The Cats have kicked a major off-field goal, with the club’s membership passing 50,000 for the first time.

This year’s number is a vast improvement on the final 2015 figure, which was just over 46,000.

The milestone was achieved on Wednesday, just a few days out from the Cats’ much-anticipated home game against Gold Coast at Simonds Stadium.

“To reach 50,000 members is a great result for the club and an amazing show of support in where our club is heading,” the club’s chief commercial officer Justin Reeves said.

“Members have always been the backbone of our club, and we are 100 per cent focused on providing our members with a great experience.

“Looking to the future, we understand how important it is that we continue to grow our membership for us to compete with the bigger clubs both in Melbourne and interstate.

“We are now focusing on growing our membership number to 60,000 in the near future.”

The Cats celebrated the milestone by surprising a couple of the club’s longest-standing members.

Vic and Bev Beckley, who have been Geelong members for 50 years, were paid a visit by senior coach Chris Scott and star players Patrick Dangerfield, Harry Taylor, Mitch Duncan, Tom Hawkins and Mark Blicavs.

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