Geelong Sports Clubs Guide: Cats, Falcons & Local Teams

Geelong's sporting culture is defined, above all else, by the Geelong Football Club (the Cats): one of the AFL's most successful and most loved clubs, the Cats have won four AFL premierships in the modern era (2007, 2009, 2011, and 2022) and under coaches Mark Thompson and later Chris Scott have been consistently competitive for more than two decades. The Cats' home ground (GMHBA Stadium, Moorabool Street, Geelong, one of the AFL's most intimate and atmospheric grounds) creates a match-day atmosphere that is one of Australian sport's most distinctive experiences: 36,000 Geelong faithful in the compact bowl of the Cattery creates a noise and intensity that few larger venues can match. Beyond AFL, Geelong's extraordinary Surf Coast, Bellarine Peninsula, and Corio Bay foreshore create outstanding conditions for surfing, sailing, cycling, and rowing.

Geelong Football Club (the Cats) — the Geelong Football Club (GMHBA Stadium, Moorabool Street, Geelong) is one of the AFL's founding clubs (established 1859, the oldest football club in Australia outside the Melbourne clubs) and one of the competition's most consistently competitive teams of the modern era. The Cats' four recent premierships (2007, 2009, 2011, 2022) and the long service of all-time greats including Gary Ablett Jnr and Joel Selwood at the club have created an extraordinary sustained period of excellence that has cemented the Cats' status as one of the AFL's great clubs. GMHBA Stadium home games are sold out far in advance and are among the most sought-after tickets in Victorian sport.

Geelong Falcons and the TAC Cup — the Geelong Falcons (GFL affiliate club competing in the NAB League/TAC Cup, providing the development pathway for Geelong region players to the AFL) are the talent production pipeline for the Geelong Football Club and a significant community sporting institution for young footballers in the Geelong and Surf Coast area. The Falcons' games at GMHBA Stadium and other Geelong venues provide good community football at a high level for Geelong sport followers.

Surf Coast and Bellarine Water Sports — the Torquay, Jan Juc, and Bells Beach surf coast provides world-class surfing conditions (Bells Beach hosts the Rip Curl Pro, the longest-running professional surfing event in the world), while the Bellarine Peninsula's Port Phillip and Corio Bay waters provide outstanding sailing, windsurfing, and kite surfing conditions for Geelong's water-sport community.

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