History of the Geelong Football Club

Pushing with the hands or body is allowed when any Player is in rapid motion, or in possession of the Ball, except in the case provided for in rule VI VIII.

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 may have a free kick from the place where the breach of Rule was made; the two Captains in all cases, save where Umpires are appointed, to be the sole Judges of infringements The club contested its first interclub match against Melbourne at Argyle Square in 1860, which finished as a scoreless draw.

This late season match in the VFA between two previously undefeated teams, Geelong and South Melbourne, stimulated unprecedented public interest.

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.

In the lead-up to the club's Round 9 clash against favourites Carlton, the Herald Sun published a depiction of the match by cartoonist Sam Wells, featuring a black cat wandering onto the field to give Geelong good luck.

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.

Before the 1962 season, Davis helped Geelong recruit ruckman Graham "Polly" Farmer from East Perth to partner Billy Goggin and Alistair Lord in the midfield.

In an interview with Lou Richards on Channel 7's World of Sport, Bob Davis predicted that Newman would enjoy a stellar career.

In 1966, the club board decided to re-open the coaching position for application and eventually settled on Peter Pianto to replace Davis.

During his time however, Hafey helped recruit several players to the club, including Gary Ablett, Paul Couch, and Greg Williams.

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.

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.

Gary Ablett topped the goalkicking for the year easily, kicking 129 goals (including the finals) and winning his second consecutive John Coleman Medal.

A week later it seemed Geelong had no hope of beating Carlton, who had finished 2nd after the home and away season, given that their three best midfielders; Garry Hocking, Paul Couch and Mark Bairstow were not playing through injury.

A fine feat given that Geelong's target all season, Gary Ablett was being beaten by North Melbourne's full back, Mick Martyn.

Unlike two seasons ago, Geelong proved no match against an Eagles outfit superior to its 1992 premiership team, losing by 80 points.

The club then went on to the regular season and produced a solid year with 15 home and away wins, equal top with St. Kilda (although second on the ladder with a slightly lower percentage).

Particularly notable was the 2001 AFL Draft, where future premiership players Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly, Steve Johnson and Gary Ablett Jr. (under the father–son rule) were all selected by Geelong.

The match was notable with Geelong successfully completing a comeback from a 28-point deficit early in the final quarter to record a victory when an after-the-siren kick Jimmy Bartel scored a point and resulted in a win.

[47] As a marquee player, Ablett signed a five-year contract worth an estimated $1.6 million (AUD) a season, which was significantly more than Geelong could afford to offer.

Using the skill of its star midfielders, Geelong often executed long running chains of handpasses to break through the defensive zones which top clubs like Sydney and Adelaide had used to great effect in 2005–2006.

[58] Premiership captain Cameron Ling announced his retirement from the AFL at the conclusion of the season,[60] and Joel Selwood was appointed to the position in January 2012.

[61] Geelong were unsuccessful in defending their premiership in 2012, finishing the regular season in sixth position and subsequently losing its elimination final against Fremantle at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

[74][75] The club's recruitment strategy was in response to the departure of many of its premiership players in the preceding seasons,[76] such as Brad Ottens (in 2011),[77] Matthew Scarlett and David Wojcinski (2012),[78] and Joel Corey (2013).

[79] 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.

[80][81][82] Geelong improved remarkably from the prior year in 2016, finishing the regular season in second position and progressing to the preliminary finals, where the team lost to Sydney by 37 points.

[94] They reached the preliminary final stage for the fourth time in seven years but would again fall at the penultimate hurdle, losing to eventual premiers Richmond by 19 points.

After being overlooked to join the inaugural AFL Women's (AFLW) competition in 2017,[97] the club has been granted a licence to enter a standalone team in the league from the 2019 season.

They finished third on the AFL ladder with a 15–8 win-loss record, and proceeded to thrash second-ranked Port Adelaide by 84 points in the second qualifying final.

The Cats would meet Brisbane in a preliminary final once again, but this time would fall short in heartbreaking fashion after losing to the Lions by 10 points in a classic contest.