CATS v BLUES PREVIEWS, PLUS TIM KELLY COLUMN
KELLY GANG
ESAVA Ratugolea is the messy one, Quinton Narkle is the forgetful one and Brandan Parfitt is the master chef.
But like the secret ingredients in Parfitt’s memorable curries, the three of them just go together.
This is a story of friendship as much as football and of relationships as much as ruck rovers. It’s about three young men drafted from three different regions of Australia to an AFL club.
Parfitt (pick No.26), Ratugolea (43) and Narkle (60) were taken within 34 picks of each other in the 2016 national draft, but the trio of 21-yearolds has grown even closer in the three years since pulling on a Cats jumper.
Their sanctuary lies in Geelong West, where a pool table, Play Station and dart board provide the typical share house moments.
“We’re always playing for something, whether it’s doing the dishes, being the designated driver or whatever,” Narkle said.
Parfitt continued: “Me and ‘Narks’ were here first and we were sorting out who gets the master bedroom and we flipped a coin.
“It was a best of three and Narks was up 2-0 and I came back and won 3-2 and got the master.”
When they had exhausted the games, the trio turned to iPhones to assign the chores.
“There’s this app and everyone puts their finger on the phone at the same time and this little thing spins around and chooses someone at random,” Narkle said.
INJURY BLOWS
RATUGOLEA recently moved out, but he arrives at his old house shortly before News Corp with a tray of coffees.
“He was a bit of a loss. The big fella brings a lot to the table,” Parfitt said.
The Parfitt, Ratugolea, Narkle friendship has been a blessing in what can be a daunting experience joining a professional sporting organisation.
The trio was part of the Cats’ big draft haul of 2016 when 10 came via the national and rookie drafts.
Most stay in touch in a dedicated Snapchat group.
“It was a bit tough coming into an AFL environment and then on the off-days you’re not too sure what to do,” Parfitt said.
“But with these two blokes you just come up with something.
“We’re pretty big on board games and cards. We’ve got the pool table here and play darts and we do most things with each other and get all the other boys involved as well.”
They have rallied in the hard times as well.
The blow of Narkle’s knee reconstruction in 2017 and Ratugolea’s broken leg last year were softened by the support of familiar faces.
“That helped so much, really,” Ratugolea said.
“It was so important for us to be together at those times and that bonded us and brought us a lot closer as well.”
Those injuries go a long way to explaining why Ratugolea, Parfitt and Narkle only played together in the same Geelong senior side for the first time against North Melbourne in Round 21.
“Finally, after three years we got there,” Narkle said.
Ratugolea said the three had “a few quiet wines” to celebrate and took a photo to commemorate the occasion. THE conversation turns to teammate Tim Kelly who, along with his young family, faces a difficult decision on where to play next year.
“He’s a good, genuine bloke and a good player, so if we can keep him it will be great for us,” Narkle said.
Parfitt added: “We’ve got good relationships with Tim and (his wife) Caitlin and the family and we head over to his house a fair bit for dinner and those things.
“It always helps having a lot of friends at a club and people you can connect with. I think, for Tim, it’s probably a different scenario with his family situation, but for us we’re enjoying it here.” Do you babysit? “We help out, but not a lot. We probably should do more,” Parfitt said.
“If he needs us we’re always here to help,” Narkle said. “But I don’t think anyone would trust me with their kids.”
They trust Narkle with the artwork, though. His creations lie around the house and he designed the indigenous jumper Geelong will wear against Carlton today in a tribute to the late Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer.
“Quinton is a really good artist. We’ll be chilling in the lounge room watching TV and he’ll be drawing his little pieces that wouldn’t take him a lot of time, but they would be amazing,” Ratugolea said.
“I don’t take it too seriously, but I enjoy it,” Narkle said. “I always do it before games or whenever I’m feeling a bit stressed.
“I designed it (jumper) and barely worn it. I wore it for a quarter and did my hamstring, so it will be good to get out there and chuck it on.”
FINAL CHARGE
GEELONG sat 11-1 at the bye, but hasn’t won consecutive games since Round 12. The boys are unfazed.
“We’re happy with our season,” Ratugolea said. “We had a really good start and we’re probably missing a few players we’d like in the team.
“But in the games we’ve lost … there’s little things we have to fix, but nothing major. We will back our game in finals footy.”
Brisbane last week inflicted a one-point loss after Parfitt’s original host in Geelong, Lincoln McCarthy, took a hanger to kick the go-ahead goal.
“We probably felt like we had it under control for most of the day, but we weren’t able to execute in the last 10 minutes,” Parfitt said.
“It’s sort of good to come into finals without being the red-hot favourite.”