Geelong Football Club

The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League with a rich history. Formed in 1859, it is the second oldest football club in the AFL after Melbourne, and one of the oldest football clubs in the world. The club is based in the city of Geelong at Skilled Stadium. The Cats are the only current AFL team that is based in a regional centre.

Although being relatively strong performers throughout the 1980s and 1990s (Grand Final appearances in 1989, 1992, 1994 and 1995), the Cats have been unable to win a premiership since 1963.

History

Club beginnings

Geelong is the third oldest Australian Rules football club (after the Melbourne Football Club and the Castlemaine Football Club), and one of the oldest football clubs in the world, having been formed in the Victoria Hotel in 1859.

Originally based at Corio Oval, Geelong moved to Kardinia Park (now Skilled Stadium) in the 1940s. 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 frequent 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.

The Geelong Football Team (1800s).

VFA - Domination

Club attire in 1895 (J. 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 - The start of Footy

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 - First Premiership

The first premiership occurred in 1925.

Geelong is honoured to have the VFL's award for the best and fairest player in a VFL/AFL season named after one of its own, in Charles Brownlow, a Geelong and VFL administrator who died in early 1924. Fittingly, the first player to win the award would be Geelong's champion, Edward "Carji" Greeves in 1924. Greeves would finish second and third in the award for many seasons afterwards, proving what a wonderful player he was.

1930s - Two more flags

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 - Build up for the 50's

Geelong experienced a lean period in the 1940s, with the exception of the recruitment of many players who would take the club into the 1950s, the club's greatest era. The 1940s was a hard time for the club too, particularly because the club did not participate in VFL competition during World War II. During this decade, the club moved to the more centrally located Kardinia Park in South Geelong.

1950s - Geelong's best decade

In the 1950s, Geelong flourished. Led by Geelong's best coach ever (officially named at Geelong's team of the century 2000) Reg Hickey, Geelong won the premiership flags of 1951 and 1952. However 1951 remains questionable whether Geelong fully deserved this flag, as Essendon was heading for a hat-trick of premierships. In the preliminary final the previous week, Essendon's full forward, John Coleman retaliated against Carlton full back, Harry Caspar and was sighted by the umpire, reported, suspended and consequently, missed the grand final. Bob Davis acknowledges the fact that had Coleman played, Essendon would have won, given that Geelong had no true match for him, as Coleman was simply too skilled. This claim is highly reasonable, given that Geelong only won the match by 11 points or thereabouts. Regardless, to follow on the talk that the premiership players of 1937 buried a magpie in the middle of the ground after their premiership win over Collingwood that year, Geelong buried a toy bomber underground to celebrate. 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 underlined with his win in the 1951 Brownlow Medal. In 1952, Geelong would easily account for Lou Richards' Collingwood team. To celebrate the win, the next day the players buried a dead magpie in the middle of the ground. However, Collingwood would defeat Geelong the following season for the premiership.

In 1956, Geelong recruited Billy Goggin, Geelong's greatest rover, who would later coach Geelong in the 1980s.However, Geelong's greatest coup ever was the transfer of perhaps the greatest ruckman ever, [Graham "[Polly]" Farmer] from his then club, East Perth. At Geelong's first practice match, a crowd of 20,000 came just to see him. The teamwork of Goggin and Farmer at ruck duels is noted as legendary and extremely well executed, which would lead to the club's next premiership in 1963. Fred Wooller captained the club to the win.At the end of 1959, Reg Hickey decided to retire as coach, allowing Bob Davis, a star in the 51-52 premierships to take the mantle.

1960s - Last premiership

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. 1962 was a year best forgotten, as Graham Farmer failed to shine, injuring his knee 3 times during the season and virtually having no effect.

In 1963, Geelong would meet Hawthorn 4 times. Early in the season, the clubs drew. However, in the final round of the season, the semi finals and the grand final (the only time a team has played a team 3 matches in a row), Geelong was able to beat John Kennedy's Hawthorn Hawks, clearly stamping themselves as the team of 1963 with an easy 49 point win.Unfortunately, this would be the last time that Geelong tasted premiership champagne to this current day, with the club failing to win a premiership since. Graham Farmer would poll well in the Brownlow medal this year.

Geelong would play in finals for the next few years, but would not reach the grand final for years. Graham Farmer took over as captain around this time. In 1956, the coaching position was advertised, but Davis did not reapply. Peter Pianto took the job this time and guided Geelong to the 1967 Grand Final, a match the club should have perhaps won given the chances, but ended up losing to Richmond by 9 points. Graham Farmer played his 101st and final match this day.

At the beginning of 1964, Geelong recruited [John "[Sam]" Newman] as a ruckman from Geelong Grammar School. In an interview with Lou Richards on Channel 7's World of Sport, Davis stated the promise in Sam Newman, and nobody was disappointed in future years.

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 this year 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 for the year. Geelong would finish 5th at the end of the home and away season, only to lose to Carlton in the first week of the finals.

1980s

The 1980s was a mixed bag for the club. Under Billy Goggin, Geelong finished on top of the ladder at the home and away season. However, on every occasion that year, Geelong would lose to Richmond, as was the case 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 would lose.

1981 provided a similar story, albeit with significantly more heartbreak. Geelong finished on top of the ladder, yet lost to Carlton in the Semi-Finals, then to Collingwood in the preliminary final by a meagre 7 points to signal a truly wasted year.

Geelong 1980's shield logo; used into the 1990's

In 1982 the club collapsed on-field, missing the finals. Billy Goggin was disposed as coach and Richmond premiership coach, Tom Hafey took over in 1983. However, the club did not improve and under Hafey, no achievements were realised. The one feather in Hafey's cap 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, despite rarely experiencing a bad year for the rest of his career.The most notable incidents for the club in 1985 was Hawthorn's greatest ever player, as well as the VFL/AFLs, Leigh Matthews swinging his arm to contact with Ruck-Rover Neville Bruns' jaw, smashing it. The incident received huge coverage and Leigh Matthews was charged by police, and his playing permit torn up for a month. The club also recruited future centre legend and dual Brownlow Medallist, Greg Williams, as well as future 3 time club champion, Paul Couch. Due to a lack of on-field improvement over Hafey's tenure as coach, he was sacked. Hafey was soon appointed coach of the Sydney Swans, and in retaliation to his sacking, took 3 quality players with him in David Bolton, Bernard Toohey and Greg Williams, who went on to win the Brownlow Medal in 1986, as well as in 1994 with Carlton, after transferring once more at the end of the 1991 season.

1986 saw the arrival of 1963 premiership player, John Devine as coach. Under John Devine, who coached the club between 1986 and 1988, the club recruited magnificently, signing future club legends in Barry Stoneham, Garry Hocking, Mark Bairstow and Billy Brownless. However, the club would miss the finals over Devine's duration. In 1986, as a sign of things to come, Paul Couch won the first of his 3 club best and fairest awards.

In 1987 and 1988, veteran Mark Bos would win the club champion award, with Geelong narrowly missing the finals in 1987, and finishing 10th in 1988 after a disappointing second half the of the season. In the pre-season of 1988, Geelong would contest Hawthorn for the preseason cup, the National-Panasonic Cup. Geelong would lose by 2 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 where they would meet Melbourne. The Cats would lose once again.Geelong kicked mammoth scores and during this year, became the first and only club to win by 100 points 3 weeks in a row, defeating lowly clubs Richmond, St Kilda and the Brisbane Bears. Gavin Exell had a blinder of a season, kicking 61 goals for the home and away season, narrowly pipping Geelong's 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 3rd at the completion of the Home and Away season and would meet Essendon in the Qualifying Final in the first week. Geelong's lack of experience was telling; as Essendon went on to erase a 3 year losing streak to Geelong to defeat the cats by a whopping 76 points. Gary Ablett and Shane Hamilton each kicked 3 goals each in this match.

Geelong would then meet Melbourne in the Semi finals. The previous week, Essendon had assigned "taggers" to Geelong's star midfielders, Paul Couch and Mark Bairstow to great effect, nullifying both. Melbourne's 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 Geelong-Essendon rematch. 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.In the lead up to the match, Paul Couch won the Brownlow Medal by 2 votes from Hawthorn's John Platten.

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, charged at 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 this 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 mark were two of his notable highlights of his day. The club however looked again to a bright season in 1990, with the foundation 1989 being laid.

1990s - The Ablett years

The club opened a 1990 season with a nightmare in round 1, thrashed by Hawthorn with Hawthorn's full forward, Jason Dunstall kicking a then round 1 goal kicking record of 12 goals. The rest of the season proved fruitless as Geelong missed the finals, finishing a miserable 10th. 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. Gary Ablett returned mid-season to the club. The club would finish 3rd 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 9 goals to three quarter time. However, Barry Stoneham was moved onto Lockett and held him goalless for the final quarter. With this, along with Billy Brownless' 8 goals, the cats managed to win by the small margin of 7 points, advancing to the 2nd week of the finals. Gary 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 2 points. The Eagles loss 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 would have a stellar year. The club would kick a VFL/AFL record score of 37.17 (239) 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, instead of their original 25 minute length. Gary Ablett and Billy Brownless would both score at least 70 goals for the season to form a potent forward line. Geelong this year scored the highest tally of points for a season ever, easily eclipsing the previous record, their own 1989 tally. The club would finish on top.The first week of the finals saw Geelong play the second placed Footscray at the MCG. This resulted in an easy 10 goal win for Geelong. Brownless dominated up forward.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 2 weeks prior, and would meet the Eagles in the grand final.The Cats got off to a wonderful start, leading by 5 goals during the second quarter. However, in the second half West Coast's Peter Matera ran riot, kicking many valuable goals to total 5 for the day, 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. This was a premiership that truly should have been. Ken Hinkley, a Fitzroy reject, would win the best and fairest award after a fantastic season.

In 1993 the club once again struggled. For most of the season the on field performances would remain inconsistent. Not until late in the season when Geelong changed its tactics after several of the experienced players spoke with coach Malcolm Blight would Geelong show what the year should have held as for 3 consecutive weeks Geelong played the top teams, being North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos), Hawthorn and Essendon, resulting all in wins. The club would win the final match against West Coast in Perth to only narrowly miss the finals on percentage. Had Collingwood beaten the Adelaide Crows the following day, the Cats would have made it. In 1993 Malcolm Blight decided to play Gary Ablett at full-forward, full-time. The move paid gold, as Gary 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 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 5 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 3 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 'Buddha' Hocking, who also won 20 votes in the Brownlow Medal to finish 3rd to 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 2nd. Gary Ablett would once again win the Coleman Medal and kick over 100 goals for the 3rd 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 goal kicking 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 2 losses were in consecutive weeks to lowly clubs St Kilda and Sydney, both by at least 10 goals. These two sides met during the year, which saw Carlton win by 2 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, former Geelong player, Greg Williams, now playing for 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 2nd 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 around 20 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, exiting the finals in a similar fashion to 1980 and 1981.

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 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.

The club would start well, winning its first 3 matches.By the end of the home and away season Geelong would finish 5th and under a new finals system, would 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.

New Millennium - Rebuilding of the Cats

2001-2003 saw a lean period for the club where finals were not realised for 3 years - fhinishing 12th, 9th and 12th respecfullily. However, it is during this time that the club recruited well. Current stars such as Paul Chapman, Cameron Ling (2000 actually), Gary Ablett Jnr, Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly, Joel Corey and Jordan Baker 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.

In 2004 Geelong returned to the winners list. The club would challenge for the preseason premiership (now known as the Wizard Home Loans Cup -should have been called "The Bucket"), 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.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 10 goals.Geelong would soldier on however and would meet Essendon at the MCG, winning by 2 goals despite leading by over 6 goals at 3/4 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 finish runner up in the previous two counts.

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 10 goals 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 99.99% of the match. A 4 goal lead at 3/4 time in a low scoring match saw Geelong in a strong position. However, inconsistent high profile Sydney player, Nick Davis kicked all of Sydney's 4 last quarter goals, including the winning one 3 seconds before the siren. The siren signalled a 3 point win to Sydney. Strongman Cameron Mooney openly wept as a season ended bitterly, coinciding with Brenton Sanderson's final game. Joel Corey would win his first best and fairest.

The beginning of 2006 saw a new preseason 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 higher, 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 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 favourites, 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 he final whistle going as Ablett Jr. had the ball and looked like he was sbout 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 prevented what would have been an 8 game losing streak as the Cats went on to lose to Collingwood by over 100 points, Richmond by 30 points and then manage to give up a 9 goal lead in the 3rd term against 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 travelling to Canberra's Manuka Oval for only the second time in a home and away fixture to play the Kangaroos, and 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 and leaves them still two games out of the Top 8 and a "mathematical chance" of playing finals football in 2006 if other teams above them lose.

Reserves

The club also fields a reserves side in the Victorian Football League.

Membership base

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.