The AFL has provided full details up to Round 15, including time, date, venue and opponent, and everything but the timeslot from Round 16 onwards, information that will land with a minimum six weeks’ notice during the season.
The Cats open the season as part of a genuine Friday night blockbuster against the Magpies, one of five games at the home of footy in the first nine rounds.
Matches />
It’s part of a footy feast for Melbourne based Cats supporters, where Geelong will play eight games in the Victorian capital including six at the ‘G, two of which are home games against the Pies and Hawthorn on Easter Monday, and two at Marvel against Western Bulldogs and St.Kilda.
Afl 2022 Round 17 Live Updates: Geelong Cats V Melbourne Demons Fixtures, Teams, Ladder, Odds, Tickets, Players
Gaelic prospect Oisin Mullin arrived in Australia, officially beginning his career as a Geelong player, via his Category B selection. Proudly Presented by Morgan Stanley.
In a break with recent tradition, Geelong’s Round 9 Friday night game against Richmond will kick off at the earlier time of 7.20pm to cater to traveling Cats fans heading up the highway.
Geelong will be on the road six times next season, the same as last year although only one of those is a trip to Perth, where the club will take on the Dockers in Round 10 at Optus Stadium.
Afl R9 Gameday Guide: Everything You Need To Know
The Cats will make two trips to Queensland, in Round 3 and Round 19 against Gold Coast and Brisbane respectively, and two trips to South Australia, one of which will be as part of Gather Round to take on the Eagles.
With the Stage 5 redevelopment of GMHBA Stadium not due to be completed until mid-year, the Cats have had their GMHBA allocation largely back-ended with six games at Kardinia Park scheduled for post Round 15.
Geelong play Collingwood, Sydney, Fremantle, Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide, and Essendon twice, four of whom finished in the top eight last season. It will also be just the third time since 1993 that Essendon has headed down the highway for four points since 1993.
Geelong Cats Vs Melbourne Demons Tips
From Round 17 onwards, Geelong will leave Victoria just once, to play Brisbane a the Gabba in Round 19, while five of the last eight games are at GMHBA Stadium.GEELONG'S form at the Gabba this year gives it belief it can cause an upset against in-form locals Brisbane in next week's preliminary final.
The Cats cruised through to their fourth preliminary final in the past five seasons after demolishing Collingwood by 68 points in Saturday night's semi.
It sets up their clash with the Lions next Saturday night in a bid for a Grand Final spot, and Scott said the Cats' efforts at the venue this season filled them with confidence.
Cats Keep Nine At Gmhba
The Cats have won all four of their games at the Gabba this year – against North Melbourne, St Kilda, Essendon and the Pies – and Scott said the venue suited their group.
The guys who are taking shots, [Gary] Rohan and [Tom] Hawkins in particular, and even [Patrick] Dangerfield, here it seems to set up well for them for some reason.
There are some things I have a theory on that I'm not prepared to elaborate on publicly (about why the Gabba works for the Cats), but we've played here four times (in 2020) and we've played well every single time.
Afl 2020, Afl, Geelong Cats Home Grand Final, Geelong Cats Kardinia Park Frank Costa, Geelong Cats Gmhba Stadium
View this post on Instagram Built different ? Leading us to back to back preliminary finals just eight days after finger surgery #GeelongStrong A post shared by (@) on Oct 10, 2020 at 5:23am PDT
Brisbane will have the supporter base on its side as it shoots for its first Grand Final appearance since 2004, but Scott said it held no fears for Geelong's experienced line-up.
The crowd's in their favour, but it's been that sort of year, hasn't it? The three teams that finished in the top five, if you include West Coast, played a lot of games at home in front of a home crowd and that's just a quirk of the way this year unfolded, ” he said.
Geelong Cats Won't Ask For All Afl Home Games At Gmhba Staidum
Brisbane would be used to it, but it's very rare you get to play an away preliminary final having played four games at the venue in preparation and we're only an hour bus ride up the road which we're used to.
I think it would be logical they'd be going in favourites, given they played so well against Richmond last week, and have a bit of a home ground advantage, but I think there'll be a few Catters here as well.
Scott admitted he was surprised at the level of the win over the Pies given the clubs' pattern of close results in recent years, but that the Cats hadn't been stung by talk of a possible straight-sets exit from the finals.
Geelong Cats Scoreboard Clock
It's hard for me to answer, but I doubt it. It's certainly not the sense I got. I think you'd be surprised how little some people, including me, actually hear about that stuff. You obviously are aware of criticism when it comes, but that's the business we're in, Scott said.
I said during the week that if we feel a little bit of pressure we should consider it a privilege. It's hard to get to this stage of the year. There are easier places to be at this time of the year.
View this post on Instagram A historic night for Tom Hawkins ? #GeelongStrong A post shared by (@) on Oct 10, 2020 at 4:45am PDT
Run Home For 2022 Afl Finals Contenders
We'd rather take that emotional risk, put ourselves on the line, to test ourselves. I think it's a bad mindset to be in to have extra motivation because of what people who don't live in your world are saying. I think our motivation was much more pure than that.
Up Next Cats record emphatic win against Pies Geelong advance to a preliminary final after recording a big win at the Gabba Read nowGeelong’s players and staff will have to decide whether to put their entire families into home lockdown or quarantine in hotels without them before Thursday night’s trip to Adelaide to face the Power.
From 5pm on Monday, Cats players and staff will have just one reason to leave home – to go to GMHBA Stadium for training – and the lockdown will also apply to any family members living under the same roof.
Melbourne Set To Make Unusual Move Ahead Of Geelong Blockbuster, Clayton Oliver Injury Update
But like Collingwood, the AFL would give Geelong’s travelling party the option to spend the week in hotels if the lockdown was expected to unfairly burden family members, such as school-aged children, should the South Australian government require the Cats to quarantine from Monday night.
However, despite the easing of restrictions in Geelong – which allows regional Victorians to move freely outside of the city – Cats players and staff have continued living under Melbourne’s “five reasons to leave home”.
The AFL continues to work through arrangements for round 13 and is yet to lock in the fixture outside of next Sunday’s Optus Stadium game between West Coast and Richmond.
Afl Fixture Revealed
But the Port Adelaide and Geelong clash is anticipated to go ahead on Thursday night with approval from the South Australian state government, with the Cats flying into Adelaide on Thursday and departing the next day. Despite reports the game could be moved, the Cats and the AFL are expecting the game to be held at Adelaide Oval.
Geelong’s players and staff will arrive in Adelaide at least six hours prior to the match and will likely undergo COVID-19 tests on arrival, as Collingwood did ahead of Saturday’s game against the Crows.
Because it’s a night fixture, it will be too late for Geelong’s squad to return to Victoria on Thursday night. They will go straight back into hotel quarantine after the match and are likely to fly home on Friday morning.Geelong have confirmed they will again lobby the AFL for the right to host a final at GMHBA Stadium this year if their stellar season continues.
Afl Grand Final 2022: Geelong Cats Win 10th Premiership Cup, Scores, News
But the AFL’s recent purchase of Marvel Stadium will almost certainly mean their request will be rejected by league officials, with only the perfect fixture storm likely to lead to their wish being granted.
Sitting top of the ladder with games against North Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast to come, the Cats’ chances of finishing in the top four are looking increasingly likely.
They play six of their last home games of the season at their home ground, with the only outlier being a round 18 clash with rivals Hawthorn at the MCG.
Afl 2020: Geelong Collingwood Jumper Clash, Afl Finals, Cats Pies, Eddie Mcguire, Colin Carter, Port Adelaide Prison Bars Eddie Mcguire, Home And Away Strips
Four of those games are against Victorian sides - the Bulldogs, St Kilda, North Melbourne and Carlton, with the Blues having just reached 60, 000 members for the first time.
But even if Geelong finished first at the end of the home-and-away season, the AFL are highly likely to force the Cats to play their home final at the MCG or even Marvel, with the league’s position that you can’t lock supporters out.
Cook confirmed he believed the AFL’s position will be to have the Cats host a final at the MCG unless they were to play an interstate side.
Geelong Cats Afl Coach Chris Scott Downplays Significance Of Collapse Against Melbourne Demons, Top Four Finish, Afl Minor Premiership
The only final in which Geelong have been allowed to play at Kardinia Park was in 2013, when they hosted Fremantle in