Hocking on the 100 Year Partnership with Ford

Thank-you to Ford motor company for 100 years of sponsorship, it has been an incredible partnership.

There is many things that have gone on during the period including 10 premierships, 19 Grand Final appearances and 57 Finals series appearances as well. I think what it does remind you of is how tough it is in the AFL competition, and to have Ford supporting us right through that 100 year period is exceptional.

On Friday night we are going to be fortunate enough to celebrate this partnership in this game against the Melbourne Football Club, the two oldest football clubs in the competition.

I am pleased to announce that we will have a commemorative guernsey for Friday night, it will have the Ford blue colour right across it. It also has the 1971 XY GT sash across it, we have also flipped the Cat which is the first time we have ever done that.

It is about the Cat walking towards the future, with the Ford motor company and the Geelong Cats together as we have done over the past 100 years. 

Birkic on the milestone celebrations

We are incredibly proud of 100 years in Australia with Ford, but we are also incredibly proud of our relationship and our partnership with the Geelong Cats.

It is great to have the team here today to support what is an incredible milestone for us.

It is a celebration of not only our business in Australia, but also building communities and it is an incredible celebration for our people. We have had multi-generational families work at Ford, whether it be Geelong or Broadmeadows, right across Australia.

It is a very important day for us, as well as our partners. 

Dangerfield on the specially designed Guernsey 

I think it is a ripper, it is fantastic.

My kids see the Ford sign as meaning the Geelong Cats, it has been a brand that has been synonymous with ours for such a long period of time.

We are really proud of the relationship we have, I love quizzing Andrew [Birkic] about cars and he tries to talk about footy so it is an interesting dynamic at times.

We are really looking forward to Friday, obviously to play but to really celebrate a wonderful collaboration. 

Hocking on the Cats start to 2025

It is obviously only round four, so we will continue to work our way into it.

It is a long season, it is a very competitive season as well. If you have a look at some of the results across the weekend and previous rounds, it is all over the place.

We have been in games so we are not too far off, we are just having moments in games where we need to be a bit more focused. We will be okay. 

McDonald on how the AFLW Cats are tracking

We are essentially 12 months a year athletes, so the team was coming off the back of last year as determined as ever to continue to improve as individuals and collectively.

Yes there is a lot of work that gets done in the off-season to maintain ourselves athletically, but at the same time we have multiple teammates who are overseas.

I think we enjoy this time of year to really live the flexibility and balance that this club has always promoted, we know that will hold us in good stead come August which is still many months away. 

Dangerfield on the Cats takeaways from the past fortnight

The pleasing part is that we have been well and truly in both games, particularly the one on the weekend where we lead for a fair portion of it.

It is execution at the final stages, that speaks to the margin for error which in this game now is small.

It is a very even competition and you have to be able to execute, so it is not too much fine tuning for us but that is the challenge. 

McDonald on what the Cats learned from 2024

I was thinking this morning about the parallels between our season and where the guys are at the moment, which is that our best footy is really good.

That was true last year and I think the goal with every year is to expand our capacity on the footy field, and to get as close to realising that week in and week out.

Also bringing consistency that means we won't have as much disparity in our performances, I think that is what we go away with the intent to work on.