The 2022 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 158th season playing Australian rules football, with the club competing in their 123rd season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong also fielded a women's team in both 2022 AFL Women's season 6 and 2022 AFL Women's season 7, and a men's and women's reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW) respectively.
AFL team
Season summary It was the club's twelfth AFL season under senior coach Chris Scott, with Joel Selwood appointed as club captain for a seventh successive year. In the 2022 AFL season Geelong finished the home-and-away season with an 18-4 record, to finish on top of the league ladder to claim the McClelland Trophy, and qualify for the 2022 finals series. The club would win consecutive finals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to qualify for the 2022 AFL Grand Final where it defeated 20.13 (133) to 8.4 (52) to claim the club's tenth V/AFL premiership.
After the home-and-away season, Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins were the club's leading goalkickers with 59 goals each. Cameron and Hawkins were both selected in the 2022 All-Australian team along with backman Tom Stewart, utility Mark Blicavs, and fellow forward Tyson Stengle. Young full-back Sam De Koning finished second in the AFL Rising Star to Collingwood's Nick Daicos.
Pre-season
Geelong defeated in a pre-season scratch match at GMHBA Stadium played over six periods with both senior and reserves players. The final score was Geelong 20.27 (147) vs. Richmond 21.16 (142). Geelong also competed in 2022 AAMI Community Series against and were defeated 13.17 (95) vs. Geelong's 11.6 (72). Geelong's home-and-away season began on 19 March against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Coaching staff Chris Scott continued as the club's men's senior coach for a twelfth season, and in May 2022, signed a two-year contract extension until the end of the 2024 season.
Following the end of the 2021 season, Geelong overhauled their football department, with Matthew Scarlett, Corey Enright, and Matthew Knights departing. Several former Geelong players joined the football department as their replacements. Coming in as head of medical and conditioning services were Harry Taylor, head of player development Matthew Egan, and development coaches James Kelly and Josh Jenkins. Joining them were Jason Lappin (football analyst) and the recently retired Eddie Betts (development).
Geelong instituted a non-traditional coaching structure in 2022 with the club moving away from assistant coaches being responsible for specific positions.
+ 2022 Geelong coaching staff Role Name Senior coach Chris Scott Assistant coach Nigel Lappin Assistant coach Shaun Grigg Assistant coach James Kelly Head of player development Matthew Egan Development coach Eddie Betts Development coach Josh Jenkins Ruck coach Brad Ottens
Playing list
Changes At the end of the 2021 AFL season, three players (Josh Jenkins, Lachie Henderson, and Stefan Okunbor) retired, and four players (Ben Jarvis, Cameron Taheny, Oscar Brownless, and Charlie Constable) were delisted.
+ Deletions from playing list Player Reason Traded to Traded to Traded to Retired Retired Retired Delisted Delisted Delisted Delisted
+ Additions to playing list Player Acquired Delisted free agent Traded from 24, 2021 national draft 25, 2021 national draft 32, 2021 national draft 48, 2021 national draft 64, 2021 national draft 15, 2022 rookie draft 12, 2022 mid-season rookie draft
Tyson Stengle was delisted by during the 2021 pre-season
Statistics
+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.
+Playing list and statisticsPlayerGamesGoalsBehindsKicksHandballsDisposalsMarksTacklesHitoutsMilestone(s)^ 30 25 4 3 238 214 452 65 157 0 24 23 1 2 134 115 249 79 43 0 150th game (Preliminary final) 46 24 8 5 186 239 425 97 121 350 5 24 65 37 272 116 388 141 34 1 500th goal (round 12) 200th game (round 15) 15 3 0 0 16 19 35 2 2 47 Club debut (round 20)^ 45 25 26 20 181 213 394 85 93 0 50th game (round 21) 6 0 40 10 3 2 40 64 104 20 19 0 35 18 8 12 226 178 404 70 49 0 300th game (round 23) 16 23 1 0 143 138 281 120 6 4 ^ 28 2 1 1 5 14 19 0 2 0 AFL debut (round 6) 22 22 9 7 342 173 515 184 35 0 250th game (round 16) 31 5 1 0 14 24 38 8 7 0 29 25 12 12 316 297 613 90 124 0 39 21 5 3 224 97 321 116 48 0 50th game (round 22) 26 25 67 43 221 107 328 142 39 85 700th goal (round 14) 38 17 4 1 119 65 184 82 24 6 100th game (round 19) 4 5 1 1 41 42 83 15 19 0 9 18 13 6 161 119 280 68 42 0 10 2 0 2 10 12 22 8 3 0 AFL debut (round 8) 8 23 2 0 165 111 276 107 33 0 150th game (round 21) 25 0 27 7 5 4 87 38 125 28 8 0 32 22 13 13 174 153 327 80 47 0 # 34 0 19 8 4 3 40 28 68 21 8 0 33 2 0 0 4 9 13 3 4 14 AFL debut (round 11) 42 22 0 4 171 106 277 84 56 0 3 17 5 4 168 180 348 32 80 0 100th game (round 5) 17 4 0 0 17 9 26 9 8 13 23 12 14 6 71 37 108 31 29 0 14 21 7 3 238 221 459 67 91 0 350th game (round 20) 37 0 7 24 15 22 339 178 517 161 31 0 250th game (round 17) 1 20 3 2 146 111 257 64 36 418 18 25 53 27 247 114 361 82 64 0 Club debut (round 1) 12 7 0 0 36 40 76 14 11 0 AFL debut (round 8) 21 0 44 20 0 1 354 111 465 146 40 1 # 36 0 2 24 9 6 351 169 520 120 44 0 250th game (Grand Final) 11 0 ^ 41 0 20 0
Results +KeyH Home gameA Away gameQF Qualifying finalPF Preliminary finalGF Grand Final + Table of 2022 AFL season results Round Date Result Score Opponent Score Ground Attendance 1 20 18 138 11 6 72 Melbourne Cricket Ground H 54,495 2 10 17 77 17 5 107 Sydney Cricket Ground A 36,578 3 16 8 104 13 13 91 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 52,974 4 11 14 80 11 4 70 GMHBA Stadium H 20,505 5 11 14 80 14 8 92 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 48,030 6 17 19 121 9 7 61 Blundstone Arena A 8,663 7 10 6 66 10 9 69 GMHBA Stadium H 20,136 8 12 16 88 4 11 35 Manuka Oval A 11,661 9 11 14 80 13 12 90 Marvel Stadium A 32,517 10 11 16 82 7 5 47 GMHBA Stadium H 18,721 11 15 7 97 7 13 55 GMHBA Stadium H 19,051 12 12 11 83 10 10 70 Marvel Stadium A 34,370 13 Bye 14 12 9 81 9 9 63 Optus Stadium A 32,526 15 13 11 89 13 8 86 Melbourne Cricket Ground H 59,335 16 21 18 144 5 2 32 GMHBA Stadium H 18,091 17 12 19 91 9 9 63 GMHBA Stadium H 21,501 18 12 13 85 8 7 55 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 68,208 19 16 10 106 14 10 94 Adelaide Oval A 30,937 20 14 10 94 9 12 66 GMHBA Stadium H 22,106 21 17 8 110 10 5 65 GMHBA Stadium H 20,583 22 18 11 119 9 5 59 Metricon Stadium A 14,728 23 19 17 131 7 4 46 GMHBA Stadium H 21,098 11 12 78 10 12 72 Melbourne Cricket Ground H 91,525rowspan=3 18 12 120 7 7 49 Melbourne Cricket Ground H 77,677 20 13 133 8 4 52 Melbourne Cricket Ground H 100,024
Ladder
Awards
League awards Norm Smith Medal: Isaac Smith Gary Ayres Award: Patrick Dangerfield All-Australian: Tom Hawkins (C), Mark Blicavs, Jeremy Cameron, Tyson Stengle, Tom Stewart Tom Wills Award: Patrick Dangerfield (Round 1 vs ) Rising Star: Sam De Koning (Nominated – Round 11)
Club Awards Carji Greeves Medal: Jeremy Cameron & Cameron Guthrie Best Young Player Award: Sam De Koning Tom Harley Best Clubman: Tom Atkins Carter Family Community Champion Award: Joel Selwood
VFL team
Coached by Shane O'Bree, Geelong entered their reserve players into the Victorian Football League competition for the 22nd season since the competition merged with the AFL Reserves competition in 2000. Former player Matt Ling was appointed co-captain with Jackson McLachlan.
In the 18-match home-and-away season played over 22 rounds, Geelong did not qualify for the finals, finishing 14th on the ladder with an 8–10 win-loss record. Hit by injuries and availability issues, over 60 players made at least one VFL appearance for the season, with only co-captains Ling and McLachlan featuring in all 18 matches with Daniel Capiron. AFL-listed player Shannon Neale kicked 33 goals from 15 appearances to be the leading goalkicker for the club.
Ladder
Awards Best and Fairest: Jye Chalcraft Little Vic Award (Best first year player): Ben Lloyd
Women's team
2022 AFL Women's season 6 Summary Following the departure of inaugural coach Paul Hood, the club appointed former Geelong player Daniel Lowther as head coach. Lowther had previously joined the AFLW team coaching staff in 2020 as an assistant coach looking after the midfield.
Number two pick in the 2021 AFL Women's draft Georgie Prespakis was nominated for the Rising Star Award, for her performance in the opening round of the season against ; with 2020 draftee Darcy Moloney also nominated for the award later in the season.
Playing list
Recruitment
Statistics
+ Playing list and statisticsPlayerGamesGoalsBehindsKicksHandballsDisposalsMarksTackles 1 3 0 0 6 10 16 1 6 2 1 0 0 2 3 5 2 1 3 10 0 2 85 125 210 5 81 4 8 2 0 41 57 98 7 36 5 10 1 3 41 21 62 15 15 6 9 1 0 36 37 73 9 39 7 6 1 0 8 14 22 3 10 8 10 4 2 47 15 62 16 20 9 8 0 3 53 57 110 7 47 10 9 0 1 40 28 68 15 34 11 10 0 0 45 35 80 20 20 12 13 7 0 0 17 29 46 6 14 14 9 8 6 46 30 76 12 20 15 3 0 0 12 8 20 5 4 16 10 1 0 71 26 97 13 35 17 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 18 5 0 1 28 39 67 5 22 19 20 7 1 0 26 25 51 8 17 21 10 3 2 81 87 168 14 63 22 10 1 4 48 13 61 12 34 23 10 10 3 39 21 60 23 18 24 10 0 0 61 49 110 38 13 25 26 4 0 2 11 8 19 7 7 27 9 0 1 41 22 63 10 20 28 29 30 4 0 0 27 5 32 12 12 32 7 0 0 22 7 29 7 5 41 10 0 2 70 63 133 6 68 45 10 0 0 62 33 95 9 18
Results +KeyH Home gameA Away game
+ Table of season resultsRoundDateResultScoreOpponentScoreGroundAttendance1 8 January 2 6 18 4 2 26 Arden Street Oval A 1,8722 15 January 2 5 17 4 7 31 GMHBA Stadium H 2,1443 21 January 3 6 24 5 5 35 GMHBA Stadium H 2,2654 29 January 4 1 25 3 9 27 Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex A 1,8325 4 February 4 3 27 3 6 24 GMHBA Stadium H 1,9386 11 February 6 2 38 7 7 49 Metricon Stadium A 8637 18 February 2 4 16 3 10 28 Victoria University Whitten Oval A 1,5308 26 February 5 3 33 1 4 10 Swinburne Centre A 1,5219 5 March 0 9 9 2 6 18 RSEA Park A 94710 11 March 5 5 35 8 5 53 GMHBA Stadium H 1,603
Ladder
Awards
League awards AFL Players Association 22under22 squad: Rebecca Webster, Georgie Prespakis
Club Awards Best and fairest: Amy McDonald Geelong AFLW Fan MVP: Amy McDonald The 'Hoops' Award: Kate Darby Community Champion: Georgie Rankin
VFLW Season
Results +KeyH Home gameA Away gameEF Elimination Final + Table of season resultsRoundDateResultScoreOpponentScoreGround1 12 February 11 7 73 2 2 14 Deakin University, Waurn Ponds H2 19 February 5 3 33 2 3 15 Deakin University, Waurn Ponds H3 26 February 7 10 52 0 1 1 Deakin University, Waurn Ponds H4 5 March 3 1 19 6 3 39 Deakin University, Waurn Ponds H5 12 March 5 4 34 5 15 45 Deakin University, Waurn Ponds H6 27 March 1 5 11 13 11 89 Deakin University, Waurn Ponds H7 3 April 7 3 45 1 1 7 VU Whitten Oval A8 9 April 8 9 57 3 4 22 GMHBA Stadium H9 23 April 1 3 9 8 4 52 Casey Fields A10 30 April 7 8 50 2 5 17 ETU Stadium A11 7 May 6 5 41 1 8 14 Arden Street Oval A12 14 May 9 6 60 1 2 8 Preston City Oval A13 22 May 8 4 52 2 5 17 Williamstown Oval A14 28 May 6 9 45 4 2 26 Olympic Park Oval AEF 11 June 2 6 18 4 2 26 Deakin University, Waurn Ponds H
Ladder
Awards Best and Fairest: Paige Sheppard VFL Women's Team of the Year: Laura Gardiner , Paige Sheppard
2022 AFL Women's season 7
The club qualified for the AFLW finals series for the first time since Geelong's inaugural season in the competition in 2019.
Geelong's score of 15.12 (102) and winning margin of 75 points against in Round 10 was the club's highest score and biggest win in the AFLW; with the first-half score of 9.6 (60) the highest first-half score in AFLW history.
Results +KeyPS Pre season gameH Home gameA Away gameEF Elimination final