Saturday's historic qualifying final at Simonds Stadium is a source of soaring pride for Geelong

GEELONG'S historic qualifying final against Fremantle at Simonds Stadium is a sign the town is no longer a "regional" centre.

Joel Selwood

THROUGH five weeks of blandness from the nation's politicians, you could trust Ross Lyon to provide the best reminder of what's been missing - Paul Keating's acerbic tongue.

Faced with the unexpected prospect of a final at Simonds Stadium, the Fremantle coach was typically deadpan delivering his biting condemnation.

Chappy happier than ever

"At the start of the year you thought if you finished third you wouldn't be playing in a regional centre, you'd be playing in a metropolis at world-class venues."

It dripped with sneering derision.

His campaign drew popular acclaim. The elders called it scandalous that such a showpiece would be staged in a backwater.

The snobs and elitists clattered ceaselessly in protest.

'Biggest game in Dockers' history'

It was argued, with a straight face, that Geelong had too much of a home ground advantage and thus it should be void.

Then there were the tens of thousands of faceless fans who would be locked out.

Yet every member of both teams who applied was granted a ticket and 4000 more went to an eager public.

In the current climate, if the football commentariate were asked for an opinion on breathing, most would stand bitterly opposed to the concept.

On the other side of the divide - and election day not only excuses but demands rampant parochialism - it is a moment of affirmation.

For the true believers Saturday's historic qualifying final at Kardinia Park is a source of soaring pride.

Simonds Stadium

The conceit of the poorly pitched debate has been to mistake Geelong as a Melbourne club in the national construct, thus denying not only its geography but its history, struggle and triumph.

At the turn of the century the Geelong Football Club was an anachronism, a remnant of a suburban competition that ultimately went broke.

In the expansion of teams and the rationalisation of grounds, Geelong was left teetering on the edge of irrelevance and extinction.

It was a financially crippled club playing out of a dilapidated ground too far from the epicentre.

The league wanted the Cats to play out of the new stadium at Docklands.

But what then would have been the point of masquerading as Geelong?

Frank Costa and Brian Cook didn't stand belligerently against progress. Instead they came to embody it.

Today the scope of the recovery comes into plain sight on approach to the city.

Paul Chapman

With its light towers in place, Simonds Stadium rises like a grand cathedral on the landscape.

It is a monument that seems to define the town.

A ruddy old country ground is now a stadium.

But the charm is to retain its heart and authenticity - the intimacy cherished in a provincial environment.

Thanks to the endeavours of its football team, Kardinia Park fulfils its destiny years ahead of the wildest dream.

It is a day to embolden a region that remains engulfed in the troubles of modern economic reality.

We may be a small town but we're a great one, too.

The town of the Geelong Terror, George Watson, and the Prince of Goalkickers, Phil McShane, as foundations were laid in the 1880s with seven VFA premierships in nine years.

Of Reg Hickey, who ended the 39-year premiership drought the year prosperity came to Geelong and Ford opened its factory.

Travis Varcoe

Fred Flanagan's invincibles when Russell "Hooker" Renfrey and Bernie Smith set the town abuzz.

The '60s boom as the Alcoa smelter fired and Polly Farmer and Denis Marshall were imported from the west.

A place where odd things could happen.

Larry Donohue booted a ton. Gary Sidebottom missed a bus. Brian Peake caught a chopper. And Mark Jackson roamed free.

In exile, we turned to religion. The Messiah and Buddha and God.

In the crash of '91 a hardy people found solace plastering stickers on every bumper: Bugger Pyramid. Get Ablett back.

And the people did endure until finally the town and its team were chosen.

Thrice blessed now with a forging appetite for a fourth premiership.

What the narks have missed, history will capture.

Saturday is a rich landmark in the story of a heartland best understood through the slogan coined by Bob Davis: Our Town. Our People. Our Football Club.

Gerard Whateley broadcasts on ABC Grandstand and co-hosts AFL 360 on Fox Footy.