The 2025 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 161st season playing Australian rules football, with the club competing in their 126th season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong continued to field a women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, and men's and women's reserves teams in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW) respectively.
After finishing second on the ladder, the AFL team progressed through to the club's 20th Grand Final, losing to the by 47 points in the 2025 AFL Grand Final. Club news Grant McCabe was officially appointed as president of the club at the annual general meeting held in December 2024. Lyndsay Sharpe was elected as vice president.
Tyson Stengle and Lawson Humphries were selected in the Indigenous All-Stars squad for the preseason exhibition match against . Stengle kicked a goal, while Humphries was named among the All-Stars best players in their 43-point win.
In March it was reported that Geelong and other clubs were being audited regarding third-party player payments. The audit coming after the club was investigated over the arrangement Chris Scott had with sponsor Morris Finance.
In early September, the club welcomed current Australia national cricket team coach Andrew McDonald to the board of directors. McDonald had been associated with the club since 2016.
The club increased their membership numbers, setting a new record of 92,379 members an increase of 1,581 from 2024.
Following the end of the AFL's audit, the club was fined 77,500 (with 40,000 suspended) for a "series of 'non-disclosures or late disclosures' of arrangements with club associates and third parties. Non-disclosures found in Geelong's AFLW program were found to be administrative errors, rather than 'material breaches.' The audit found Geelong did not breach the AFL salary cap or player movement rules.
AFL team
Season summary
It was the club's 15th AFL season under senior coach Chris Scott, with Patrick Dangerfield continuing as club captain.
The club was due to play in the season opening match at The Gabba against reigning premiers , but the match was postponed on 4 March due to the impact of Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred on the South East Queensland region. On 7 March, the AFL announced that the match would be played during round 3 of the season.
In the round 6 match against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the club's record for largest attendance at a home and away match was broken. 88,746 attended the match won by seven points by Geelong, eclipsing the previous mark set in 2010 against .
In round 20 against , forward Jeremy Cameron kicked a career high 11 goals to become the first Geelong player since Gary Ablett Sr. in 1994 to score more than 10 goals in a match.
Geelong finished the home and away season with six straight victories to qualify for the 2025 AFL finals series in second position on the ladder behind minor premiers . Following two dominate finals performances against the and , the team qualified for the 2025 AFL Grand Final, the 20th time the club would play in the premiership deciding match. The attendance of 99,567 for the 30-point preliminary final victory against Hawthorn was the highest non-Grand Final attended Geelong match since 1969. It was also the biggest non-Grand Final attendance at the MCG since 1971.
Club vice-captain Tom Stewart was forced to miss the Grand Final after suffering a concussion as a result of a heavy tackle by Mabior Chol during the first quarter of the preliminary final.
Midfielder Bailey Smith finished third in the Brownlow Medal count, polling a career-best 29 votes behind winner Matt Rowell. Smith earned votes in 13 matches including six best-on-ground performances. Geelong finished the night with the most votes among the clubs, with 13 players receiving 99 total votes. Young defender Connor O'Sullivan finished fifth in the 2025 AFL Rising Star Award following his strong season after appearing in 24 matches.
Pre-season Geelong started the season with a match simulation game against at GMHBA Stadium on 17 February, winning 15.16 (106) to 13.8 (86), with Ollie Henry kicking four goals.
Geelong played an official practice match as part of the AFL's Community Series against at GMHBA Stadium on 25 February. After a tight first three quarters, Essendon kicked clear in the final quarter to win 17.2 (104) to Geelong 12.11 (83) in front of a crowd of 11,626.
Coaching staff Chris Scott continued as the club's men's senior coach for a 15th season, having signed a contract extension until the end of the 2026 season. Scott coached his 350th match against in round 18.
Assistant coach Steven King was appointed as the 28th coach of the Melbourne Football Club in September, but continued with his role at Geelong until the end of the season. + 2025 Geelong coaching staff Role Name Senior coach Chris Scott Assistant coach James Kelly Assistant coach Steven King Assistant coach James Rahilly Head of player development Nigel Lappin Ruck coach Brad Ottens Development coach Aaron Black Development coach Shaun Higgins
Playing list Changes
+ Deletions from playing list Player ReasonRetiredDelisted
+ Additions to playing list Player Acquired Delisted free agent Traded from 44, 2024 national draft 52, 2024 national draft 66, 2024 national draft 69, 2024 national draft 12, 2025 rookie draft 23, 2025 rookie draft 31, 2025 rookie draft Category B rookie
Statistics Updated to end of season +Key^Denotes player who was on the club's standard rookie list, and therefore eligible for senior selection.#Denotes Category B rookie where player needed to be elevated to club's senior list during this season to be eligible for senior selection.‡Competition leader in statistic category
+Playing list and statisticsPlayerGamesGoalsBehindsKicksHandballsDisposalsTacklesMarksHitoutsMilestone(s) 30 26 5 4 223 288 511 232‡ 52 0 150th match (round 24) 24 4 0 0 38 18 56 7 24 0 46 25 11 9 157 198 355 80 96 341 12 21 16 5 187 111 298 59 54 0 4 # 41 5 26 88‡ 43‡ 288 64 352 46 152 4 700th goal (round 17)100th club match (round 18) 13 10 1 2 56 35 91 18 15 0 ^ 40 9 2 3 48 23 71 22 16 0 45 26 19 16 196 131 327 58 72 0 6 35 23 30 22 180 170 350 57 77 3 350th match (round 15)200th club match (round 20) 16 23 3 1 169 140 309 23 115 83 28 26 35 20 248 193 441 73 100 0 50th match (round 19) 22 9 1 1 76 40 116 13 38 0 300th match (round 11) 11 29 39 26 1 2 325 129 454 54 169 0 38 21 0 2 208 50 258 20 136 0 150th match (round 12) 36 15 14 6 80 37 117 27 36 0 23 9 26 14 10 436 263 699 92 140 0 100th match (qualifying final) 17 25 4 2 310 94 404 50 134 0 25 10 7 1 3 37 44 81 26 17 0 8 7 23 31 20 305 116 421 112 84 0 19 13 12 6 109 61 170 26 78 0 Club debut (round 13) 31 32 24 14 13 353 181 534 76 136 0 150th match (round 22) 20 ^ 34 25 2 5 135 111 246 75 75 0 33 25 44 18 129 80 209 69 99 108 42 25 1 4 224 122 346 66 126 0 14 25 0 0 179 135 314 46 144 1 37 2 27 3 23 8 7 454 266 720 114 111 0 Club debut (round 1) 1 19 6 5 105 81 186 36 39 473 18 24 34 32 195 102 297 73 73 0 100th match (round 15) 15 2 1 2 16 12 28 3 4 0 AFL debut (round 18) 44 20 1 0 296 75 371 29 147 0 21 2 1 1 10 3 13 3 4 0 AFL debut (round 7)
Results +KeyH Home gameA Away gameN Neutral venue gameQF Qualifying finalPF Preliminary finalGF Grand Final + Table of 2025 AFL season results Round Date Result Score Opponent Score Ground Attendance OR 1 23 9 147 10 9 69 GMHBA Stadium H 25,372 2 13 13 91 15 8 98 Marvel Stadium A 36,663 3 9 7 61 10 10 70 The Gabba A 27,966 4 12 13 85 6 10 46 GMHBA Stadium H 30,397 5 18 11 119 15 10 100 Adelaide Oval A 50,073 6 12 14 86 11 13 79 Melbourne Cricket Ground H 88,746 7 12 4 76 14 10 94 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 67,658 8 13 12 90 12 15 87 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 82,514 9 14 17 101 16 9 105 GMHBA Stadium H 28,407 10 17 13 115 5 9 39 Adelaide Oval A 35,509 11 20 7 127 16 17 113 GMHBA Stadium H 32,641 12 17 14 116 11 7 73 Optus Stadium A 42,501 13 9 7 61 5 7 37 GMHBA Stadium H 29,502 14 23 13 151 8 8 56 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 61,643 15 6 15 51 14 8 92 GMHBA Stadium H 35,367 16 Bye 17 18 16 124 7 10 52 GMHBA Stadium H 31,060 18 13 7 85 17 9 111 Engie Stadium A 13,349 19 17 11 113 12 10 82 GMHBA Stadium H 29,985 20 22 18 150 7 7 49 Marvel Stadium A 25,445 21 23 15 153 9 11 65 GMHBA Stadium H 28,064 22 15 19 109 10 5 65 GMHBA Stadium H 30,289 23 16 15 111 10 8 68 Sydney Cricket Ground A 37,656 24 14 19 103 9 10 64 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 46,109 QF 16 16 112 11 8 74 Melbourne Cricket Ground N 86,364—PF 17 13 115 13 7 85 Melbourne Cricket Ground N 99,567GF 11 9 75 18 14 122 Melbourne Cricket Ground N 100,022
Ladder
Awards League awards
Coleman Medal: Jeremy Cameron (83 goals) All-Australian: Jeremy Cameron (Forward — captain) Bailey Smith (Midfield) AFL Coaches Association — Champion Player: Bailey Smith (103 votes) AFL Coaches Association — Best Young Player Award: Shaun Mannagh 2025 AFL Rising Star: Connor O'Sullivan (Nominee – Round 2) AFLPA 22 Under 22 team: Oliver Dempsey (Interchange)
Club Awards Carji Greeves Medal: Max Holmes (175 votes) Best Young Player Award: Connor O'Sullivan Tom Harley Best Clubman: Tom Atkins and Mark Blicavs Carter Family Community Champion Award: Shaun Mannagh
VFL team
Season summary Mark Corrigan continued as coach of the club's VFL program for a third season, with Dan Capiron continuing as captain. Marcus Herbert was appointed as vice-captain.
In March, after returning to the club for the 2025 season, Nathan Kreuger was selected in the initial 43-player squad for the VFL State Team to play the SANFL State Team in April. He would be named at centre-halfback in the VFL's 11-point victory.
Capiron played his 100th VFL match for the club in the round 2 match against .
The team's campaign was bookended by three-match winning streaks, but a six-match losing streak through the middle of the season proved costly. Geelong missed the VFL finals series by one win and percentage.
Ian Fuller was honoured at the VFL Awards night, taking out the Alex Gillon VFL Volunteer of the Year award. Fuller's late father Vic Fuller had previously won the same award in 2015.
Results +KeyH Home gameA Away game
+ Table of season resultsRoundDateResultScoreOpponentScoreGround1 12 19 91 8 12 60 Trevor Barker Beach Oval A2 13 12 90 9 6 60 GMHBA Stadium H3 16 13 109 14 9 93 GMHBA Stadium H4 11 7 73 18 11 119 GMHBA Stadium H5 12 12 84 13 10 88 Ikon Park A6 Bye7 11 9 75 16 11 107 GMHBA Stadium H8 6 11 47 6 15 51 ETU Stadium A9 11 5 71 14 10 94 Mission Whitten Oval A10 6 12 48 10 14 74 DSV Stadium A11 10 12 72 11 3 69 GMHBA Stadium H12 11 15 81 12 7 79 Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval A13 12 13 85 16 21 117 GMHBA Stadium H14 Bye15 12 11 83 14 4 88 GMHBA Stadium H16 18 7 115 9 11 65 Engie Stadium A17 8 12 60 11 9 75 Mission Whitten Oval N18 16 8 104 15 12 102 Arden Street Oval A19 Bye20 10 13 73 9 5 59 GMHBA Stadium H21 16 15 111 10 6 66 Tramway Oval A
Ladder
Awards Club Awards Best and Fairest: Marcus Herbert Little Vic Award (Best first year player): Patrick Kelly
AFL Women's team
Season summary In February the head of the club's AFLW program Brett Johnson departed the club, with his replacement announced as Dominique Condo in April. Condo joined the club from having previously worked with Geelong from 2015 to 2021 in a number of roles.
The team played two preseason fixtures in July and August, defeating at RSEA Stadium in a match simulation 8.11 (59) to 4.5 (29) on 26 July. Their official practice match was against at People First Stadium on 2 August, with the Cats tuning up for the season with a 10.7 (67) to 1.3 (9) victory.
Before the club's final round match against , captain Meg McDonald announced that she would retired at the end of the season. McDonald had played over 70 matches for the club after joining the club ahead of Geelong's inaugural season in 2019.