Geelong Football Club

{{Main|History of the Geelong Football Club}}

File:Performance Chart AFL GEE.svg]]

The club was founded in 1859 in the city of Geelong, Australia, and is the second oldest AFL club. It 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. 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., 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 second most successful club over that period one behind Hawthorn. They have also won ten McClelland Trophies, the most of any AFL/VFL club.[http://www.afltables.com/ AFL Tables] [http://www.afltables.com/afl/teams/allteams/seasons.html Finishing Summary 1897–2006].

Many of the club's official records before 1920 have disappeared.{{cite web|last=McClure|first=Geoff|title=UNEARTHING HISTORY: THE LOST BROWNLOW FILES|publisher=fullpointsfooty.net|url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/unearthing_history_the_lost_brownlow_files.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050310231659/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/unearthing_history_the_lost_brownlow_files.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=10 March 2005|accessdate=30 September 2010}}

File:Jim McShane.jpg pictured)]]

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.gfc.com.au/detailed%20history/tabid/4015/default.aspx|title=Official AFL Website of the Geelong Cats Football Club|work=gfc.com.au|access-date=21 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029220912/http://www.gfc.com.au/detailed%20history/tabid/4015/default.aspx|archive-date=29 October 2010|url-status=dead}}

The team has worn various away guernseys since 1998, all featuring the club's logo and traditional colours.{{cite web|url=http://footyjumpers.com/|title=www.footyjumpers.com|work=footyjumpers.com|access-date=21 August 2016}}

Geelong has been nicknamed the 'Cats' since 1923, when the Herald sporting local cartoonist, "Wells" (Samuel Garnet Wells), suggested that adopting a black cat as a mascot might bring a football club good luck in his Herald cartoon of [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243810051 6 July 1923].

"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.[http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-tunes-to-remember-20100723-10nyh.html AFL Tunes to Remember] The Melbourne Age, 23 July 2010

: 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!

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, the Deakin University Elite Sports 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/media-releases/articles/deakin-welcomes-cats-as-mcg-blockbuster-looms|title=Deakin welcomes Cats as MCG blockbuster looms|work=Deakin University|date=19 May 2016}}

{{Further|Kennett curse}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://finalsiren.com/PreviousGames.asp?Team1ID=4&Team2ID=16&Go=Go|title=Head to Head Between Geelong and Hawthorn|work=finalsiren.com|access-date=21 August 2016}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/2013-05-14/an-epic-rivalry|title=An epic rivalry|website=collingwoodfc.com.au|access-date=21 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821215600/http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/2013-05-14/an-epic-rivalry|archive-date=21 August 2016|url-status=dead}}

At 99 years as of 2024, Geelong's sponsorship with the Ford Motor Company is one of the longest active sports sponsorship of any sports team in the world, with continuous sponsorship dating back to 1925. The sponsorship had previously been ratified as the longest in the world by the Guinness World Records,{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2022-05-03 |title=The most enduring sponsorships of all time |url=https://elevent.co/the-top-ten-most-enduring-sponsorships-of-all-time/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Elevent |language=en-US}} until a change in definitions.

In recent years Geelong-based retail company Cotton On Group has become synonymous with the club, with the company manufacturing on-field and other team merchandise since 2016.{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Aimee |title=Spotlight On Sponsors: Geelong Maintains Record Breaking Sponsorship Despite Dramatic Fall From Grace In 2023 |url=https://www.bandt.com.au/spotlight-on-sponsors-geelong-maintains-record-breaking-sponsorship-despite-dramatic-fall-from-grace-in-2023/ |website=bandt.com.au |access-date=12 September 2024 |date=15 February 2024}}

File:Geelong Cats supporters.jpg against St Kilda]]

File:Geelong FC's one-man cheer squad.jpg

File:Geelong Cats Banner 2013.jpg

{{Further|List of Geelong Football Club players|Geelong Football Club draft and trade history|List of Geelong Football Club coaches|List of Geelong Football Club captains}}

File:Chris Scott 2018.1.jpg

File:Patrick Dangerfield May 2019.jpg

{{Geelong Football Club current squad}}

• President: Craig Drummond
• Vice President: Diana Taylor
• Chief Executive Officer: Steve Hocking
• General Manager – Football: Simon Lloyd

{{Further|List of Geelong Football Club seasons}}

{{See also|List of Geelong Football Club individual awards and records}}

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| caption1 = Awarded to the "best and fairest" player during the AFL's home-and-away season, the Brownlow Medal, football's most prestigious award, is named after Geelong player and administrator Charles "Chas" Brownlow.

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| caption2 = 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

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: Statistics are correct to end of 2024 season{{cite web|title=Geelong Win–loss records |url=http://www.afltables.com/afl/teams/geelong/overall_wl.html |publisher=AFL Tables |access-date=24 February 2025}}

{{Geelong Team of the Century|state=expanded}}

{{See also|List of Geelong Football Club reserves team seasons}}

The Geelong reserves (also known as the Bendigo Bank Cats for sponsorship reasons) are the reserves side of the club, playing in the Victorian Football League.

Geelong's reserves side began competing in the Victorian Junior Football League, later known as the VFL/AFL reserves, in 1922. The team won thirteen premierships during that time (1923, 1924, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1980, 1981 and 1982), the most of any club.

Since the demise of the AFL reserves competition, the Geelong reserves have competed in the Victorian Football League. 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.

The side is also known as the Bendigo Bank Cats, referring to the club's commercial partnership with Bendigo Bank.{{cite web |title=Geelong and Bendigo Bank Extend Partnership |date=16 March 2021 |url=https://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/880246/geelong-and-bendigo-bank-extend-partnership |publisher=Geelong Cats}}

• Premierships (3): 2002, 2007, 2012
• Runners-ups (2): 2006, 2013
• Minor premierships (2): 2002, 2013
• Wooden spoons (1): 2005

{{further|List of Geelong Football Club women's seasons}}

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.{{cite news|last=Schmook|first=Nathan|title=Decision on AFLW expansion delayed|url=http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-29/decision-over-aflw-expansion-delayed|work=afl.com.au|date=29 August 2017|access-date=5 April 2018}} In September 2017, the club was announced as one of two clubs, along with {{AFLW|NM}}, to receive a license to join the competition in 2019.{{cite news|last=Black|first=Sarah|title=North and Geelong win AFLW expansion race|url=http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-09-27/afl-set-to-reveal-new-womens-teams-for-2019|work=afl.com.au|date=27 September 2017|access-date=5 April 2018}} The club has also had a team in the second-tier VFL Women's league since 2017.

The club has qualified for the AFL Women's finals on three occasions, making it through the preliminary final in 2023 before losing to eventual premiers {{AFLW|Bri}}.

{{Geelong AFL Women's current squad}}

During the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, Geelong Football Club supported the Yes vote.{{cite web|title=Sport|url=http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/sport-support/|website=Australian Marriage Equality|access-date=13 September 2017}}

Geelong Football Club was a supporter of the Voice to Parliament.{{Cite news |last=Cross |first=Jarred |date=17 May 2023 |title=Geelong Football Club backs 'Yes' to Indigenous Voice to Parliament |work=National Indigenous Times |url=https://nit.com.au/17-05-2023/6004/geelong-cats-support-yes-vote-on-voice-to-parliament |access-date=18 May 2023}}

{{Portal|Sports|Australia}}

• Sport in Australia
• Sport in Victoria
• List of Geelong Football Club players, captains and coaches
• 1963 Miracle Match

{{Notelist}}

;References

{{Reflist|30em}}

;Bibliography

• {{Cite book| editor=Michael Lovett| title=AFL Record Season Guide| publisher=Geoff Slattery Media Group| year=2010| isbn=978-0-9806274-5-9}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://www.geelongcats.com.au/ Official website of the Geelong Football Club]
• [http://www.afl.com.au/ Official AFL website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080210000341/http://www.gfc.com.au/GFC/TheClub/History/HonourRoll/tabid/4014/Default.aspx Geelong Football Club Honour Roll] – list of all Presidents, captains, coaches and Best & Fairest winners since 1879.
• [https://www.flashscore.com.au/team/geelong-cats/hCAS2n4i/results/ Geelong Cats results] - Latest scores for Geelong Football Club

{{Geelong Football Club|state=collapsed}}

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Category:Australian rules football clubs established in 1859

Category:Australian Football League clubs

Category:AFL Women's clubs

Category:Australian rules football clubs in Geelong

Category:1859 establishments in Australia

Category:Former Victorian Football League clubs