Geelong, by many measures, have transformed into the club with the most advantages – for the purpose of winning games – in the competition. The record shows that they alone have utterly defied the socialised cycles of the draft and salary cap – plus the perennial pitfalls of hubris and complacency. Loading As the sole regional club in the AFL, they are the only Victorian club with their own stadium/ground, on which they train and play (10 times a season) and win. They are untroubled in attracting and retaining elite players, aided by free agency. They are part of a region with an exploding population, benefiting from the strength of their region’s footy culture and from harvesting tens of millions of dollars in local, federal and especially state government funding for their grandstands and facilities. Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond and Hawthorn constitute the Broadway clubs (for players who want massive MCG crowds and bright lights), while the northern clubs are what I term the “Getaway clubs” (for players such as Tony Lockett, Lance Franklin, Joe Daniher, who crave privacy).
Then, there’s the Perth and Adelaide quartet, who primarily appeal to players from those states, and the challenged smaller Melbourne teams – who simply have to create the best possible environment. That leaves Geelong, home alone, as the regional power – a hybrid of Broadway and Getaway; big enough to sate player egos and far enough away for Bailey Smith, Jeremy Cameron, Gary Ablett jnr and Tyson Stengle to avoid the madding crowds, and hit the surf or relax in paddocks. “I hope people understand it wasn’t gifted,” said Hocking of Geelong’s present position of strength. The CEO credits the work of many people, past and present, over many years. “But they thought about the club in a long-term basis versus just their immediate term.” Patrick Dangerfield in his element. Credit: Instagram Advantage Geelong, naturally, has created cynicism, forging the new phenomenon of Geelong Envy, as rivals – and fans of 17 clubs – complain about Smith’s or Stengle’s non-punishment for indiscretions, question how the Cats keep their talent without bursting the salary cap, and, overall, just feel Geelong are getting away with something.
“That just comes with the territory,” said Hocking of the gathering resentment, noting that the club has grown in concert with local sponsors that wanted national exposure – Deakin University, Cotton On, GMHBA, Ford, and Morris Finance (whose sponsorship of Scott was examined by the AFL). “Off the back of that, quite clearly, there’s then a little bit of commentary, which is fine,” Hocking said. Loading In a changing football climate, some of Geelong’s condition is man-made by the club, and some of it is innate to their geography and good fortune, as Hocking and others acknowledge. Where does the advantage matter most? Today, as they face-off in their third grand final since 2020, it’s difficult to beat the Cats’ capacity to retain and recruit players. 1. Recruiting and the payment regime
On three occasions, since the Cats came down from their premiership treble over that five-year stanza (2007-2011), superstars, or players approaching that level, have arrived when the Cats seemed to be teetering. Or just short of the summit. The most crucial acquisition was a decade ago, when Patrick Dangerfield left the Crows to join Geelong, in a trade that circumvented free agency and which looks like a hell of a bargain now. The most striking aspect of the Dangerfield deal was that the champion, who was never going anywhere besides Geelong given his longing for home at Moggs Creek on the surf coast, had been informed that he couldn’t be paid more than Geelong’s skipper Joel Selwood. Geelong fans express their love for Jeremy Cameron at Friday’s grand final parade. Credit: Eddie Jim “We told him that, yep,” recalled Stephen Wells, Geelong’s distinguished veteran recruiter.
The Selwood ceiling contrasts with St Kilda’s inflationary recruitment of Tom De Koning, which led to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera getting an even heftier deal. Dangerfield agreed to a six-year contract initially worth about $5 million, with increases in the total player payments (TPP) built into the deal – e.g. if it went up 17 per cent (as it soon did), Dangerfield’s salary rose accordingly. But “Danger” – who has capacity to earn money externally via media and endorsements – was willing to be paid well below what he would have commanded even in Adelaide. Ex-Hawk Isaac Smith, who liked the local lifestyle, was willing to accept a moderate free agency deal. In Cameron’s case, the 2020 trade was difficult – Greater Western Sydney chose to match the free agent offer, forcing negotiations. Geelong handed over three first-round picks, but crucially gained second-rounders in return.
In the dealing, though, as sources involved say, Geelong had only to ask Cameron’s management what they wanted. The Cats agreed to those terms immediately (five years and a soft trigger for a sixth), without haggling. Geelong have been probed by the AFL this year for their salary cap regime, in what was first viewed as a regulation check, but remains an ongoing investigation. Hocking says that he sleeps easily about the AFL probe, which he says focused on administrative errors and non-disclosure. “It’s still being worked through, that’ll land when it does,” Hocking said. “[I’m] very comfortable with everything on that front. I’m not losing any sleep.” Dangerfield in his Crows days. Credit: Sebastian Costanzo When I put to him that the issue was administrative errors, he said: “Yeah, non-disclosures as much as anything.
“Not worried about that at all.” Bailey Smith’s recruitment – viewed cynically in some quarters due to his role as paid ambassador (secured years earlier when at the Bulldogs) for Cotton On – has turned into a windfall for Geelong, given the low draft cost (one first-rounder). What is easily forgotten is that Bailey Smith represented a gamble, considering his knee injury and very public issues with mental health – evident in his stint in a psychiatric ward last year that he bravely acknowledged – and rebellious streak. This leads to another feature of the Scott period: Geelong’s embrace of risqué talent.
2. “Not just straighty 180” A team competing for the premiership the majority of years won’t get access to Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson. Geelong, thus, have punted on players who’ve had indiscretions and issues – Stengle and Smith the exemplars, but they also gambled on Saint Jack Steven, went down the road with Clayton Oliver until the Demons retreated, and even entertained free agent Jordan De Goey back in 2022. Hocking felt there was no single reason Bailey Smith, who has boosted Geelong’s fan engagement and made their brand edgier, chose the Cats. But he agreed with the premise that they were willing to take a chance, and embrace different Cats. Cats chief executive Steve Hocking with Joel Selwood at Selwood’s retirement pres conference in 2022. Credit: AFL Photos “I hope people recognise that we’re supporting [players] probably a bit differently than where we’ve been previously,” he said. “We’re not just looking for straighty 180s. We’re keen on the differences that come.”
Hocking added, of the game accessing players from divergent backgrounds: “The more you take the risk out, the more vanilla it becomes. So stare down the people who want the risk removed.” As a former official observed, Geelong have a penchant under Scott/Hocking for caring less about what “they” say. Loading The Cats don’t have a player leadership group, merely a captain and vice captain, as Hocking highlighted. And they have a sizeable number of locals on their list (six played in the preliminary final, plus Cameron from Dartmoor) – Tom Atkins, Gryan Miers, Tom Stewart and Jack Henry were snared as rookies or late choices. When Stengle was found unresponsive outside a nightclub in mid-2024, the Cats did not sanction him. He played the following weekend, as Scott declared Geelong treat their players “as adults.”
The Scott Cats take an avowedly non-interventionist position on player behaviour. “Yes, but I think we’ve moved into that phase,” said Hocking of Geelong’s less punitive approach. “I think as a young coach comes in...there’s always a bit of cut paste from what they’ve done previously. “If you go back to some of the challenging moments we’ve had with athletes over time and right back through 2007 and so forth, well there was always different modelling that we used. It wasn’t one size fits all.” Premiership coach Chris Scott. Credit: Getty Images 3. The coach
One long-time former official felt that Scott, whose winning percentage is the highest in coaching history (more than 100 games), was the single greatest advantage Geelong owned in 2025. His argument was that whereas the stadium – assisted by once-marginal electorates at state and federal level – the geography, demography, local populace and player pool were entrenched, the coach was not. “That [the coach] is the only variable. The other advantages are fixed.” Reluctant to single out one advantage – innate or earned – as paramount to success, Hocking finally said: “It’s people.” Loading In the 1970s, there was a banner draped over what is now the Shane Warne Stand at the MCG. The boast read: “Collingwood domination the envy of a nation.” The slogan, which featured in repeated losing finals, clearly wasn’t accurate. In 2025, perhaps for the first time, the Cats are discovering what it is to be the genuine envy of a nation, when there’s more who want to see the back of you than get behind you. Not that they care.
[SRC] https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/advantage-geelong-how-the-cats-beat-the-system-and-became-the-envy-of-the-league-20250926-p5my6c.html
