My second home
With a proud tradition, infectious spirit and wonderful sense of community, the Geelong Football Club touched the hearts of so many in its first 150 years. By Bob Davis
I have often been asked what the Geelong Football Club means to me. The answer is quite simple: it's been my second home.
Family aside, I could not name another entity or collection of people that mean more to me than my beloved Cats. I am truly one of the fortunate ones because I have been lucky enough to have played for the club, and later coached it.
From the time I walked into Kardinia Park in 1948 from Ballarat and met Reginald Joseph Hickey, I was taken by the warmth, sincerity and hospitality of the place. Nothing has made me change that opinion over the past 60-odd years.
I was also taken by the history and the tradition. There were old photographs of pre-war years, the honour boards were littered with great names and we were told of the pioneers of our club and the game itself.
The formation of the Geelong Football Club says much about the collective spirit of the time; it might have been a bit rough and tumble but, eventually, the club we know and love today sprouted wings in 1859 and hasn't looked back since.
From those early days when it was a power in Victorian football to its dominance in the Victorian Football Association (seven VFA premierships in nine years), Geelong Football Club has stood proud and it has stood tall.
The decision to join the breakaway Victorian Football League in 1897 breathed new life into the club as it battled the heavyweights from the city: Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne.
Geelong can hold its head high as one of the eight original clubs in what we now know as the Australian Football League. It took a while for some of us old-timers to get used to sides playing out of Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, but we understand that the boundaries had to be pushed beyond Victoria.
What club can lay claim to holding its own despite having a smaller population base than those cities? It says something about our town, our people, and, most importantly, our football club.
Of course, we wish we had won more premierships, but premierships are not the only measure of a club's success. The Cats have always produced quality players, going right back to George 'Jocka' Todd, Edward 'Carji' Greeves (the first Brownlow medallist) and the great man who had so much influence over me - Reg Hickey.
I could go on. My mates from the record-breaking teams of the early 1950s: Fred 'Troubles' Flanagan, Russell 'Hooker' Renfrey, Bernie Smith, Ron Hovey, Leo Turner, Bill 'Bronco' McMaster, Peter Pianto and Neil 'Nipper' Trezise.
The group of players whom I was fortunate enough to coach in the 1960s: Graham 'Polly' Farmer, Doug 'Puddin' Wade, Bill Goggin, Denis Marshall, the twins (Alistair and Stewart Lord), John 'Colac' Devine, Peter Walker, John Sharrock and John 'Sam' Newman, to name a few.
Roll into the modern era and you can add Ian and Bruce Nankervis, Gary Ablett snr, Michael Turner, Andrew Bews, Garry Hocking, Paul Couch, Barry Stoneham, Peter Riccardi and Gary Ablett jnr, and today's locally-born and bred stars Matthew Scarlett, Jimmy Bartel and Cameron Ling.
I trust you enjoy reading about these players and others who have made Geelong Football Club what it is: the greatest team of all.
