AFL 2023: Geelong footy boss Andrew Mackie says trade period will be less busy but is excited by draft possibilities

Geelong footy boss Andrew Mackie has shed light on the club’s trade and draft plans. And he has provided an update on Tom Hawkins and two other unsigned premiership stars.

Andrew Mackie has opened up on their trade and draft plans. Picture: Getty Images

Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie said it will be a much quieter trade period for the club this year but is excited to by the draft talent available in the top 10 and at the back-end.

The Cats shipped off most of their 2023 draft selections to snare Tanner Bruhn, Ollie Henry and Jack Bowes as part of a busy 2022 trade period.

But their disappointing season means they hold a prized pick at No. 7 as well as pick 81, which is set to slide in after bids are matched for father-son and academy prospects.

Mackie, who has continued his list manager duties as part of his extended portfolio, said they are open to “all opportunities” surrounding the draft.

He said that he will need to assess the best outcome for the club for wantaway Cat Esava Ratugolea — who has requested a trade to Port Adelaide after he was held to his contract last year — which the Cats will work through over the trade and free agency period.

Mackie is eager to keep replenishing the Cats’ list with young talent, mindful of the number of ageing players who are in the twilight of their career.

Esava Ratugolea was requested a trade to the Power. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“I think we’ve all known from a long way out that doing some things last year … Regenerating our list and being really aware of where we’re at with some older guys coming out over the last couple of years and the next couple of years going forward,” Mackie said.

“Part of that we attended to last year which meant we probably wouldn’t be as busy in this period.

“We are really excited about the pick seven that we currently have, excited about what the back of the draft might look like.

“We’ve got a few list spots free there. We are open to all opportunities – including certain players – and we will continue to do that.

“I think I’ve got to work through what the best thing for our footy club is (for Esava) and clearly there’s a lot of options in that.

“There’s a big market for big Esava, clearly they see some things that we do. He’s a well-liked teammate by our guys, gets along really well with our group so we’ll work through that in the coming couple of weeks.”

Mackie said talks on new deals for uncontracted premiership stars Tom Hawkins, Zach Tuohy and Rhys Stanley were progressing well, making clear that they will be crucial to their plans next year.

The Cats footy boss said that the games and enhanced opportunities players like Bruhn, Henry and Max Holmes were able to receive was a “silver lining” on missing finals this season.

Tanner Bruhn has a promising first season at the Cats. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Mackie also described the exposure of less experienced youngsters Jhye Clark, Mitch Knevitt and Toby Conway as a glimpse into the future.

“We’ve got a really good group of that middle-tier players that have come along and we need to make sure we continue that – but further to that is these bunch of guys that sit above that from an age demographic point of view,” Mackie said.

“Still crucial to how we will be in 2024, albeit in different varieties. We don’t need to rely on them to play every week or what that looks like … but to all the individuals their bets is clearly really good footy and that’s what we’ve got to be focused on getting out of them because that helps us win games.

“I found it as a really progressive year, ultimately we would love to be playing this week – that’s what we sort out to do but on the back of that the way our availability at different times probably meant we were able to get some games into some guys we wouldn’t have been able to do in other circumstances.

“So there’s some silver lining in that, I felt we’ve seen some really good things out of a large chunk of them.

“I think we saw a snapshot on what our future could look like – clearly we would love some of the guys that we weren’t able to get out on the park for the last chunks of the year of the year to be fit and healthy, that’s obviously what we try and do, maximise our availability across the playing group.”

Originally published as AFL 2023: Geelong footy boss Andrew Mackie says trade period will be less busy but is excited by draft possibilities