GEELONG CEO Steve Hocking has reiterated the club’s push for 100,000 members in the wake of Saturday’s 81-point grand final hiding of Sydney at the MCG.
The Cats posted a record membership of 71,943 to sit seventh among AFL clubs, just under 10,000 adrift of sixth-placed Hawthorn.
“It’s really important to us,” Hocking told krockfootball.com.au during the club’s family day celebrations outside GMHBA Stadium.
“That’ll put us into the top two or three big clubs, and we’re excited about being able to realise that.
“We’d like all of our supporters to become members. We’re one of the biggest supported clubs right across the country.
“Let’s get those people on as members.”
Premiership success will provide a financial windfall for Geelong.
However, Hocking isn’t “a massive fan of talking about bottom lines”.
“It just sounds like you’re trying to make a lot of money,” he said. “I think the really important thing for us is people.
“I’m a really strong believer in (that) it’s about the people, and I think what football has done through 2022, and what we’ve been able to do at our club is get people connected back to the game.
“Our song talks about ‘the greatest team of all’. We’ve had a mantra this year about being ‘the team of all’.
“Our members and supporters are really important to us.”
For Hocking, the satisfaction he gains from Geelong winning its 10th VFL/AFL premiership comes from the stories behind the journeys of the 23 players involved and coach Chris Scott.
“We could talk for the next hour about Chris (Scott),” he said. “About Joel (Selwood) and what he did with the boots, to Levi Ablett.
“To what it means for Tom Stewart and Sam De Koning … Tyson Stengle.
“The game has got so many stories woven through it.”
Twitter: @krockfootball
