Today, the 9th of February, officially marks 25 days until Geelong heads to the Gabba for their Opening Round clash against Brisbane, the first match of the 2025 AFL season.
With plenty of exciting things on the schedule, it is time to get excited Cats fans for what lies ahead this year.
In honour of 25 days until football, we take a look at the top 25 things you can look forward to in 2025.
1. The Opening Round Grudge Match
An Opening Round debut for the club, a Preliminary Final rematch, the first game of the AFL season and against an old foe, is there a better way to start the season?
The Cats will head to the Gabba for a date with the reigning premiers, looking to send a statement to the rest of the competition right from the word go.
It will be the first chance to put pre-season learnings into practice, with Geelong looking to replicate their 2024 win at the Gabba.
2. Danger's 350th Game
There are only three players in the games history that have played for the Cats and reached 350 AFL games, Patrick Dangerfield can become the fourth in 2025.
The champion midfielder finished 2024 on 337 games played, needing just 13 more appearances to reach the milestone.
If Dangerfield reaches 350 games next year, he will become just the 25th player in V/AFL history to reach the number, another accolade in an incredible career.
3. The Longest AFLW Season
2025 is set to be the longest AFLW season to date, with teams set to compete across 12 rounds in the home and away season.
The start date will also fall two weeks earlier than last year, with the competition to commence the week beginning August 11.
The AFLW has also scrapped the condensed period, meaning 2025 will certainly stand alone as the longest season in the competition's history.
4. 10 Games at GMHBA Stadium
For the first time since the 1996 season, Geelong will host 10 games at GMHBA Stadium.
With a strong mix of opponents including the likes of Brisbane, Port Adelaide and Essendon, Cats fans will get to see plenty of exciting football at home this year.
Geelong will be looking to continue their dominant record at home in 2025, currently holding a 67.76% all time win percentage at Kardinia Park.
5. Taylah Hassett Taking the Reins
Geelong's VFLW program will have a new leader at the helm this year, with highly regarded coach Taylah Hassett set to take over in 2025.
Hailing from Grovedale and the Geelong Falcons, Hassett will look to lead the VFLW Cats to their first finals series in three years.
6. Duncan's 300th Game
Mitch Duncan can join an exclusive club in 2025, looking to become just the sixth player in Geelong Cats history to play 300 games for the club.
Finishing 2024 on 296 games played, Duncan needs just four more appearances to reach the incredible milestone, and only needs 10 more games to reach the top five in Cats history.
7. Triple Treat at the 'G
It is uncommon to get three consecutive games at the same venue, it is even less common for that to happen at the home of sport.
But that notion has become a reality for the Cats, who are set to play at the MCG three weeks in a row this year.
It starts with an Easter Monday showdown against Hawthorn in round six, followed by a blockbuster against Carlton in round seven, finishing with another huge game against Collingwood in round eight.
8. McDonald, Crockett-Grills and Emonson to Reach 75 AFLW Games
75 games is a significant milestone for an AFLW player. In fact, no Geelong player has ever reached the figure, but Meg McDonald, Chantel Emonson and Julia Crockett-Grills can get there in 2025.
McDonald has played 70 games (66 at Geelong, four at the Bulldogs), Emonson has 67 to her name (45 at Geelong, 22 at Melbourne) and Crockett-Grills currently sits on 65 games played, meaning all three can realistically reach the 75-game milestone this year.
9. The Indigenous All Stars Match
Announced last week, Tyson Stengle and Lawson Humphries will feature for the Indigenous All Stars in a special match against the Fremantle Dockers.
The Cats stars will head to Optus Stadium for the game, lining up alongside the likes of Shai Bolton and Izak Rankine in the first official footy match for 2025.
10. Corrigan Leading the Ever-Improving VFL Cats
Geelong's VFL team will once again be led by highly credentialed coach, Mark Corrigan as he prepares for a third season at the helm.
The Cats VFL side made the Finals last year for the first time since 2019, Corrigan extracting the best from his young group and securing a top four berth.
With a number of great recruits over the off-season and plenty of AFL talent, 2025 is shaping up to be another exciting campaign for Geelong's VFL program.
11. Danger's Quest for Brownlow Glory
Another slice of history is in reach for Geelong's skipper in 2025, with the ability to break a pair of Brownlow records which are both currently held by Gary Ablett Junior.
Dangerfield sits just 11 votes behind Ablett for the most votes in Brownlow history, while also needing just two more three-vote games to surpass Gary Junior in that category as well.
12. A Plethora of AFLW Milestones
Along with the potential 75-game milestones noted earlier, as many as five Cats players can also reach their 50th AFLW game in 2025.
A number of other players can reach game number 25, while head coach Dan Lowther will also reach his 50th game at the helm in round five.
13. Prime Time Cats
Geelong have been rewarded for their impressive 2024 campaign, set to feature in six prime time matches up to the end of round 15, with the AFL to release the fixture for round 16 and beyond at a later date.
Amongst the Cats fixture is eight night games, an Easter Monday blockbuster against Hawthorn and a handful of Saturday afternoon clashes.
Matches to keep on your schedule include a clash with Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium (round four), a home date against the Western Bulldogs (round 11) and a trip to Perth for a Sunday night clash with West Coast (round 12).
14. Kreuger Returns to Geelong
Geelong will welcome back a familiar face in 2025, with Nathan Kreuger signing for the Cats VFL team.
Kreuger started his AFL career at GMHBA Stadium in 2019, spending three seasons with Geelong before being traded to Collingwood at the end of 2021.
After spending another three years at the Magpies, Kreuger was delisted but it set up an exciting reunion as the key forward returns home to Geelong in 2025.
15. AFLW Draftees Commence their Journey
Geelong added four exciting new recruits during the 2024 AFLW draft, with each draftee set to bring something different to the Cats list.
Alexis Gregor (Pick 10), Sienna Tallariti (Pick 18), Piper Dunlop (Pick 37) and Caitie Tipping (Rookie List) will all be looking to hit the ground in their first season at the top level.
16. Stewart Becomes Cats Rebounding King
Geelong has been lucky enough to have some of the game's best defenders in their team at different stages, including players like Corey Enright, Matthew Scarlett and Harry Taylor.
Tom Stewart can surpass them all in one specific category in 2025, set to become the best rebounder in the club's history.
Finishing 2024 with a total of 1014 rebound 50's (5.93 per game average), Stewart needs just seven more rebounds to move past Matthew Scarlett and into the number one spot in Geelong history.
17. Smith Faces His Old Side
Exciting offseason acquisition, Bailey Smith will only have to wait until round 11 to square off with his old side.
Geelong will host the Western Bulldogs at GMHBA Stadium, kicking off the action in round 11 with a Thursday night blockbuster.
It will be an important game for the Cats, who were defeated by the Dogs at Kardinia Park late in the 2024 season.
18. The Road to 100,000 Members
The Geelong Football Club can create another significant slice of history in 2025, as the club aims to reach 100,000 members for the first time.
In 2023 the Cats eclipsed 80,000 members for the first time, following that milestone by reaching 90,000 members in 2024.
Don't miss your chance to be a part of history, follow the link below and become a 2025 Geelong Cats member today.
19. Scotty's 350th as Coach
He reached 300 games as coach, broke Reg Hickey's long-standing record at Geelong, now 350 games is the next milestone up for Chris Scott.
Finishing 2024 on 334 games as Cats coach, Scott needs just 16 more matches at the helm to reach 350 games, which would make him just the 19th coach in V/AFL history to reach that number.
It would add to an incredible coaching resume that includes two Premierships and two All-Australians, along with two more Premierships as a player.
20. Gather Round Blockbuster
Geelong will kick off the third edition of the AFL's Gather Round, taking on Adelaide in a massive Thursday night clash on their own deck.
The Cats have been successful through the first two Gather Rounds, taking down West Coast (2023) and the Western Bulldogs (2024), but will face their biggest challenge yet against the Crows.
21. Cats Greats Receive Life Membership
The AFL announced a number of key figures that will receive Life Membership this year, with three Geelong greats among those set to be recognised at the 2025 premiership season launch in March.
The late Mick Turner has been recognised for his incredible contribution to the game over a long period of time, while Mitch Duncan and Zach Tuohy will receive Life Membership after reaching 300 official games across their respective careers.
22. 100 Years in Partnership with Ford
One of the longest sponsorships in sporting history, the Geelong Football Club and Ford Australia will reach 100 years of partnership in 2025.
Ford have been a major part of the club since they first signed in 1925, partnering with the Cats through plenty of success including 10 Premierships.
23. Captain Pat's Clearance Record
It is shaping up to be a year of milestones for Patrick Dangerfield, with the Geelong skipper also set to break the all time career clearance record this year.
The current record is held by none other than Joel Selwood, who finished his career with 1844 clearances at an average of 5.19 per game.
Dangerfield currently sits on 1843 clearances for his career, meaning he only needs two more to surpass Selwood for top spot.
24. A Number of Other Significant Milestones
Along with Dangerfield's 350th and Duncan's 300th, the Cats will have a number of other milestones to celebrate in 2025.
Cam Guthrie (240 games) needs 10 more matches to reach his 250th game, Jake Kolodjashnij (198 games) will reach his 200th game early in the season, while Jack Henry (143), Gryan Miers (131) and Tom Atkins (127) can all reach their 150th.
There will also be other milestones to look out for like Jeremy Cameron's 700th goal (648 currently).
25. The Return of Chloe Scheer
After unfortunately missing the entire 2024 season through injury, Chloe Scheer's return will be an exciting thing to look forward to for Geelong this year.
Scheer set the competition alight in 2023, kicking 20 goals for the season to help lead the Cats all the way to a Preliminary Final.
With the emergence of Aishling Moloney last year, Scheer's addition in 2025 will create a dynamic duo in the Cats forward line which will be fun to watch.
