[9] These reprinted rules, which appeared to differ only slightly from Melbourne Football Club's rules, notably do not mention a requirement to bounce the ball which was to feature early in Geelong's rules, however the scrimmage rule showed more influence of rugby football than Melbourne's rules. Geelong adapted quickly to Blight's coaching philosophy, and became renowned for kicking high scores. The Geelong Advertiser reported: It will certainly be refreshing to see past players in action again at Corio Oval Players whose names were on everyones lips in football circles a few years ago will take part, and they should give a good account of themselves.2. However, the Cats would not add to their trophy cabinet after losing to Richmond by 31 points in the decider, despite leading by 15 points at half time. It was alleged that saboteurs attempted to destroy one of the special trains carrying Geelong supporters to the match in South Melbourne. In 1992 Geelong returned to the spectacular form of three seasons previous. Ayres immediately took action, sacking both Steven Hocking (on 199 games) and former captain Mark Bairstow. The Geelong Football Club is mourning the passing of past president Frank Costa. [17], 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. The club was on a financial precipice, playing in a crumbling venue and had not tasted premiership success in 36 years. After being overlooked to join the inaugural AFL Women's (AFLW) competition in 2017,[98] the club has been granted a licence to enter a standalone team in the league from the 2019 season. While the present players triumphed, it was at an after-match dinner that the proposal to form a past players association was initiated. Coach Mark Thompson was widely perceived to be at risk. Ablett's most notable performances of this year included 11 goals against Melbourne, 14 against Essendon and 10 against the Adelaide Crows all in losing sides. The dark blue and white hooped uniform still worn today represents the blue water of Corio Bay and the white seagulls so numerous in the Bay. . 10.18 PRESIDENT OF THE CLUB 18 11. In 1986, the club appointed former premiership player John Devine as coach. In 2019, the team captaincy rotated through the following 5 players: Kate Darby, Danielle Higgins, Jordan Ivey, Maddy Keryk, Amy McDonald. [38], The club once again played in the finals in 2005, defeating Melbourne in an elimination final by 55 points to reach the semi-finals,[39] where they played Sydney at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Tony Lockett kicked his nine goals for St Kilda by three-quarter time. [80] In addition to retirements across this period, some veteran players were not offered new contracts and were either traded or released via free agency to new clubs; this included Paul Chapman, James Kelly and Mathew Stokes all moving to Essendon, James Podsiadly joining Adelaide, as well as Josh Hunt and Steve Johnson both playing for Greater Western Sydney. Geelong was 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.[16]. Geelong managed to defeat the reigning premiers, Hawthorn, in the two clubs' second meeting of the season in Round 17. Unfortunately, identically to 1995, Geelong capitulated in the final, allowing Carlton another piece of silverware. Clarence Football Club - Pat Hartnett 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. Although the competition was played under compromised rules, Geelong reached the final and defeated Melbourne to become the second winners of the cup, before defeating two challengers to win the cup permanently in 1864. The distance between the Goals and the goal post shall be decided upon by the captains of the sides playing Having won the premiership, players were more eagerly looking forward to their trip to Adelaide. In 1990, the league was expanded to a national level and became known as the Australian Football League (AFL). 1970 Clarence FC - 50 year anniversary stubby holders available. [75][76], The club's recruitment strategy was in response to the departure of many of its premiership players in the preceding seasons,[77] such as Brad Ottens (in 2011),[78] Matthew Scarlett and David Wojcinski (2012),[79] and Joel Corey (2013). Key points: Cook replaces Cain Liddle, who left the position of chief executive last week The appointment will fuel speculation Alastair Clarkson may join the Blues as senior coach in the future The first meeting of the past players was held a week later on 17 August 1933, where a motion was moved for a Past Players Association to be formed. [66][67] Notably, Geelong's qualifying final against Fremantle in 2013 was the first time Kardinia Park hosted a finals match,[68] with Geelong losing the game by 15 points. Despite missing the finals during this first season back with the club, Hickey led Geelong to two consecutive premierships in 1951 and 1952to date, the only back-to-back premierships in the club's history. After much speculation throughout the season, it was confirmed at season's end that Gary Ablett Jr. would be joining the Gold Coast expansion club that was entering the league in the 2011 season. 1931 Geelong Cats premiership greeted with scenes of remarkable This concession allowed sons of ex-players to nominate for their fathers' clubs, thus exempting them from being chosen by any other club in the national draft. Read about the top Cats on Geelong Past Players & Officials Club's website. In 1930, Collingwood defeated Geelong in the grand final making it four flags in-a-row for the Pies. Love our Geelong Cats | Our past presidents from the Geelong football [99] Geelong has also participated in the VFL Women's competition since 2017.[100]. The win was Geelong's first premiership since 1963, and broke the club's 44-season premiership drought. Gary Ablett topped the goalkicking for the year easily, kicking 129 goals (including the finals) and winning his second consecutive John Coleman Medal. Former Geelong player Greg Williams, now a superstar at Carlton, was named best on ground with his five goals. Werribee Football Club - Board During this era the "Coulter Law" discouraged club administrators from poaching players from each other's clubs. 1998 was a season best forgotten. Carlton has received a much-needed boost in a tumultuous off-season, with Brian Cook to take over as chief executive. 2022 Geelong Football Club season - Wikipedia Contact: Damien on 0418 171 955 or damien.dillon@gcc.tas.gov.au. For many years the Geelong Football Club were known as the Pivotonians, after the city's nickname 'The Pivot'. Geelong experienced a notably lean period during the 1940s, as World War II wartime restrictions prohibited traveling. [49] Less than a week later, Mark Thompson resigned from his position as senior coach, despite being contracted until the end of 2011. VII. [14], Geelong's administrative headquarters is its home stadium, GMHBA Stadium or also known as Kardinia Park. Long-time Geelong president and philanthropist Frank Costa, the only person to have been named a legend of the AFL club without ever playing for the Cats, has died after a year-long battle. However, in the final round of the home and away season Essendon's champion full forward, John Coleman retaliated against Carlton full back, Harry Caspar and was reported and later suspended for four weeks. On September 1, 1860, Geelong played Melbourne at the Argyle Ground, with founding member Alex Mason captaining the visitors. Thompson's first season as senior coach in 2000 was somewhat successful; Geelong finished the regular season in fifth position and qualified for the finals series for the first time since 1997, losing to Hawthorn in an elimination final. the sole Judges of infringements. In 1941, the club was forced to relocate from its Corio Oval base due to the oval being required for military training during World War II. The club's sole loss occurred in Round 9 with an 86-point deficit against Collingwood. Season 1991 started ominously. However, Geelong failed to capitalise on its performance during the season, losing the grand final by a margin of 26 points. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 reigning premiers. [12], Geelong played most of its early home games at the Argyle Square, situated between Aberdeen Street and Pakington Street. Even more frustratingly, the club finished only one and a half games off top spot on the ladder, but finished seventh in what was a very even year and also the last season that featured a final 'six' (it was reverted to a final 'eight' in 1994). [29] Following the dissolution of the AFL reserves competition in 1999, Geelong began fielding a reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL)[a] from 2000. [citation needed], Geelong proceeded to defeat the Kangaroos and Collingwood in their qualifying and preliminary finals respectively, the latter being a close game with Collingwood threatening victory late in the match. In 1949, the club's former premiership captain Reg Hickey was appointed as coach for the third time. Geelong then travelled to Adelaide to play the Crows (who ironically finished lower on the ladder than Geelong but still got to host the game) and lost the match by eight points, after field umpire Grant Vernon failed to pay a courageous Leigh Colbert mark late in the game while Geelong were narrowly hanging on to a lead. Billy Brownless stood out with a fantastic mark in the second quarter, as well as four goals. Geelong was thrashed by 61 points, playing its worst game for the entire season. [73] Dangerfield's recruitment, in particular, had been the subject of much media speculation throughout the season, as it was confirmed that he wished to return to his home state of Victoria. A fine feat given that Geelong's target all season, Gary Ablett was being beaten by North Melbourne's full back, Mick Martyn. [57] Despite an ageing playing list and predictions that the team would struggle in 2011,[58] Geelong finished the regular season in second position on the ladder, with only three losses for the season. Malcolm Blight, dispirited by three Grand Final losses under his tenure, announced his resignation. Former president of the Geelong Football Club, businessman and philanthropist Frank Costa has died at the age of 83. [50] Although he cited burnout from coaching as the primary reason for his departure, Thompson joined Essendon one month later as a senior assistant coach to James Hird. Geelong were victorious, defeating St Kilda by 12 points. Since 2007, the clubs have again both been at the top of the ladder and have met regularly in finals. The club finished 12th, its lowest finish for over 40 years and its equally lowest ever. Under Devine, the club grew accustomed to the league-wide introduction of the salary cap and AFL Draft, recruiting Barry Stoneham, Garry Hocking, Mark Bairstow and Billy Brownless. Steve Johnson was awarded the Norm Smith Medal after being judged the best player in the match, providing Geelong with just their second Norm Smith Medallist. [91] The Cats were excellent in the first half of the season, winning 11 of their first 12 matches. [7], The Geelong Football Club was formally established at a meeting held in the Victoria Hotel on 18 July 1859.[1]. The club had a good home-and-away season to finish fourth. He then has a free kick: no player from the opposite side being allowed to come inside the spot marked The Geelong Football Club Past Players Association (GFCPPA) was established in 1933, two years after Geelong had won its second VFL Premiership in 1931. [86], The 2017 season resulted in Geelong once again reaching the preliminary finals, before succumbing to Adelaide by 61 points. A giant figure in Victoria's second-biggest city, Mr Costa and his brother Adrian took over the family fruit and vegetable business in 1958, growing Costa Group into a billion-dollar company. In an interview with Lou Richards on Channel 7's World of Sport, Bob Davis predicted that Newman would enjoy a stellar career. Geelong won the 1951 Premiership under memorable circumstances. A goal must be kicked fairly between the posts without touching either of them or any portion of the person of one of the opposite side in The design is said to represent the white seagulls and blue water of Corio Bay. V. In case the ball is kicked behind Goal any one of the side behind whose Goal it is kicked may bring it 20 yards in front of any portion of the space between the 'kick-off' posts, and shall kick it. Tom Wills, one of the founders of Australian football, played exclusively for Geelong from 1865 until his retirement from football in 1874. Following this unexpected loss at their home ground, player Paul Chapman publicly criticised the club's culture, expressing frustration at the lack of team mentality present with many of the players, and urging the club as a whole to change this underachieving culture for the better. Any player catching the ball directly from the foot may call 'mark'. The history of the Geelong Football Club, began 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. [18][19][20] Geelong have been known as the 'Cats' ever since. North Melbourne started well, but Geelong dominated the second and third quarters to lead by six goals in the third quarter. Geelong failed in 1990 to reproduce the exciting brand of attacking football of 1989. The club contested its first interclub match against Melbourne at Argyle Square in 1860, which finished as a scoreless draw. 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. Following the conclusion of the 1959 season, Hickey retired as coach and was succeeded by Bob Davis, a dual premiership player from the club's successful 1951 and 1952 period. The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The captains on each side shall toss for choice of goal the side losing the toss has the kick off from the centre point between the goals Geelong met North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final in a match which proved even more nailbiting than their match with Footscray 2 weeks prior. His assistant Gary Ayres took over the job. Claimed to be Geelong Football Club's official 1859 rules, Rebuilding and modest success (19601970), Recruiting for success and entry of women's team, Cats end their finals hoodoo and win 10th premiership. 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. In ease of deliberate infringement of any of the above Rules by either side the Captain of the opposite side may claim that any one of his party The roller-coaster season saw coach Gary Ayres quit to take the job at Adelaide, which ironically was available after Malcolm Blight quit, almost identical to when Ayres took over Geelong in 1995. Craig Drummond is the new Geelong Football Club president. Although Geelong were leading by as much as 23 points in the final quarter, Sydney's Nick Davis scored the final four goals of the game (including a goal just before the final siren) to give Sydney a three-point victory.