The Lara Sporting Club, nicknamed the ''Cats'', is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in the city of

Lara Lara may refer to: People * Lara (name), can be a given name or a surname in several languages * Lara (mythology), a naiad nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's ''Fasti'' Places *Lara (state), a state in Venezuela * Electoral district ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The club's

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

teams currently compete in the

Geelong Football Netball League The Geelong Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is widely regarded as the highest-standard Australian rules football league in regional Victoria, with sever ...

. Lara play its home games at Lara Recreation Reserve.http://www . Other sections of the club include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

Lara is situated between

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

and

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werrib ...

on the main Geelong rail line so over the years the club has played in competitions to the East and West of the town.

History

*1907-1914 Geelong Football Association *1919-1927 Werribee Lara Football Association *1928-1932 Geelong Athletic Societies League *1933-1935 Geelong Football Association *1936-1946 Werribee District Football League *1947-1988

Geelong & District Football League The Geelong & District Football Netball League (GDFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, being the oldest surviving competition in the region. It is one of three leagues in the Geelong area, t ...

*1989-2019

Geelong Football League The Geelong Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is widely regarded as the highest-standard Australian rules football league in regional Victoria, with sever ...

Merger

In 1975 the Football club and the cricket merged to form the Lara Sporting Club.

Geelong Football League

After winning two premierships in three years Lara opted to move into the GFL in 1989. In 2015 the League was absorbed into the AFL Barwon Football League.

VFL / AFL players

* Paul Lynch - * Allen Christensen – , * Josh Walker – , *

Michael Kol Michael Kol (born 1 January 1962) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1980s. Kol played for Geelong Football League club Lara and the Geelong Under-19s before making ...

– *

Nigel Kol Nigel Kol (born 1 January 1962) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Originally from Geelong Football League club Lara, Kol made his senior VFL debut for Geelong ...

– *

Devon Smith Devon Sheldon Smith (born 21 October 1981 in Hermitage, Saint Patrick Parish, Grenada) is a former cricketer who featured as an opening or top order left-handed batsman. He played for the West Indies and for the Windward Islands in regional ...

- ,

Bibliography

* ''Cat Country: History of Football In The Geelong Region'' by John Stoward –

References

External links

Official website
{{AFL Barwon Women's Football Geelong Football Netball League clubs 1880 establishments in Australia Geelong & District Football Netball League clubs Sports clubs and teams established in 1880 Netball teams in Victoria (state) Club cricket teams in Australia Baseball teams in Australia