 28 points to take the first premiership won by an interstate club. Ken Hinkley, a Fitzroy reject, would win the best-and-fairest award after a fantastic season.

In 1993 the club once again struggled as Malcolm Blight experimented with more defensive tactics. For most of the season the on-field performances would remain inconsistent as the players struggled to adapt, and it was not until late in the season when Geelong reverted to its all-out attacking style of play after several of the experienced players spoke with Blight, that Geelong began to play like champions again, defeating North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos), Hawthorn, Essendon and West Coast in Perth, only to narrowly miss the finals on percentage. Had Collingwood beaten the Adelaide Crows the following day, the Cats would have made it. In 1993 Blight decided to play Gary Ablett at full-forward permanently. The move paid handsome dividends, as Ablett kicked the second fastest century of goals ever, and by the end of the season had 124 goals to his name, winning his first John Coleman Medal for being the leading goalkicker in the league during the Home and Away Season. However, Adelaide's Tony Modra would officially hold the mantle for leading goalkicker of the season, adding 10 goals in the finals to his Home and Away tally of 119, totally 129 goals for the season. Ablett's most notable performances of this year included 7 goals against Collingwood, 11 against Melbourne, 14 against Essendon and 10 against the Adelaide Crows - all in losing sides. Tallies of 8 goals against North Melbourne, 10 against Brisbane and 12 against his favourite club, Richmond, in winning sides were also major reasons for Ablett’s dominance on the goal front. Despite Ablett's stellar season, Garry Hocking would win the best-and-fairest award. He would also poll strongly in the Brownlow medal. However, was ineligible to win due to his suspension earlier in the year.

1994 proved to be a hard year for the club. The club would have a good home-and-away season to finish fourth. Gary Ablett would top the goalkicking for the year easily, kicking 129 goals (including the finals) and winning his second consecutive John Coleman Medal. The club would meet 5th placed Footscray in the first week of the finals. The match proved a nailbiter, with an after-the-siren kick and goal by Billy Brownless giving the club a five-point win. A week later Geelong had no hope of beating Carlton, who had finished 2nd after the home and away season, given that their 3 best midfielders; Garry Hocking, Paul Couch and Mark Bairstow were not playing through injury. However, with several young players and second-tier midfielders, along with 6 goals from Gary Ablett, Geelong would defeat Carlton by 33 points in a match that the club should never have been competitive. Geelong would meet North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final in a match which proved even more nailbiting than their match with Footscray 2 weeks prior. North Melbourne would start well, but Geelong would dominate the 2nd and 3rd quarters to lead by 6 goals in the 3rd quarter. A fine feat given that Geelong's target all season, Gary Ablett was being beaten by North Melbourne's full back, Michael Martyn. However, North Melbourne came back strongly in the last quarter and took the lead late in the match. However, Geelong scored a behind to level the scores. With 25 seconds left and a boundary throw-in, the ball came to ground and Michael Martyn cleared, only for the ball to be marked by Leigh Colbert. Colbert then kicked long, where ruckman John Barnes dropped the mark, allowing Leigh Tudor, a former North Melbourne player to swoop, and kick the ball over Martyn's head to land in the hand of Gary Ablett. As Ablett walked back to take his kick, the siren went, and Ablett kicked the winning goal, propelling Geelong to its 3rd Grand Final in 7 years. Geelong would once again play West Coast for the premiership. Unlike 2 seasons ago, Geelong would prove no match against an Eagles outfit superior to its 1992 premiership team, losing by 80 points. Billy Brownless stood out with a fantastic mark in the second quarter, as well as four goals. Malcolm Blight, dispirited by three Grand Final losses under his tenure, announced his resignation. His assistant Gary Ayres took over the job. Ayres immediately took action, sacking both Steven Hocking (on 199 games) and former captain Mark Bairstow. 1994 saw another best-and-fairest win to Garry Hocking, who also won 20 votes in the Brownlow Medal to finish third to eventual winner Greg Williams on 30 votes and Peter Matera on 28 votes.

1995 saw the club improve. The club would be highly consistent, its biggest losing margin being less than 20 points, and never losing 2 matches in a row - the only club to do so for the year. The club would finish second on the ladder to Carlton. Gary Ablett would once again win the Coleman Medal and kick over 100 goals for the third year in a row - one of very few to do so. To this day, he remains the only player to win three consecutive Coleman medals. However, prior to the medals birth in the 1970s, players such as Dick Lee, Gordon Coventry and Coleman himself led the goalkicking for many seasons straight in their own eras. In the finals the club would meet 7th placed Footscray once again, without Gary Ablett. Brownless would dominate, with Geelong kicking a record first quarter score to blitz the Bulldogs. The result saw a 10 goal win. Due to Geelong's top two placing, the club had a week's break for the second week of the finals following their win. In the third week, Geelong would meet Richmond, who were playing in their first finals series for 13 years. The result was long visible, with a 78 point win. For the second consecutive season and for the 4th time in 7 years, Geelong would play for the premiership against Carlton, who had only lost 2 games for the year. The match was hard to tip, as many saw Geelong a definite chance given that Carlton's two losses were in consecutive weeks to lowly clubs St Kilda and Sydney, both by at least 10 goals. The two sides met once during the year, which saw Carlton win by two points. For this reason, Geelong was tipped to win, coinciding with Geelong's last Premiership Coach, Bob Davis being asked to present the winning team with their medallions as well as the premiership cup. Geelong however cracked under pressure and was thrashed by 61 points, playing its worst game for the entire season. Gary Ablett played his worst game for years, blanketed by Carlton's Stephen Silvagni. To add insult to injury, former Geelong player Greg Williams, now a superstar at Carlton, was named best on ground with his 5 goals. A total waste of a year where like 1992, the club should have been celebrating, not lamenting a wasted season. A notable rookie of this year would be Brenton Sanderson, who would play over 200 games by the end of career, retiring at the end of 2005, and be recognised with selection into the Geelong Hall of Fame. The best and fairest would be won by Paul Couch, who narrowly missed out on winning his second Brownlow Medal.

In 1996 the club would experience an unsuccessful year, finishing 7th at the end of the Home and Away Season. Gary Ablett would be suspended for four weeks after round 2, which resulted in a rapid decline in his quality. He would kick his 1000th goal for the season against Fremantle. The cats would meet eventual premier, North Melbourne in the first week of the finals, which saw North win by over 10 goals. Garry Hocking would once again win the best and fairest award, and miss out on the Brownlow Medal by a vote in the process. A notable recruit would be Steven King, standing at over 2 metres tall.

In 1997 Geelong faced a season with no dependence on ageing superstars, Paul Couch and Gary Ablett. By mid season, Couch would retire on 259 games. Gary Ablett would not play a senior game ever again for the club after injuring his knee in the reserves. The club would start the season well, challenging Carlton to the 1997 pre-season premiership, the Ansett Australia Cup. However, identically to 1995, Geelong capitulated, allowing Carlton another piece of silverware. The club would finish 2nd on the ladder. The club met North Melbourne in a "home" final at the MCG at Night. North Melbourne, on its actual home ground beat Geelong by 18 points. Geelong then travelled to Adelaide and looked good. However, a decision involving a fantastic mark to Leigh Colbert may have turned the game as the mark wasn't paid; Geelong destabilised and consequently, lost the game by 8 points, exiting in a similar fashion to 1980 and 1981 by losing both finals.

1998 was a season best forgotten. The club would finish 12th, its lowest finish for over 40 years. A notable recruit for Geelong would be Matthew Scarlett, son of former plater, John.

In 1999 the club would win 5 games straight to open. However, the club would then lose its next 9 to effectively eliminate any hope of finals football. The roller-coaster season saw Gary Ayres quit his job as coach of Geelong to take the job at Adelaide, which ironically was available after Malcolm Blight quit, almost identical to when Ayres took over Geelong in 1995. Mark Thompson would get the job to coach. At the end of this season, North Melbourne premiership player, Cameron Mooney would be forced to leave the Kangaroos for administrative purposes and ended up at Geelong.

2000s

2000

Season 2000 would start well, with Geelong winning its first 3 matches. By the end of the home and away season Geelong would finish 5th and meet 8th placed Hawthorn in the first finals match ever played at Telstra Dome (then known as Colonial Stadium), the AFL's state-of-the-art facility. Hawthorn once again inflicted a narrow defeat on Geelong, winning by 9 points. Barry Stoneham announced his retirement after this game, ending a magnificent career spanning over 240 games. He remains at the club currently as a runner.

2001-03

2001-2003 saw a lean period for the club where finals were not realized for 3 years - finishing 12th, 9th and 12th respectively. However, during this time the club recruited well. Current stars such as Paul Chapman, Gary Ablett Jnr, Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly and Joel Corey were notable recruits who have provided the club with the best chance to win the premiership for a decade. Veteran Brenton Sanderson would win the Best and fairest in 2001, Steven King in 2002 (who was in that year appointed club captain) and Matthew Scarlett in 2003.

2004

In 2004 Geelong returned to the winners list. The club would challenge for the pre-season premiership (known as the Wizard Home Loans Cup), where they would meet St Kilda, a club at a similar developmental stage to Geelong, where both teams faced the season with optimism and excitement for the first time in many years. Geelong would lead for much of the match, but St Kilda would finish strongly to win by 20 points. The season proved fruitful as the club would finish 4th at the end of the Home and Away season. The club would meet eventual premier, Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium/Football Park in Adelaide, historically Geelong's worst ground in terms of wins. Port reaffirmed their superiority at the venue to win by 55 points. This game did not start a new rivalry between these two clubs, not even after the game. Geelong would soldier on however and would meet Essendon at the MCG, winning by 10 points despite leading by over 6 goals at ¾ time. Geelong would then meet Brisbane, the premiers of 2001-2003. The Cats would dominate the first half but it was clear the club lacked a target up forward. In the second half, Brisbane took control and would steady enough to win by the small margin of 9 points. Post season, Geelong finally managed to entice shy Modewarre player and son of the club's greatest player, Nathan Ablett to play AFL football for Geelong. However, the demand placed on him for 2005 was minimal as the club considered itself fortunate to have a player of such ability. Another major signing was disgruntled Richmond big-man Brad Ottens, recruited to counter Geelong's lack of forward line height. Cameron Ling would cap off a fine season by winning his first best and fairest after finishing runner up in the previous two counts.

2005

2005 was a year full of optimism where the club had a successful 2004 campaign to work on. The club would start very well, before hitting a slump mid-season as injuries took their toll. This necessitated the debut of Nathan Ablett, who would play his first game in a narrow loss to Melbourne. His two goals for the club that day excited fans and provided hope that he would be good enough. Nathan showed late in the season against West Coast that indeed he could play, with 4 goals in a huge win. By the end of the season, Geelong would finish 5th and play 8th placed Melbourne. Geelong would thrash Melbourne by 55 points in a match remembered for Steven King's attempted kick of the ball in mid air, accidentally making contact with Melbourne ruckman Jeff White, smashing his face, which required surgery. The next week the club would meet Sydney at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) where the Cats would lead for the majority of the match. A 4 goal lead at ¾ time in a low scoring match saw Geelong in a strong position. A stunning final term performance by Sydney's Nick Davis that saw him kick 4 goals including the winning snap 3 seconds before the siren denied Geelong victory. Sydney would then go on to become the 2005 Premiers. This was to be Brenton Sanderson's final game. Joel Corey would win his first best and fairest.

2006

The beginning of 2006 saw a new pre-season cup on offer, the National Australia Bank Cup. Geelong would defeat Carlton, the Kangaroos and Fremantle to earn the right to play Adelaide in the final. Because Adelaide scored more points in the preliminary rounds, the match would be played at Geelong's nightmare venue, AAMI Stadium. Adelaide led for much of the match, however Geelong came home strong to grab a thrilling 8 point win and the club's first silverware since 1963. With such a promising pre-season, the club faced 2006 with much optimism. Big wins at home against the Brisbane Lions and Kangaroos in the first 2 rounds did little to quell that optimism, with many in the media and betting circles installing the Cats as flag favorites. However, the bubble was to burst at home in Round 3 when they met Hawthorn who lead from start to finish and inflicted a 52 point loss. Losses to the Western Bulldogs (by a point, in a close match, with the final whistle going as Ablett Jr. had the ball and looked like he was about to score) and Melbourne (6 points), as well as an interstate loss to Sydney meant that the Cats were now 2-4. A form-defying win against St. Kilda broke up a 7 game losing streak as the Cats went on to lose to Collingwood by over 100 points, Richmond by 10 points, after leading at ¾ time and kicking 9 points in the final quarter, and then manage to give up a 9 goal lead in the 3rd term against top of the ladder West Coast only to lose by 3 points. After 10 games the Cats were 3 wins and 7 losses and looking extremely unlikely to be figuring in finals action. June of 2006 saw club great Gary Ablett voted the greatest ever Geelong footballer by the past and present players of the Geelong Football Club. It was around the same time that the Cats' form started to turn around, winning 5 of their next 6 games including a nailbiting 1-point win over the Bulldogs in the Heritage Round, in a reversal of the result of their Round 4 clash. Round 17 saw the Cats traveling to Canberra's Manuka Oval for only the second time in a home and away fixture to play the Kangaroos in a must win game to keep their finals hopes alive. However, from the very beginning of the game it was clear that the Roos had turned up to play, this being their last game in Canberra before re-locating 3 of their home games (from 2007 onwards) to the Gold Coast. They lead at every change and ran out 30 point winners, leaving the Cats in 9th place on 8 wins and 9 losses, 2 games outside the Top 8. The road trip continued in Round 18 with a trip to Brisbane, not a happy hunting ground for the Cats, victory had eluded them there on all but one occasion and that was back in 1993 when the club was still known as the Bears. However, a solid effort from the team produced a 17 point win, leaving them still in the hunt for a spot in the 8. Round 19 saw the Cats return to Melbourne to face St. Kilda, above them on the ladder but a team they had beaten earlier in the year. However, the return of Cam Mooney from suspension and Gary Ablett for injury was not enough to propel them to a win, going down by 23 points. Knowing their finals hopes were now all but dashed, the Cats returned to Skilled for the Round 20 match against 2005 premiers Sydney and in what was a reasonably close contest for most of the day, they ran out 27 point winners. Kent Kingsley and Nathan Ablett returned for the Cats' Round 21 home game against Melbourne, and although the Dees lead by 5 goals at half time and had a 38-point lead 11 minutes into the 3rd quarter, Geelong managed to fight back to take the lead but was only able to manage a thrilling draw, officially canceling their chances of making the final 8 in 2006. James Bartel tried to rush a behind with his own two hands, but the siren blew, and the behind did not count. In the final game of the year, the Cats were soundly beaten by Hawthorn for the second time in 2006, this time by 61 points, and finishing 10th on the ladder with 10 wins and a draw, bringing to an end a disappointing season that had showed so much promise. A full review of the club was undertaken with everyone from the President, coach and players under the spotlight. Paul Chapman took out the clubs Best & Fairest with Jimmy Bartel second and Gary Ablett Jnr third.

File:NAB cup logo.gif
2006 NAB Cup Grand Final	SG	G	B	Total
Adelaide	1	10	15	84
Geelong	3	10	5	92
Venue: AAMI Stadium, Adelaide	Crowd: 30,707

2007 - Finally the drought ends!

Geelong started season 2007 with mixed results. They had a disappointing loss in the season opener to the Western Bulldogs on April Fools' Day but then had a convincing win over Carlton by 78 points in Round 2 and Melbourne by 52 points in Round 3. They then lost their next two matches to Hawthorn in Tasmania and to the Kangaroos in Geelong by 16 points. The Cats were recipients of a lot of criticism until their clash with Richmond the following week. In that match, the Cats answered their critics, winning by 157 points, the Tigers greatest losing margin ever, and the Cats third greatest winning margin ever. They went on to win their next fourteen games including wins over reigning premiers West Coast and Grand Finalists Sydney, to become premiership favourites. The Cats were finally defeated in Round 21, losing to 2nd place Port Adelaide in a thrilling match, decided by a goal in the final 3 seconds. In the final round of the 2007 home and away season, Geelong defeated Brisbane at the Gabba by 42 points to set up a Qualifying Final against the Kangaroos and finished three games clear on top of the ladder to win the minor premiership for the first time since 1992. In the 2nd Qualifying final, Geelong defeated the Kangaroos by 106 points, 23.18.156 to 8.2.50, their second greatest winning margin against the Roos and their third biggest win in the finals to gain a crucial spot in the preliminary finals where on the 21st of September at the MCG they played Collingwood in front of a crowd of 98,002. They won a thrilling game by five points, 13.14.92 to 13.9.87, and progressed to their first Grand Final since 1995.

2007 Grand Final

Geelong defeated Port Adelaide in the 2007 AFL Grand Final, with a record breaking margin of 119 points, 24-19-163 to 6-8-44, the largest-ever winning margin in a VFL/AFL Grand Final. Steve Johnson won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground, while Cameron Mooney was the leading goalscorer with five goals.

2007 AFL Grand Final:

2007 Toyota AFL Grand Final	G	B	Total
Geelong	24	19	163
File:PortAdelaideDesign.jpg Port Adelaide	6	8	44
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground	Crowd: 97,302

Club

Guernsey & colours

Jumper

Clash Jumper

This is the current 2007 jumper design. From 2007 Geelong will also have a Clash jumper, the 2007 version is Navy Blue, with White claw marks.

The Geelong Football Club has worn its blue and white hoops since its first game, although the thickness of the hoops has changed a lot over the years. It is an image of Corio bay, with the white seagulls flying over the blue sea.

Club song

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.

Lyrics

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 banner's flying high

From dawn 'til dark

Down at Kardinia Park!!

• Club Song

Supporters

Geelong Cats banner on Grand Final day 2007

In 2005, the Geelong Football Club had 30,900 members, in excess of the seating capacity at Skilled Stadium, but less than the capacity of the Telstra Dome where some of the club's home matches are played.

Season	Members	Finishing position	Average Home Crowd
1984	7709	6th
1985	7718	6th
1986	6985	9th
1987	6981	6th
1988	9667	9th
1989	7760	3rd
1990	15,087	10th
1991	11,356	3rd
1992	13,535	1st
1993	15,500	7th
1994	14,312	4th
1995	15,922	2nd
1996	17,346	7th
1997	18,858	2nd
1998	19,971	12th
1999	21,032	11th
2000	25,595	5th
2001	25,420	12th
2002	23,756	9th
2003	24,017	12th
2004	25,021	4th
2005	30,821	5th
2006	32,290	10th	27,749
2007	30,169	1st

Honours

Team Awards

• League Premierships

VFL/AFL: 7 (1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007)

Reserves: 15 (1923, 1924, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982)

Under 19s: 1 (1962)

VFA/VFL: 9 (1878, 1879, 1880, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 2002, 2007)

• Night Series/Pre-Season Premierships

Night Series: 1961

Pre-Season: 2006

• McClelland Trophy: 1952, 1954, 1962, 1963, 1980, 1981, 1992, 2007

• Wooden Spoons: 1908, 1915, 1944, 1957, 1958

Individual awards

• Best and Fairest

See Carji Greeves Medal

• Brownlow Medallists

Edward 'Carji' Greeves (1924):

Bernie Smith (1951):

Alistair Lord (1962):

Paul Couch (1989):

James Bartel (2007):

• Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

Greg Williams (1985):

Gary Ablett (1993):

Gary Ablett Jnr (2007):

• Coleman Medallists

Noel Rayson (1955)

Doug Wade (1962, 1967, 1969)

Larry Donohue (1976)

Gary Ablett (1993, 1994, 1995)

• Norm Smith Medallists

Gary Ablett (1989):

Steve Johnson (2007):

• AFL Rising Star Award winners

Joel Selwood (2007):

• AFLPA Best First Year Player Award winners

Joel Selwood (2007):

• Mark of the Year winners

Gary Ablett (1994):

Brad Ottens (2006):

• All-Australian players

Gary Ablett (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 [Captain] ):

Gary Ablett Jnr (2007):

Mark Bairstow (1991, 1992):

Jimmy Bartel (2007):

Billy Brownless (1991):

Joel Corey (2007):

Paul Couch (1991, 1995):

Matthew Egan (2007):

Garry Hocking (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996):

Steve Johnson (2007):

Steven King (2000):

Cameron Ling (2007):

Michael Mansfield (1994, 1995):

Darren Milburn (2007):

Cameron Mooney (2007):

Matthew Scarlett (2003, 2004, 2007):

Barry Stoneham (1992):

• International Rules Australian representatives

Steven King (2000):

Cameron Ling (2002):

Matthew Scarlett (2002, 2003):

Joel Corey (2004):

Darren Milburn (2005):

Records

• All Time Goal Kickers

Player	Career Years	Goals
Gary Ablett	1984-1996	1021
Doug Wade	1961-1972	834
Billy Brownless	1986-1997	441
Larry Donohue	1973-1980	339
Terry Bright	1976-1987	331

• All Time Games Played

Player	Career Years	Games
Ian Nankervis	1967-1983	325
John 'Sammy' Newman	1964-1980	300
Peter Riccardi	1992-2006	288
Garry Hocking	1987-2001	274
Paul Couch	1985-1997	259

• 300 Games Players

Ian Nankervis - 325

John 'Sammy' Newman - 300

• Hall of Famers

Graham "Polly" Farmer - Legend Gary Ablett Peter Burns Bob Davis Fred Flanagan Bill Goggin Edward 'Carji' Greeves Reg Hickey Denis Marshall

George Moloney Ian Nankervis John 'Sammy' Newman Bernie Smith George 'Jocka' Todd Doug Wade Greg Williams Henry Young

• Team of the Century

Team of the Century
Backs	Bernie Smith	George Todd	John 'Sam' Newman
Half Backs	Dick Grigg	Reg Hickey	Joe Slater
Centres	Michael Turner	Edward 'Carji' Greeves	Leo Turner
Half Forwards	Gary Ablett	Fred Flanagan	Bob Davis
Forwards	Henry Young	Doug Wade	Peter Pianto
Followers	Graham 'Polly' Farmer	Garry Hocking	Bill Goggin
Interchange	David Clarke	Paul Couch	Alec Eason	Les Hardiman
Emergencies	Ian Nankervis	Jack Collins	Tom Quinn	Cliff Rankin

Current playing list

As of December 16, 2006:

Geelong Football Club

Senior list						Rookie list		Coaching staff
1 Rhys Stanley  2 Zach Tuohy  3 Brandan Parfitt  4 Tanner Bruhn  5 Jeremy Cameron  6 Toby Conway  7 Shaun Mannagh  8 Jake Kolodjashnij  9 Max Holmes 10 Mitch Knevitt 11 Mitch Edwards 12 Jack Bowes 13 Jhye Clark 14 Connor O’Sullivan 15 George Stevens 16 Sam De Koning 17 Lawson Humphries 18 Tyson Stengle 19 Phoenix Foster		20 James Willis 21 Oliver Wiltshire 22 Mitch Duncan 23 Gary Rohan 24 Jed Bews 26 Tom Hawkins 28 Ollie Dempsey 29 Cameron Guthrie 30 Tom Atkins 32 Gryan Miers 33 Shannon Neale 35 Patrick Dangerfield (c) 36 Oliver Henry 38 Jack Henry 39 Zach Guthrie 42 Mark O'Connor 44 Tom Stewart (vc) 45 Brad Close 46 Mark Blicavs				31 Oscar Murdoch 34 Oisín Mullin (B) 37 Joe Furphy (B) 40 Ted Clohesy 41 Mitch Hardie 43 Emerson Jeka		Head coach Chris Scott Assistant coaches James Kelly (assistant) James Rahilly (assistant) Steven King (assistant) Nigel Lappin (development) Daisy Pearce (development) Shane O'Bree Brad Ottens (ruck) Mark Corrigan (VFL coach) Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) (B) Category B rookie Updated: 17 January 2008 Source(s): Playing list, Coaching staff

• To see full profiles click here

Notable players

See List of past and present Geelong Football Club players.

Others

Damian Drum (former player, coach and current politician) Ben Graham (former player, captain and current NFL footballer) Neil Trezise

Charles 'Chas' Brownlow Garry 'Buddha' Hocking

External links

• Official Website of the Geelong Football Club
• Official AFL Website
• 'The Cattery' - Unofficial Website
• "Around the Grounds" - Web Documentary - Kardinia Park