Mooney column: Geelong Cat Esava Ratugolea a ‘future All-Australian’

There’s no shortage of talent in the defensive end for Geelong, and CAM MOONEY has declared one key Cat a “future All-Australian”.

IT rarely happens, but what we saw last week was a Geelong backline under siege.

And when Tom Stewart went down, that hurt.

The Cats no longer had their defensive general, their leader.

They were also without Jack Henry and Jake Kolodjashnij, and Sam De Koning was proppy, so they were thin on the ground against Collingwood.

Jamie Elliott and Esava Ratugolea fly for the ball in the season opener. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

But one real positive that came from that loss was the performance of Esava Ratugolea.

Esava’s upside is enormous. He’s a future All-Australian.

To be that big and so athletic and have the ability to run and jump at the ball, he has all the attributes to be a star.

I have always said that forwards make good defenders.

Because as a defender, you know where your opponent wants to go.

You know where they are going to lead and you know they are trying to create space by dragging you back inside 50.

Forwards are predictable. You know all the tricks and you can counteract all those things.

But the biggest advantage Ratugolea has is his athleticism.

Even that spoil on Dan McStay in the last quarter was outstanding.

He was diving low to the ground and he got his left arm around and punched it clear.

But by the same token, he’s going to learn that he needs to make better decision in pressure situations, such as the moment when he decided to take a pack mark, rather than spoil, and cost his team a goal.

Esava Ratugolea battles Mason Cox and Darcy Cameron in the air. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

That’s where Matthew Scarlett was so good.

He was one of the best contested marks, but he also made the right decisions more often than not and he would put a big fist into the ball and save his side a goal.

Those are the little things that separate the better players.

It might take him a season to learn his craft, maybe two, but his upside as a defender is a hell of a lot better than his upside as a forward.

Also, it’s tough for him to grab that spot as the third forward behind Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron.

He doesn’t have to worry about jumping into their backs or getting in the road, he can follow his player to the ball and do his thing.

So it’s an advantage to him mentally.

Physically, he’s a force.

I’m looking at Ratugolea and De Koning being pillars of the Geelong defence for a decade.

It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.

No doubt Esava will still take time to learn the position, he did some brilliant things on Friday night, but he also made some costly mistakes. That’s going to happen.

But what we saw was the immaturity of the defensive group in the second half against the Pies.

Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay are set to cause the Cats plenty of headaches on Thursday night. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

And is that going to be a concern when the Cats are going up against arguably the best twin towers in the game in Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow.

So it’s a huge test, especially when De Koning is no certainty to play.

When De Koning is dealing with a knee concern that he’s had twice in two weeks, personally I’d be leaning on the safe side.

The Cats need to make sure this kid, who will be the backbone of their defence for the next 10 years, is right to go.

So without Stewart, De Koning, Henry and Kolodjashnij, it makes them vulnerable.

It means the chances of Geelong slipping to 0-2 are very much alive.

However, it’s not something that I am overly concerned with.

I feel the Cats needed that run because you could see they were short of a gallop in the second half.

I thought Collingwood’s run was the difference in the end.

But there were at least three or four occasions where I felt Geelong would just kick away and win.

So the Cats were so close to winning that game.

And from what I saw on the weekend, the Cats and the Pies were a cut above the Thursday night teams in Richmond and Carlton.

And even if the Cats’ defence is vulnerable and inexperienced as a group, I am still confident Geelong can beat the Blues.

Because Carlton doesn’t give me any real confidence at the moment and I trust Geelong.

Chris Scott was critical of the MCG surface. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

TURF WARS

THERE’S been plenty of discussion over the condition of the MCG surface.

And I listened with interest when Carlton’s Sam Docherty revealed he had serious anxiety around playing the season opener against Richmond on Thursday night.

Docherty has endured three new reconstructions, so he had every right to be nervous.

Cats coach Chris Scott described it as an “own goal” by the MCG to put themselves in a position where they were in a race against the clock to get the surface up to scratch.

And I don’t disagree with Scotty. Did they need to schedule those Ed Sheeran concerts so close to Round 1.

Whether the new surface had any influence on Tom Stewart’s injury? Who knows?

I have seen many footballers slip over and suffer injuries on a perfect surface, so we can’t categorically say that Stewart’s injury was a direct result of the turf.

But I absolutely agree with Scotty on the risk that the AFL took in relaying 10,000 square metres of turf.

The AFL would be the biggest money spinner for the MCC over the course of the season, so it begs the question why those concerts went ahead.

So Scotty has every right to be shitty.

Originally published as Mooney column: Geelong Cat Esava Ratugolea a ‘future All-Australian’