The Geelong Football Club is calling on nominations for the 2025 Carter/Costa Award and RJ Hickey Award.
Recipients of the Carter/Costa Award and RJ Hickey Award will be announced at the Annual General Meeting or another appropriate event in 2025.
About the Carter/Costa Service Award
The Carter/Costa Service Award is an annual award that recognises an individual in recognition of their exceptional service at Club or Community level within the Geelong region.
The award aims to recognise the exceptional voluntary service by two of our Club’s long-serving Directors, Colin Carter and the late Frank Costa.
Carter served as Club Director from 1988 to 1993 before joining the AFL Commission. Following Carter’s retirement from the Commission in 2008, he re-joined the Cats’ Board and then served a further term until his retirement as President in 2021.
Costa joined the Geelong Board in 1996 and was elected President in 1998 and remained President until the end of 2010 when he retired from the Board. He then went on to become the Club’s Patron.
The inaugural award was presented in 2024 to Ian McTaggart, a founding member of the AFL Barwon Commission and longtime football administrator in the Geelong region.
The Carter/Costa Award Criteria
The Carter/Costa Award is awarded to an individual in recognition of their exceptional service at Club or Community level within the Geelong region.
By demonstrating commitment to teamwork and for their outstanding personal values, this award seeks to recognise either an employee or volunteer at club or community level.
About the RJ Hickey Award
The RJ Hickey Award is named in the honour of one of our great past players, Premiership Coach and Captain Reg Hickey, whose contribution to the game of Australian Football and to the Geelong Football Club was profound over three decades, from 1926 to 1959.
Hickey played a key role in four Geelong Premiership victories, one as a player, one as captain-coach and one as a non-playing coach. Hickey’s career games tally for the Geelong Cats stood as a record for more than 30 seasons (total Premiership Games 245 and interstate games 18).
Awarded since 1981, the RJ Hickey Award has recognised more than 40 greats of Australian football, from Lou Richards to Stephen Wells, Col Hutchinson to Mike Sheahan and many more.
The RJ Hickey Award Criteria
- The RJ Hickey Award is awarded annually by the Geelong Football Club to an individual in recognition of their “outstanding service to Australian Football”, particularly but not limited for their contribution to football in the Geelong region.
- Roles held in Australian Football such as player, coach, administrator, a member of the media or a volunteer at all levels of our game are eligible for consideration.
- Geelong FC officials/staff/players and volunteers are ineligible during their tenure with the Club.
How to Nominate?
Click Here to see our new Awards Program which outlines each award, the process and nomination form.
All nominators go into the draw to win a 2025 AFL team-signed guernsey.*
Click here to nominate someone for the Carter/Costa Service Award.
Click here to nominate someone for the RJ Hickey Award.
Nominations close Monday 14 July 2025.
*Click here for terms and conditions.
