Garry Hocking

Garry Andrew Hocking (born 8 October 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Hocking and elder brother Steve were part of then Geelong coach John Devine's mass recruiting drive which also netted players such as Gavin Exell, Bruce Lindner, Dwayne Russell, Mark Bairstow and Billy Brownless in the mid-1980s.

Hocking made his senior VFL debut in the 1987 round 3 match against at Kardinia Park, wearing the number 51.

He became one of a special group of footballers by scoring a goal on debut with his first kick, but otherwise had a quiet match with seven touches.

The following season, Hocking's guernsey number was changed to 32—which he would wear for the remainder of his career—but he only played three games in the second half of the season.

It would not be until Malcolm Blight took over as coach in 1989 that Hocking would play regular football and establish his place in the team.

That year Geelong became the glamour team of the competition, twice kicking a score of over 200 points and drawing fans to games with their flamboyant, all-out attacking brand of football.

Hocking represented Victoria on numerous occasions in the State of Origin series and played in four losing Grand Final sides (1989, 1992, 1994, 1995).

Hocking was considered unlucky not to win the Brownlow Medal, due to his many close finishes, finishing amongst the top three vote-getters on four occasions, although twice as an ineligible player.

Tough and skilled in equal measure, Hocking was an integral part of Geelong's midfield who was recognised at both club and League level as one of the finest players of the 1990s, winning club best and fairests, All-Australian honours and finishing top three in the Brownlow Medal vote count on four occasions.

Hocking's consistency over a period was recognised by the club in 1995 when, after former captain Bairstow departed at the end of 1994, Hocking was given the captaincy role for the 1995 season.

However, early in the season, he stated his intentions to give up the captaincy to concentrate purely on playing.

The role would be shared between three players: Ken Hinkley, Barry Stoneham and Gary Ablett.

The Cats made it to the finals in 1997 but again were bundled out in straight sets.

At the start of the year the Cats had made some organisational changes, with prominent local businessman and club vice-president Frank Costa appointed club president after predecessor Ron Hovey stepped down at the end of 1998.

Brian Cook was recruited from as chief executive officer, and Hocking was named stand-in captain after newly appointed captain Leigh Colbert injured his knee in a pre-season match against the.

Midway through the nine-game losing streak, Cook approached Hocking with an unusual proposal.

Uncle Ben's, the parent company of cat food label Whiskas at the time, would provide a financial incentive for the club if a Cats player was willing to change his name to "Whiskas" for one game.

Hocking agreed to the offer and changed his name by deed poll to "Whiskas" for one week.

He announced this on The Footy Show.

The incident was met with mixed reaction in the football world.

When asked about his publicity stunt, Hocking commented:

"I see it as a great thing for the footy club and Whiskas. It is just a light-hearted thing and from a commercial point of view to help get the club out of strife."

The AFL refused to acknowledge Hocking's name change and continued to use his original name on team lists.

The League's reasoning was that the name change, although temporary, threatened to bring the game into disrepute.

Geelong ended up losing the upcoming match against, and Hocking was off the field injured by three-quarter time, but the financial incentive, which has to date not been publicly disclosed, went some way to helping the club's financial situation.

By the middle of the 1999 AFL season, Geelong was in crisis on and off the field.

After winning the first five games, the Cats would then lose the next nine in a row to effectively end any chance of making the finals.

The club was also in deep financial trouble, owing a debt of around $7.5 million with a forecast operating loss of $750,000 for the season.

Hocking's tenacity, hardness, consistency and quality was rewarded in 2001 when he was named ruck-rover in Geelong's Team of the Century; it was considered a great honour given the fact there have been other quality ruck-rovers in Geelong's history.

Hocking retired at the end of the 2001 AFL season after playing 274 games, which at the time was the third-highest number of games for Geelong.

After his playing career, which ended in 2001, Hocking moved into coaching.

Recognisable on the field with his curly brown mullet hairstyle and nicknamed "Buddha", Hocking was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2008, and was also named in Geelong's Team of the Century and Hall of Fame.

Since retiring from playing, Hocking has coached at various clubs.

He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame on 8 March 2008.

He coached in the 2012 AFL season for four games after Matthew Primus was sacked.

He has also been head coach of Peel Thunder, the Port Adelaide SANFL side,, and the VFL side.

Hailing from the border town of Cobram in north-eastern Victoria, Hocking was one of three sons born to Les Hocking and his wife Pam.

He also has one sister.

Les worked as a hairdresser at 'Plugger' Bourke's barber shop, and young Garry served an apprenticeship with him before moving to Geelong.