Ford Australia was the major sponsor of the club for the 2019 season, continuing a long-running deal that started in 1925.[4]GMHBA was the naming rights sponsor for Geelong's home ground Kardinia Park, continuing a ten-year deal signed in October 2017 for the venue to be known as GMHBA Stadium.[5] The Cats were scheduled to play nine of their eleven home games at GMHBA Stadium for the season's home-and-away fixture; the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) hosted the club's remaining two home games against Essendon and Hawthorn.[6][7] Geelong signed up 65,063 members and had an average home ground attendance of 33,405 spectators across the season.[8][9]
Geelong utilised 34 players from their playing list this season;[28] of these players, five played in their first AFL game: Tom Atkins, Jordan Clark, Charlie Constable, Darcy Fort and Gryan Miers.[29] Additionally, Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan played their first games for the Cats, having previously played for Western Bulldogs and Sydney respectively.[29] There was four players who played in all 25 of the club's games.[28]Tom Hawkins was the club's leading goalkicker for the eighth successive season, scoring 56 goals.[30]
Denotes player who was on the club's standard rookie list, and therefore eligible for senior selection.
#
Denotes Category B rookie where player needed to be elevated to club's senior list during this season to be eligible for senior selection.[39]
Season summary
The fixture for the 2019 season was confirmed by the AFL in November 2018, with clubs playing 22 matches during the regular season and receiving a mid-season bye.[40][41] Geelong participated in the 2019 JLT Community Series as part of their pre-season schedule, playing in two games against West Coast and Essendon.[42]
Geelong began the regular season on 22 March against Collingwood at the MCG; despite featuring six new players in their team lineup, the Cats narrowly won the game by seven points.[43] This successful start to the season continued the following week, with Geelong winning against Melbourne by 80 points; both Collingwood and Melbourne reached the preliminary finals in the previous season.[44] After an away win against Adelaide in round 3, the Cats recorded their first loss for the season against Greater Western Sydney the next week.[45][46] Playing against arch-rival Hawthorn on Easter Monday, Geelong overcame match-day injuries to midfielder Brandan Parfitt and ruckman Esava Ratugolea to post a 23-point win.[47] This was the first of eight consecutive wins for the Cats, including a 58-point victory over reigning premier West Coast in round 6.[48] Geelong's score of 21.7 (133) against Western Bulldogs in round 9 was their highest of the season, with the Cats recording eleven individual goalkickers in their win.[49] Travelling to the MCG again in round 12, the Cats defeated Richmond by 67 points; the Tigers had won 26 of their 28 previous games at the venue.[50]
The Cats' early season success was somewhat marred by a string of on-field incidents by Cats' player Gary Ablett, beginning when Ablett was offered a one-match suspension for striking Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel with a forearm to the head in the Cats' round 7 win.[51] After successfully appealing the suspension at the AFL Tribunal, Ablett was involved in an almost identical incident the following week with North Melbourne's Sam Wright, but was not penalised.[51] A fortnight later, Ablett was suspended for the first time in his 331-game career when he accepted a one-match suspension for punching the jaw of Gold Coast midfielder Anthony Miles.[51] Heading into their bye in round 13, Geelong were placed first on the league's ladder with an 11–1 win–loss record; notably the Cats had played each team that had qualified for the previous season's final series.[46][50]
Geelong were defeated by Port Adelaide in their first match following their week off; it was the eighth consecutive year the Cats had lost after a mid-season bye.[52] This loss began a pattern where Geelong failed to record successive wins for the remainder of the home-and-away season, winning just five of ten matches.[53] All but one of the Cats' wins was at GMHBA Stadium; their sole away victory was against Sydney at the Sydney Cricket Ground in round 19, with Tom Hawkins scoring five goals in his 250th game.[54] Despite this inconsistent form, the Cats's still finished the regular season with a 16–6 win–loss record and placed first on the league's ladder, qualifying for the 2019 finals series and earning Geelong their first minor premiership since the 2008 season.[53]
Source: AFL Tables[62] Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. (P) Premiers
Reserves team
The club's reserves team, participating in the VFL, was coached by Shane O'Bree for a fourth season.[2] Aaron Black and James Tsitas were appointed co-captains, replacing Tom Atkins after he was rookie-listed in the senior team.[63]
The reserves team finished the regular season with a 11–7 win–loss record and placed sixth on the league's ladder, qualifying for the finals series as a result.[64] Geelong was subsequently defeated in an elimination final by Port Melbourne.[65]
Awards
Geelong held their player awards night at Crown Palladium on 3 October, with former player Doug Wade presenting the club's best and fairest award, the Carji Greeves Medal.[66][67] The award was won by Patrick Dangerfield, who received 268 votes; runner-up Tim Kelly polled 259.5 votes, with Tom Stewart in third place on 151 votes.[66] It was Dangerfield's third Carji Greeves Medal, having previously won the award in 2016 and 2017.[68] Additionally, Scott Selwood received the Tom Harley Award, for best representing the club's values, and Tom Hawkins was presented with the Community Champion award.[66] Gryan Miers was named the club's Best Young Player.[66]
Dangerfield, Kelly, Hawkins and Stewart were all selected in the honorary 2019 All-Australian team.[69] Teammates Gary Ablett and Mark Blicavs were initially shortlisted but ultimately not selected in the final team.[70] Kelly also received the AFL Coaches Association's Best Young Player award.[71] Geelong had three players, Charlie Constable (round two), Miers (round eight) and Jordan Clark (round fifteen), who were nominated for the season's Rising Star award.[72][73][74]
^ abCollings, Tom (20 June 2019). "Team: Cats make one change". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
^"2019 VFL Season Ladder". sportstg.com. Victorian Football League. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
^Kvant, Katherine (1 September 2019). "VFL: Port Melbourne prove too strong". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
^Kramer, Angus (26 September 2019). "VFL: Simpson wins Best & Fairest". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.