This is the second instalment of KICK History, an off-season series that answers one all-time question a week from kicker’s own database. This week it is Geelong, in two parts: the players, ranked by KICK earned at the club, and the club’s records, read from the scores of all 2,624 matches Geelong has played.
How the player list works
Three rules, each set by what the data can and can’t support:
- Only games played for Geelong count. A player’s score is his average across his Geelong seasons only, with each season weighted by the games he played in it. Patrick Dangerfield’s Adelaide years are left out, and so are Jeremy Cameron’s at Greater Western Sydney and the 2011–2017 Gold Coast seasons of the Gary Ablett who played 2002–2020. Ranking on whole-career numbers would credit a recruit’s entire career to his new club.
- We use position-fair KICK (KICK-P). Plain KICK tends to rate midfielders above other positions, which is why kicker built KICK-P: it scales each player’s score against others in his position, so a key defender and a ruckman can be compared with a midfielder. We show plain KICK too, in the last column.
- Two eras, never mixed. Before 1965 most matches recorded goalkickers only, so there is no KICK score for those players. From 1965 the box score adds kicks, handballs and marks; tackles arrive in 1987, clearances in 1998 and contested possessions in 1999. KICK is not adjusted for era, and scores before 2000 run well below modern ones, so we rank 2000–2026 and 1965–1999 as two separate groups. Each player goes in the group where he played most of his rated Geelong games (an exact split goes to 2000–2026), and his average still covers all his Geelong seasons from 1965 on.
The minimum is 100 rated games for Geelong. A rated game is one with a recorded stat line for the player and, in seasons where time on ground is recorded, at least half the match played, so the count can be a little lower than his games played.
The top 20 since 2000
50 players qualify.
| # | Player | Pos | First–last rated season | Rated games | KICK-P at club | KICK at club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Dangerfield | Midfielder | 2016–2026 | 221 | 70.1 | 68.9 |
| 2 | Joel Selwood | Midfielder | 2007–2022 | 351 | 69.2 | 68.5 |
| 3 | Tom Stewart | Defender | 2017–2026 | 205 | 67.8 | 52.8 |
| 4 | Jimmy Bartel | Midfielder | 2002–2016 | 296 | 65.6 | 64.6 |
| 5 | Steve Johnson | Forward | 2002–2015 | 249 | 65.5 | 60.9 |
| 6 | Gary Ablett | Midfielder | 2002–2020 | 245 | 62.6 | 62.5 |
| 7 | Jeremy Cameron | Forward | 2021–2026 | 125 | 60.0 | 53.2 |
| 8 | Paul Chapman | Midfielder | 2000–2013 | 243 | 60.0 | 59.9 |
| 9 | Joel Corey | Midfielder | 2000–2013 | 272 | 59.3 | 59.1 |
| 10 | Mitch Duncan | Midfielder | 2010–2025 | 291 | 58.7 | 57.1 |
| 11 | Sam Menegola | Midfielder | 2016–2023 | 115 | 58.5 | 57.4 |
| 12 | Darren Milburn | Defender | 1997–2011 | 288 | 58.1 | 49.7 |
| 13 | Max Holmes | Midfielder | 2021–2026 | 121 | 56.8 | 55.2 |
| 14 | Tom Hawkins | Forward | 2007–2024 | 358 | 56.0 | 49.7 |
| 15 | Rhys Stanley | Ruck | 2015–2026 | 165 | 56.0 | 49.4 |
| 16 | Brad Ottens | Ruck | 2005–2011 | 112 | 55.2 | 50.9 |
| 17 | Harry Taylor | Defender | 2008–2020 | 277 | 54.6 | 43.0 |
| 18 | James Kelly | Midfielder | 2002–2015 | 268 | 54.2 | 53.7 |
| 19 | Mark Blicavs | Utility | 2013–2026 | 310 | 54.0 | 49.4 |
| 20 | Steven King | Ruck | 1996–2007 | 184 | 53.9 | 45.8 |
The top two are close. Patrick Dangerfield’s 70.1 leads Joel Selwood’s 69.2 by less than a point, and Selwood’s figure comes from 351 rated games to Dangerfield’s 221. Dangerfield also has the highest plain KICK at the club (68.9) and the best single season in either table (minimum 10 rated games), 93.3 across 24 rated games in 2017.
Tom Stewart is where the position adjustment matters most. His plain KICK at Geelong is 52.8, which would place him 14th of the 50 qualifiers on a raw list. His 67.8 makes him the top defender and third overall, a gap of 15 points between the two measures, the largest in this table. Harry Taylor (43.0 plain, 54.6 position-fair) and Darren Milburn (49.7 plain, 58.1 position-fair) make the same jump for the same reason.
Midfielders fill the top of the table. Seven of the first ten are classed as midfielders, with Steve Johnson (fifth) and Jeremy Cameron (seventh) the only forwards and Stewart the only defender.
Six of the top 20 played for Geelong in 2026: Dangerfield, Stewart, Cameron, Max Holmes (13th, 56.8 from 121 games), Rhys Stanley and Mark Blicavs. Their numbers can still change.
The long careers. Tom Hawkins has the most rated Geelong games in the table, 358, and Selwood (351) and Blicavs (310) are the others past 300 in the top 20. Corey Enright, with 327, sits 23rd at 52.4.
Darren Milburn and Steven King both started at Geelong in the 1990s. They sit in the modern table because most of their rated Geelong games came in 2000 or later.
The top 10 of 1965–1999
58 players qualify. Remember that these scores are not comparable with the table above.
| # | Player | Pos | First–last rated season | Rated games | KICK-P at club | KICK at club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Ablett | Forward | 1984–1996 | 242 | 67.3 | 47.0 |
| 2 | David Clarke | Forward | 1971–1981 | 202 | 58.3 | 42.0 |
| 3 | Doug Wade | Forward | 1965–1972 | 146 | 57.6 | 39.8 |
| 4 | Mark Bairstow | Midfielder | 1987–1994 | 146 | 57.3 | 42.2 |
| 5 | Bill Goggin | Utility | 1965–1971 | 141 | 54.8 | 40.4 |
| 6 | Garry Hocking | Midfielder | 1987–2001 | 274 | 52.6 | 40.6 |
| 7 | John Barnes | Ruck | 1992–1999 | 144 | 52.2 | 35.8 |
| 8 | John Mossop | Ruck | 1979–1986 | 134 | 50.8 | 33.5 |
| 9 | Bill Ryan | Forward | 1965–1972 | 148 | 50.7 | 36.5 |
| 10 | Paul Couch | Midfielder | 1985–1997 | 259 | 50.6 | 37.3 |
Gary Ablett’s lead is the biggest in either table. His 67.3 is nine points clear of David Clarke, from 242 rated games. His best season by KICK-P at the club (minimum 10 rated games), 88.9 across 17 rated games in 1993, is the highest in this era’s table. His one rated season before Geelong, at Hawthorn in 1982, is not counted.
Two players named Gary Ablett head the two tables in different ways: the Ablett of 1984–1996 leads 1965–1999, and the Ablett of 2002–2020 is sixth since 2000. They have separate player pages, linked in each table.
Four of the ten are classed as forwards. Goals are recorded for every match in this era, while tackles are missing before 1987 and clearances and contested possessions before the late 1990s. That may favour players whose main output was goals; we have not measured by how much. Read this table as “who produced the most of what was recorded”, not as a complete verdict.
Doug Wade and Bill Goggin both played for Geelong before 1965, so their averages cover only their rated seasons from 1965 on: eight for Wade and seven for Goggin. Garry Hocking played until 2001 and sits here because most of his rated Geelong games came before 2000.
Best by position
The top three in each of the four main positions, by KICK-P at Geelong.
| Position | 2000–2026 | 1965–1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Midfielder | Patrick Dangerfield 70.1, Joel Selwood 69.2, Jimmy Bartel 65.6 | Mark Bairstow 57.3, Garry Hocking 52.6, Paul Couch 50.6 |
| Forward | Steve Johnson 65.5, Jeremy Cameron 60.0, Tom Hawkins 56.0 | Gary Ablett 67.3, David Clarke 58.3, Doug Wade 57.6 |
| Defender | Tom Stewart 67.8, Darren Milburn 58.1, Harry Taylor 54.6 | Gareth Andrews 45.2, Leigh Colbert 44.2, Michael Mansfield 41.4 |
| Ruck | Rhys Stanley 56.0, Brad Ottens 55.2, Steven King 53.9 | John Barnes 52.2, John Mossop 50.8, Sam Newman 47.6 |
Geelong’s club records, 1897–2026
This part uses no KICK at all. Scores are recorded for every match in the database, so it covers all 2,624 matches Geelong has played, from 8 May 1897 to 11 September 2026. The method is the one behind kicker’s records pages: a result is read from the final scores, streaks run across seasons and include finals, and a draw ends a streak.
Geelong’s all-time record is 1,448 wins, 1,152 losses and 24 draws, a 55.6 per cent win rate counting a draw as half a win. By win percentage, with a draw counting half, its best decade is the 1890s (36–15, 70.6 per cent, from three seasons), then the 2010s (166–72–2, 69.6 per cent); its worst is the 1940s (48–103, 31.8 per cent).
Highest scores
| # | Score | Opponent | Season | Round | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 37.17 (239) | Brisbane Bears | 1992 | 7 | Carrara |
| 2 | 37.11 (233) | Melbourne | 2011 | 19 | Kardinia Park |
| 3 | 35.18 (228) | St Kilda | 1989 | 7 | Kardinia Park |
| 4 | 35.12 (222) | Richmond | 2007 | 6 | Docklands |
| 5 | 32.19 (211) | Richmond | 1989 | 9 | M.C.G. |
| 6 | 32.18 (210) | Adelaide | 1992 | 8 | Kardinia Park |
| 7 | 29.24 (198) | Richmond | 1992 | 3 | Kardinia Park |
| 8 | 29.18 (192) | North Melbourne | 1992 | 13 | M.C.G. |
| 9 | 27.28 (190) | Brisbane Bears | 1991 | 4 | Gabba |
| 10 | 29.14 (188) | Gold Coast | 2011 | 20 | Kardinia Park |
The 239 against the Brisbane Bears in 1992 is the highest team score in VFL/AFL history on kicker’s highest scores list, and the 233 against Melbourne in 2011 is fourth. Geelong has passed 200 six times, and seven of its ten highest scores came in the four seasons from 1989 to 1992. Its lowest score is 0.8 (8) against Fitzroy in Round 3, 1899.
Biggest wins
| # | Margin | Result | Season | Round | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 186 | 37.11 (233) d Melbourne 7.5 (47) | 2011 | 19 | Kardinia Park |
| 2 | 164 | 37.17 (239) d Brisbane Bears 11.9 (75) | 1992 | 7 | Carrara |
| 3 | 161 | 23.24 (162) d St Kilda 0.1 (1) | 1899 | 17 | Corio Oval |
| 4 | 157 | 35.12 (222) d Richmond 9.11 (65) | 2007 | 6 | Docklands |
| 5 | 150 | 29.14 (188) d Gold Coast 6.2 (38) | 2011 | 20 | Kardinia Park |
| 6 | 135 | 28.14 (182) d West Coast 5.17 (47) | 2008 | 13 | Subiaco |
| 7 | 134 | 32.19 (211) d Richmond 10.17 (77) | 1989 | 9 | M.C.G. |
| 8 | 133 | 24.14 (158) d Fremantle 3.7 (25) | 2018 | 22 | Kardinia Park |
| 9 | 129 | 26.23 (179) d Brisbane Bears 6.14 (50) | 1989 | 8 | Kardinia Park |
| 10 | 127 | 27.21 (183) d Melbourne 8.8 (56) | 1996 | 1 | M.C.G. |
The 186-point win over Melbourne in 2011 is the second-biggest margin in VFL/AFL history on the biggest wins list, behind Fitzroy’s 190 in 1979. St Kilda’s 0.1 (1) in the 1899 game is the lowest score by any team in the database. Geelong has won by 100 or more 39 times. Its heaviest defeat is by 135 points, 13.12 (90) to Hawthorn’s 35.15 (225) at Princes Park in Round 21, 1986.
Longest winning streaks
| # | Wins | From | To | Ended by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | 12 Jul 1952 | 25 Jul 1953 | Collingwood, 1 Aug 1953 |
| 2 | 16 | 21 May 2022 | 24 Sep 2022 | Collingwood, 17 Mar 2023 |
| 3 | 15 | 6 May 2007 | 19 Aug 2007 | Port Adelaide, 26 Aug 2007 |
| 4 | 15 | 31 May 2008 | 19 Sep 2008 | Hawthorn, 27 Sep 2008 |
| 5 | 14 | 5 Jun 1937 | 25 Sep 1937 | Melbourne, 23 Apr 1938 |
The 23 straight wins from July 1952 to July 1953 is the longest winning streak by any club in VFL/AFL history on kicker’s longest winning streaks list; the next-longest by anyone is 20. The 2022 run of 16 began against Port Adelaide on 21 May, ended the season with a win over Sydney on 24 September, and was broken by Collingwood in the first game of 2023. The 1937 streak also closed a season with a win and was broken in the first game of the next. Geelong’s longest losing streak is 16, from 16 August 1941 to 29 July 1944.
Geelong has played Collingwood more than anyone else, 245 times, and trails that series 108–136 with a draw. Against Melbourne (136–89–2) and St Kilda (137–88–1) it leads by the widest margins among its most frequent opponents.
Who isn’t here, and what this can’t show
653 players have no rated Geelong season from 1965 on, so they have no KICK score at the club and can’t appear in either player table. Their games and goals are still on their player pages, and their matches are counted in the club records above.
Players our position data labels Utility are included in the rankings but scored on a general rather than position-specific scale. Mark Blicavs (19th since 2000) and Bill Goggin (fifth in 1965–1999) are the two who reach a table; Mathew Stokes (22nd) and Peter Riccardi (12th) are the next highest.
The club records are about scores, not quality of opposition: a 186-point win says nothing about who was on the ground that day, and the records lists do not separate finals from home-and-away games.
Sources and method
Every number comes from kicker’s database, built from AFL Tables match records. The player tables come from club_alltime.py, the same script as the Hawthorn list, and the club records from a scan of every Geelong match file. KICK-P is explained on the positional leaderboards (for example midfielders) and the full formula is on the methodology page. For Geelong’s all-time leaders on peak 40-game form instead of club average, plus the current squad, see the Geelong club page. Previously in KICK History: the best Hawthorn players by KICK.
Next week in KICK History: the most goals by one player in a game, and the highest team scores, 1897–2026.