# 2009 Geelong Football Club season

The 2009 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 110th season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong won the 2009 NAB Cup, their third night series/pre-season premiership, defeating Collingwood by 76 points, and finished the regular season in second position on the ladder, resulting in qualification for the 2009 AFL finals series. Geelong's regular season record (18 wins, four losses) was the first time a team had won 18 or more matches in the VFL/AFL's regular season for three consecutive seasons (2007, 2008, 2009). Geelong then proceeded to win its qualifying and preliminary finals in succession to earn a place in the 2009 AFL Grand Final against the minor premiers St Kilda. Geelong won the 2009 Grand Final over St Kilda by 80 points to 68.

## Club list
### Changes from 2008 list
#### Additions

* Exchange period – received:
** None
* Rookie elevation:
** None
* Father/son selection:
** None
* NAB AFL Draft (29 November 2008):
* Mitchell Brown (Round 1; Overall pick 15; from Geelong Falcons)
* Thomas Gillies (Round 2; Overall pick 33; from Dandenong Stringrays)
* Steven Motlop (Round 3; Overall pick 39; from Wanderers)
* Taylor Hunt (Round 3; Overall pick 49; from Sandringham Dragons)
* NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft (16 December 2008):
** None
* NAB AFL Rookie Draft (16 December 2008):
* Adam Varcoe (Round 1; Overall pick 15; from Central District)
* Bryn Weadon (Round 2; Overall pick 31; from North Ballarat Rebels)
* Tom Allwright (Round 3; Overall pick 46; from North Hobart Demons)
* Ranga Ediriwickrama (Round 4; Overall pick 60; via NSW AFL scholarship program)

#### Deletions

* Exchange period – traded:
* Brent Prismall – to Essendon (received Essendon's Round 3 draft selection – No.39)
* Delisted:
* Liam Bedford (from Rookie list)
* Jason Davenport
* Chris Kangars (from Rookie list)
* Retirements:
* Nathan Ablett

### Rookie list

    Players are listed in alphabetical order by surname, and statistics are for AFL regular season and finals series matches during the 2009 AFL season only. Statistics are correct to the end of the 2009 season (26 September 2009).
| Name | No. | Debut | Games (2009) | Games (career) | Goals (2009) | Goals (career) |
| Tom Allwright | 48 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ranga Ediriwickrama | 42 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jeremy Laidler* | 37 | 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brodie Moles | 36 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shane Mumford* | 41 | 2008 | 18 | 21 | 3 | 3 |
| Adam Varcoe | 46 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bryn Weadon | 47 | — | — | — | — | — |
* * Nominated rookie (Elevated to senior list during season, eligible for senior selection)

## Season summary
### NAB Cup

| Round | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance |
| Round | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Saturday, 21 February (7:10 pm) | Adelaide | 1.17.8 (119) | 2.9.12 (84) | Won by 35 points | Telstra Dome | 10,320 |
| QF | Saturday, 28 February (3:10 pm) | Port Adelaide | 1.6.9 (54) | 0.11.6 (72) | Won by 18 points | AAMI Stadium | 8,341 |
| SF | Saturday, 7 March (7:10 pm) | Carlton | 2.9.12 (84) | 0.9.13 (67) | Won by 17 points | Etihad Stadium | 15,305 |
| GF | Friday, 13 March (7:40 pm) | Collingwood | 1.6.6 (51) | 0.18.19 (127) | Won by 76 points | Etihad Stadium | 37,277 |
| Geelong were the 2009 NAB Cup premiers. ||||||||

### Regular season

| Round | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position |
| Round | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position |
| 1 | Friday, 27 March (7:40 pm) | Hawthorn | 16.7 (103) | 15.21 (111) | Won by 8 points | MCG | 69,593 | 7 |
| 2 | Saturday, 4 April (2:10 pm) | Richmond | 15.15 (105) | 13.7 (85) | Won by 20 points | Skilled Stadium | 22,288 | 4 |
| 3 | Thursday, 9 April (7:40 pm) | Collingwood | 18.14 (122) | 13.17 (95) | Won by 27 points | MCG | 58,527 | 3 |
| 4 | Saturday, 18 April (7:40 pm) | Adelaide | 13.8 (86) | 21.8 (134) | Won by 48 points | AAMI Stadium | 40,418 | 2 |
| 5 | Sunday, 26 April (1:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 18.18 (126) | 5.3 (33) | Won by 93 points | Skilled Stadium | 15,580 | 2 |
| 6 | Sunday, 3 May (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 10.8 (68) | 15.21 (111) | Won by 43 points | MCG | 36,932 | 2 |
| 7 | Saturday, 9 May (2:10 pm) | Sydney | 17.14 (116) | 10.5 (65) | Won by 51 points | Skilled Stadium | 22,050 | 2 |
| 8 | Saturday, 16 May (2:10 pm) | North Melbourne | 18.11 (119) | 7.7 (49) | Won by 70 points | Skilled Stadium | 20,873 | 2 |
| 9 | Friday, 22 May (7:40 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 17.14 (116) | 17.12 (114) | Won by 2 points | Etihad Stadium | 44,620 | 2 |
| 10 | Sunday, 31 May (2:10 pm) | Essendon | 11.4 (70) | 20.14 (134) | Won by 64 points | Etihad Stadium | 48,852 | 2 |
| 11 | Sunday, 7 June (2:40 pm) | West Coast | 12.5 (77) | 15.9 (99) | Won by 22 points | Subiaco Oval | 35,355 | 2 |
| 12 | Sunday, 21 June (2:40 pm) | Fremantle | 11.9 (75) | 13.16 (94) | Won by 19 points | Subiaco Oval | 33,213 | 2 |
| 13 | Sunday, 28 June (1:10 pm) | Port Adelaide | 18.14 (122) | 13.10 (88) | Won by 34 points | Skilled Stadium | 21,142 | 2 |
| 14 | Sunday, 5 July (3:10 pm) | St Kilda | 14.7 (91) | 13.7 (85) | Lost by 6 points | Etihad Stadium | 54,444 | 2 |
| 15 | Saturday, 11 July (7:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 16.12 (108) | 9.11 (65) | Lost by 43 points | The Gabba | 34,274 | 2 |
| 16 | Saturday, 18 July (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 17.15 (117) | 11.5 (71) | Won by 46 points | Skilled Stadium | 21,160 | 2 |
| 17 | Saturday, 25 July (2:10 pm) | Hawthorn | 15.9 (99) | 14.14 (98) | Won by 1 point | MCG | 64,803 | 2 |
| 18 | Saturday, 1 August (2:10 pm) | Adelaide | 14.9 (93) | 13.13 (91) | Won by 2 points | Skilled Stadium | 21.686 | 2 |
| 19 | Friday, 7 August (7:40 pm) | Carlton | 14.13 (97) | 8.14 (62) | Lost by 35 points | MCG | 55,057 | 2 |
| 20 | Saturday, 15 August (7:10 pm) | Sydney | 13.9 (87) | 13.14 (92) | Won by 5 points | ANZ Stadium | 40,261 | 2 |
| 21 | Friday, 21 August (7:40 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 16.14 (110) | 14.12 (96) | Lost by 14 points | Etihad Stadium | 46,818 | 2 |
| 22 | Saturday, 29 August (1:10 pm) | Fremantle | 14.10 (94) | 8.6 (54) | Won by 40 points | Skilled Stadium | 18,196 | 2 |

### Finals

| Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (Geelong's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance |
| Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| Qualifying and Elimination Finals (second qualifying final) |||||||
| Saturday, 5 September (2:30 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 14.12 (96) | 12.10 (82) | Won by 14 points | MCG | 74,007 |
| Preliminary Finals (second preliminary final) |||||||
| Saturday, 19 September (7:30 pm) | Collingwood | 17.18 (120) | 6.11 (47) | Won by 73 points | MCG | 87,258 |
| Grand Final |||||||
| Saturday, 26 September (2:30 pm) | St Kilda | 9.14 (68) | 12.8 (80) | Won by 12 points | MCG | 99,251 |
| Geelong were the 2009 AFL premiers. |||||||
| Geelong's 2009 teams (Finals) |
| Qualifying Final | Preliminary Final | Grand Final |
| B: | Enright | Scarlett | Harley | Enright | Scarlett | Harley | Enright | Scarlett | Harley |
| HB: | Mackie | Taylor | Milburn | Mackie | Taylor | Milburn | Mackie | Taylor | Milburn |
| C: | Selwood | Bartel | Corey | Selwood | Bartel | Corey | Selwood | Bartel | Corey |
| HF: | Kelly | Mooney | Chapman | Kelly | Mooney | Chapman | Kelly | Mooney | Chapman |
| F: | Byrnes | Hawkins | Varcoe | S. Johnson | Hawkins | Varcoe | S. Johnson | Hawkins | Varcoe |
| Foll: | Ottens | Ling | Ablett | Ottens | Ling | Ablett | Ottens | Ling | Ablett |
| Int: | Blake | Hogan | Stokes | Blake | Rooke | Byrnes | Blake | Rooke | Byrnes |
| Wojcinski | Wojcinski | Wojcinski | Wojcinski | Wojcinski | Wojcinski | Wojcinski | Wojcinski | Wojcinski |
| Coach: | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson | Mark Thompson |
| In: | Chapman, Varcoe | Chapman, Varcoe | Chapman, Varcoe | S. Johnson, Rooke | S. Johnson, Rooke | S. Johnson, Rooke | No change | No change | No change |
| Out: | Gamble, Rooke | Gamble, Rooke | Gamble, Rooke | Hogan, Stokes | Hogan, Stokes | Hogan, Stokes | | | No change | No change | No change |

## Ladder

2009 AFL ladder :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | |
| 1 | St Kilda | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 2197 | 1411 | 155.7 | 80 | Finals series |
| 2 | Geelong (P) | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2312 | 1815 | 127.4 | 72 | Finals series |
| 3 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2378 | 1940 | 122.6 | 60 | Finals series |
| 4 | Collingwood | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2174 | 1778 | 122.3 | 60 | Finals series |
| 5 | Adelaide | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2104 | 1789 | 117.6 | 56 | Finals series |
| 6 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 2017 | 1890 | 106.7 | 54 | Finals series |
| 7 | Carlton | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2270 | 2055 | 110.5 | 52 | Finals series |
| 8 | Essendon | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2080 | 2127 | 97.8 | 42 | Finals series |
| 9 | Hawthorn | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 1962 | 2120 | 92.5 | 36 | |
| 10 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 1990 | 2244 | 88.7 | 36 | |
| 11 | West Coast | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1893 | 2029 | 93.3 | 32 | |
| 12 | Sydney | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1888 | 2027 | 93.1 | 32 | |
| 13 | North Melbourne | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 1680 | 2015 | 83.4 | 30 | |
| 14 | Fremantle | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1747 | 2259 | 77.3 | 24 | |
| 15 | Richmond | 22 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 1774 | 2388 | 74.3 | 22 | |
| 16 | Melbourne | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1706 | 2285 | 74.7 | 16 | |

## Awards and records
### Milestones

| Player | Milestone | Round |
| Joel Selwood | 50 games | Round 5 |
| Travis Varcoe | 50 games | Round 17 |
| Darren Milburn | 250 games | Round 18 |
| Jimmy Bartel | 150 games | Round 18 |
| Andrew Mackie | 100 games | Round 19 |
| Cameron Ling | 200 games | Round 21 |
| David Wojcinski | 150 games | Round 22 |

### AFL awards

| Award | Recipient | Awarded by |
| 2009 Brownlow Medal | Gary Ablett, Jr. | AFL |
| Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFLPA Most Valuable Player) | Gary Ablett, Jr. | AFL Players Association (AFLPA) |
| Member of the 2009 All-Australian team (back pocket) | Corey Enright | AFL |
| Member of the 2009 All-Australian team (fullback) | Matthew Scarlett | AFL |
| Member of the 2009 All-Australian team (wing) | Joel Selwood | AFL |
| Member of the 2009 All-Australian team (Half-forward flank) | Paul Chapman | AFL |
| Member of the 2009 All-Australian team (rover) | Gary Ablett, Jr. | AFL |
| Robert Rose Award for Most Courageous Player | Joel Selwood | AFL Players' Association (AFLPA) |
| Michael Tuck Medal | Joel Selwood | AFL |
| 2009 AFL Army Award | Tom Hawkins | AFL |
| Norm Smith Medal | Paul Chapman | AFL |

### Club awards

| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Carji Greeves Medal | Gary Ablett, Jr. and Corey Enright |
| Coach's award | Corey Enright |
| "Best first-year player" | Tom Gillies |
| "Best clubman" | Brad Ottens |
| Leading goalkicker | Cameron Mooney |
| "Community champion" | Mathew Stokes |
| VFL best-and-fairest | James Podsiadly |
| Life membership | Gary Ablett, Jr., Jimmy Bartel, Mark Thompson and David Wojcinski |

### Other honours

| Honour | Recipient | Awarded by |
| "Most under-rated player" | Corey Enright | AFLPA / Herald Sun player survey |

### Records

* First, and only, time a club has won 18 or more matches in three consecutive VFL/AFL seasons (2007, 2008, 2009).
* Most times a player has been awarded the Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFLPA's Most Valuable Player – Gary Ablett, Jr. (three times; 2007, 2008, 2009).
* Highest number of disposals in a single VFL/AFL match – Gary Ablett, Jr. in round four against Adelaide (46 disposals; tied with Nathan Buckley).
* Highest number of handpasses in a single VFL/AFL match – Gary Ablett, Jr. in round four against Adelaide (33 handpasses).