Cats play hardball on gifted defender
GEELONG is making promises to Esava Ratugolea it knows it cannot keep.
It is telling the 24-year-old there is a meaningful role for him next year after only four AFL games in 2022.
The problem for Ratugolea, a recast intercept defender after two dominant VFL games in rounds 20 and 21, is that there are so many star-studded teammates ahead of him.
In defence he is behind Tom Stewart, Sam De Koning, Jack Henry, Jake Kolodjashnij and part-time defender Mark Blicavs.
In the ruck when Blicavs isn’t playing the ruck-rover role there are Rhys Stanley, John Ceglar and Toby Conway.
If Ratugolea has to wait until
Tom Hawkins retires it might be
2025 until he gets a decent crack at it alongside Jeremy Cameron, Gary Rohan, Brad Close and co.
In any other situation, Geelong would do what premiership sides or dominant teams have with frustrated depth players and allowed him to prosper elsewhere.
Jack Higgins, Dan Butler, Jed Anderson and even Lincoln McCarthy have all been allowed to move on under the Neil Balme philosophy – if we can’t give you a game, we need to set you free. The problem for Geelong is they know exactly what Port Adelaide do from watching Ratugolea’s VFL games as a defender against Sandringham and Box Hill.
He looked like he was born to play as an intercept defender. He marked aggressively, he dropped into holes ahead of full forwards with fluid movement and timing and he used his 102kg frame to outbody his opponent at will.
He is exactly what the Power would like alongside Tom Jonas and Aliir Aliir.
But Geelong has absolutely no obligation to hand him on, especially when the market for back-up rucks or defenders like him is normally around pick 40-50.
It’s not a pick likely to convince Geelong to play ball.