Geelong defender Connor O’Sullivan signs new contract, speaks on rivalry with trade partner Nate Caddy

After a draft night trade in 2023, Connor O’Sullivan and Nate Caddy will forever be entwined. But are the Cats ahead right now? The rising Geelong star opens up after re-signing.

For fans of both teams they will always be entwined, and Connor O’Sullivan hopes he gets to take on Nate Caddy over and over in the years ahead.

Cats defender O’Sullivan and the Bombers budding spearhead Caddy will be linked and compared throughout their careers after a draft night trade in 2023 saw the Cats send pick 10, which became Caddy, to the Bombers for pick 11 (O’Sullivan) and pick 31.

Caddy was so sure he was going to the Cats he was scrolling RealEstate.com.au for homes to move in to before the draft night trade.

Geelong young gun Nate Caddy/

And his fellow 2023 draft class rising star Connor O’Sullivan.

The Bomber signed a two-year contract extension last month, and O’Sullivan has joined him, extending his time in the hoops until 2028, a deal that was announced on Thursday.

O’Sullivan said he was glad to sign his extension – he was already contracted next year – early and joked he should have sent teammate Gryan Miers in for negotiations instead of manager Brett Deledio, after Miers quipped in February, 2024 that O’Sullivan was the “kind of guy you’d offer a 10-year contract”.

“Gryan has helped me out which was nice,” O’Sullivan said.

Given Geelong spent the extra pick they got in that draft night trade on Shaun Mannagh, the Cats are likely ahead right now, but the Bombers are rapt with Caddy’s future.

O’Sullivan knows he will be linked to Caddy for years, and is hoping to build an on-field rivalry, even if he doesn’t buy into comparisons.

“Obviously I played a lot of footy with Nate in the under-18s years and we had the opportunity to play on each other in the pre-season and in the game earlier this year (round 14),” O’Sullivan said.

“I find, and I’m sure he feels the same, that it is just an exciting opportunity for us both to be able to show our skills and what we are capable of against each other in the future.

“I think it is just exciting that it is obviously a forward and a backman and you get the opportunity to see that match up.”

O’Sullivan is also happy to just worry about his game while he finds himself firmly in the mix for a podium spot in this year’s rising star award, alongside Levi Ashcroft, Dan Curtin and Murphy Reid.

“To be honest I haven’t looked at it a whole heap,” he said.

“I am in a pretty fortunate position where I am part of a winning club for the start of the year and I am trying to look ahead to the next game and how I can improve my game for the next round.”

Some of that improvement for O’Sullivan, who played a solitary senior match in his debut season before becoming a permanent member of Geelong’s backline this year, has been in the kitchen.

O'Sullivan on the move. Picture: Brett Costello

The 198cm defender shares a house with 206cm ruck Mitch Edwards just a couple of kicks from Kardinia Park.

If you pop over for dinner in the sharehouse, odds are you will be eating a massive bowl of spaghetti bolognese or a curry, as the pair continue to bulk up their young frames.

“They (the Cats fitness team) are pretty good about smashing as much food as I could and get in the gym when possible,” he said.

“It’s a lot of pasta. With main training every second day you feel like you want to be smashing pasta, so it does get to you sometimes but for me I absolutely love the pastas.

“(Edwards) is a pretty good cook so we sort of divvy it up. He loves his curry and the rice dishes, so it’s a nice little balance I reckon.

“We have a similar eating goal so we can load up a bit and not feel guilty. We do a steak every now and then to get the protein in but it’s pretty simple … a lot of spag bol.”

Originally published as Geelong defender Connor O’Sullivan signs new contract, speaks on rivalry with trade partner Nate Caddy