AFL 2023: Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie on Esava Ratugolea deal, Cats’ draft plans and future of unsigned Cats

What brought the Esava Ratugolea deal to a halt, who will the Cats target at the draft and which unsigned Cats are in limbo? Geelong footy boss Andrew Mackie answers the tough questions.

Andrew Mackie answers the burning Cats questions. Picture: Michael Klein

Geelong footy boss Andrew Mackie claims there was no standoff between the Cats and Port Adelaide over Esava Ratugolea, with ruckman Ivan Soldo’s move the unlikely catalyst late in the trade period.

Mackie said the Cats had more clarity on what they could secure in a trade after the deal for the Richmond ruckman, which has been up in the air, was confirmed at the beginning of deadline day.

The Cats had explored the possibility of future picks being involved in the deal with Power, whose initial offer was pick 25 for Ratugolea.

The Soldo trade saw Port Adelaide part ways with pick 41, pick 49, a future second-round pick (tied to Fremantle) and a future fourth-round-pick, limiting the Cats’ options in the futures market.

Andrew Mackie says there was no standoff in the Esava Ratugolea deal. Picture: Getty Images

Geelong eventually received pick 25, 76 and 94, with the latter two set to shift in significantly on draft night after bids are matched for Gold Coast’s raft of academy talents and clubs pass on their selections in the later rounds.

“We wanted to protect our future draft picks and we had been open in discussions throughout the year around certain players but the right thing to do with us was keep that pick eight and get a return for Esava which we were able to do,” Mackie said.

“There was no need to do (the Ratugolea deal) straight away. The ‘rebuff’, I think it got talked about, wasn’t really a standoff to be honest.

“My initial conversations with Crippa (Jason Cripps) was talking around what expectations I’d spoken to Esava’s manager about and that was the discussion.

“It wasn’t so much around that we wouldn’t be taking that pick (25), you always value certain players in different areas, and we thought we’d play around with some future stuff that would get the deal done really early.

“We were always going to get something for him and once Port Adelaide did a deal with Ivan Soldo we were probably more realistic with what was left potentially for us.

“The Ivan Soldo one, once that dropped, it just meant that ‘OK, let’s do our thing’.”

ESAVA REPLACEMENTS

Geelong will look internally with their hybrid medium defenders as well as through other means to replace Ratugolea.

Murray Bushrangers key defender Connor O’Sullivan shapes as a potential long-term option at the draft with their first selection, but the Cats will also look at the supplemental selection period and delisted free agency to fill the void.

“I think we’ve got flexibility with some hybrid types – taller sort of mid-range defenders – who can play a bit taller if we need,’ Mackie said.

“I feel confident enough that if we decide to stay internally that we can get it done but we’ll also look for other ways to improve our list. If that means through the draft, the SSP, there’s some delisted free agents still floating around.”

Connor O'Sullivan is in the mix for the Cats with their first choice. Picture: Getty Images

PICK 8 ON THE TABLE

Geelong is open to trading its first selection in this year’s draft, whether that is shifting forward or back in the order – and the phone is running hot with interest from rival clubs.

Mackie said the Cats will listen to offers but are also confident that they will take a quality youngster at an exciting range of the draft.

Top-end talents like O’Sullivan, athletic 193cm forward Nate Caddy and ball-winning midfielder Ryley Sanders would be among the players in consideration

“Open to all that, we are no different to every other club too. You've got to look at and be flexible with how you structure up your picks – we’re the same.

“We feel like it is in a great spot for going to the draft and confident we’ll get a really good player there.

“The phone’s ringing a bit so other teams obviously think the same so we’ve got some time to work out what we feel the best thing is for our list profile and how many picks and all that we will be having, sort of got the next month to work through that.

“There’s still some work to do on completely ranking them out and then you’ve got obviously they are different types of players too.”

STEWART EXTENSION PROMISING

Mackie confirmed that talks have progressed well with five-time All-Australian Tom Stewart for an extension.

Stewart, who comes out of contract at the end of next year, took out his second Carji Greeves Medal earlier this month and while he is 31 next year, clubs are sure to come knocking for the intercept king.

The South Barwon product took out his second best-and-fairest earlier this year in his first year as vice-captain of the club.

“We are in talks, have been in talks for a while and that is playing out pretty smoothly,” Mackie said.

The Cats expect to ramp up talks with other players who fall out of contract in 2024 – including Tyson Stengle, Jack Henry and Zach Guthrie – after the draft.

Talks have progressed on a new deal for Tom Stewart. Picture: Mark Wilson

HOW MANY PICKS

The Cats are set to take around three selections at the draft, but the amount of players they bring in will depend on what is available at the back-end.

Geelong currently hold picks 8, 25, 76, 87 and 94, and the latter three picks are set to slide in significantly – especially with plenty of clubs expected to pass early in the piece with list spots tight.

Seven list spots have been freed up through trade, delistings and retirements at this stage, and the Cats have already added former basketballer Joe Furphy as a Category B rookie.

It means either Next Generation Academy graduate Ted Clohesy or Irish speedster Oisin Mullin will need to be upgraded to the rookie or primary list.

The club will remain flexible and determine what is the best fit for them, with delisted free agency pick-ups also a possibility.

CATS IN LIMBO

Geelong local Oscar Murdoch has received a one-year extension after a promising year at VFL level, but two other unsigned Cats remain in limbo.

Mid-season draftee Mitch Hardie and Flynn Kroeger remain uncontracted and will be forced to play the waiting game.

Hardie, 25, was one of the shocks of the mid-season draft this year after being plucked from Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL by the Cats.

He got better as the year went on in the VFL, finishing his year with 23 disposals, seven clearances and a goal against GWS.

Meanwhile, Kroeger has had a wretched run with injury, playing just three VFL games in his two seasons at the Cats.

The club has already offloaded Sam Menegola, Osca Riccardi, Sam Simpson and Cooper Whyte, with four-time premiership player Isaac Smith and Jon Ceglar announcing their retirement.

Mitch Hardie remains in limbo. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

BOLSTERING MIDFIELD

Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie aren’t getting any younger, so the Cats will keep an eye to the future to add to their midfield stocks for the future.

Geelong finished third last in the competition for clearances and 11th for contested possessions in 2023, with the long-term injury of Guthrie exposing their midfield depth.

But the Cats are bullish on Jhye Clark, their first pick in last year’s draft, and will hopefully have Guthrie for a full season this time around.

Emerging midfielders Max Holmes and Tanner Bruhn were also able to get more exposure in the engine room and should improve again in 2024.

“You can’t do everything at once too so we’ll work out the draft strategy from here but that midfield area is something over the next little bit, given you got Dangerfield and Guthrie.

“So next year we’ve got Guthrie coming in from hardly playing last year, we’ve got Jhye Clark who had a foot injury after his debut game so we are really excited about what those two can bring for our midfield in 2024.

“Got Tanner Bruhn going through there, got Max Holmes running through there. We’ve got some really good players to go through and we are excited with how it will look in 2024 – it’s not as if it has all got to happen all at once but it something that we are aware of.”

Originally published as AFL 2023: Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie on Esava Ratugolea deal, Cats’ draft plans and future of unsigned Cats