Footy · Victoria

Footy training for Geelong & the Barwon region

Geelong is a one-club AFL town with a deep community footy scene underneath it. In 2026 the Falcons took Talent League games out to Torquay, Leopold, Colac and Geelong West — a reminder that their list is picked from right across the region.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.

Short answer

The Geelong Falcons are the Talent League club for Geelong and the surrounding region, including the Colac area. Local footy is run by AFL Barwon across four leagues — the Geelong FNL, Geelong & District FNL, Bellarine FNL and Colac & District FNL — and Geelong fields a VFL side.

Your pathway

Which club your address belongs to

The Geelong Falcons run boys’ and girls’ Talent League programs for talented juniors from Geelong and the surrounding region.

Geelong Falcons
Geelong and the surrounding region, including Colac. 2026 community fixtures were played at Torquay, Leopold, Colac and Geelong West.

Parts of south-west Victoria sit between the Falcons and the GWV Rebels. Check with the Falcons if you are unsure which program you belong to.

How the AFL pathway works, step by step →

Where you play

The competitions

Geelong Football Netball League
Under AFL Barwon.
Geelong & District Football Netball League
Under AFL Barwon.
Bellarine Football Netball League
The Bellarine Peninsula, under AFL Barwon.
Colac & District Football Netball League
The Colac district, under AFL Barwon.
State-league clubs here
Geelong
VFL.
Your first ten minutes

Set it up for Geelong

Four things, in the order the app asks them. None of them needs a coach.

Choose footy, then your team nights

Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — Geelong Football Netball League or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.

Match the program to your league’s start

If your league starts later than March, set your season phase yourself in the app and stay in pre-season a little longer. The phase lives in Program → Your year.

Know your numbers on day one

Your first testing session is ready immediately: 2km time trial, Bench press 1RM, Max pull-ups, Trap-bar deadlift 1RM, Running vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.

Put your suburb on the board

In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.

GeelongLaraLeopoldTorquayOcean GroveColacDrysdaleBelmont

Starting now

What you start with, by the month you join

Every block is four weeks — three building, one deload — so a free month is one complete block.

Jan
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Feb
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Mar
In-season
Maintenance block
Apr
In-season
Maintenance block
May
In-season
Maintenance block
Jun
In-season
Maintenance block
Jul
In-season
Maintenance block
Aug
In-season
Maintenance block
Sep
In-season
Maintenance block
Oct
Off-season
Muscle-building block
Nov
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Dec
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Read from the app: the season phase a new AFL account starts in, and the first four-week block it runs.
The year

The footy year in Geelong

October
Off-season. Rest, then rebuild general strength.
November – February
Pre-season through summer. Aerobic base, then strength, then power.
March – April
Talent League starts in late March; community leagues shortly after.
April – September
Season. Volume comes down, weights hold.

How the program follows your season →

Conditions

Coastal summers, windy winters

Geelong’s pre-season is milder than inland Victoria’s, but hot northerly days still arrive through summer — plan the running around them. Winter on the Bellarine and the Surf Coast is cold and windy, which makes the warm-up and staying warm between efforts part of the job.

For coaches

Coaching a side in Geelong?

A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.

FAQ

Footy in Geelong: questions

What footy leagues are in Geelong?
AFL Barwon runs four: the Geelong Football Netball League, Geelong & District Football Netball League, Bellarine Football Netball League and Colac & District Football Netball League.
Which Talent League club covers Geelong?
The Geelong Falcons, whose region includes Geelong, the Bellarine, the Surf Coast and Colac.
When does footy pre-season start in Geelong?
Most clubs start between November and January. Train Smart runs the footy pre-season build from November to February.
Sources

Where these facts come from

Checked September 2026. Zones, grades and dates change — if something here is out of date, the governing body is right and we are wrong.

  1. AFL Victoria — metropolitan and regional leagues
  2. Geelong Falcons — club profile
  3. Bellarine Times — Falcons take Talent League to Torquay
  4. Victorian Football League — clubs

Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.

Turn up to round one already fit

Pick footy, tell it your team nights, and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.