Geelong Cats: The 12 kids striving to make an impact during the 2021 AFL season
Charlie Constable and Jordan Clark are yet to secure their places in Geelong’s best 22. Is 2021 their year? Read Simon Lloyd’s take on 12 of the Cats’ up and comers.
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As Geelong pushed all the way into the Grand Final last year, the word started filtering out of their match simulation contests.
Who was this kid Sam De Koning, who had started kicking bags of goals on senior AFL defenders?
As it turned out, De Koning was thrown forward by the Cats after being drafted at pick 19 the previous season as a key position defender.
Now, after a second summer of pre-season training, he is one of a batch of Cats kids who will be trying hard to take spots off more senior Geelong teammates.
He hasn’t just bulked up, he now stands a towering 203cm after arriving at the club at 199cm.
Geelong might have had to hand over three first-round picks for Jeremy Cameron instead of taking them to the draft (finishing with three 2021 second-rounders) but they still have a healthy batch of kids.
Geelong football boss Simon Lloyd details the progress of 12 of Geelong’s most exciting youngsters.
SAM DE KONING
– Key position defender who was pushed into attack in his first year as a No. 19 draft pick and has now grown from 199cm to 203cm.
“We know he was recruited as a defender/ruckman, but we are still not sure if he’s growing or not. He is playing forward and we have seen over the last couple of weeks his ability to gather at ground level, which is really good for a big man. He constantly presents and he’s a really good ball user as well. Sam is a player of the future for us if he continues to put the work in. He is learning a lot from the likes of Tom Hawkins, Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan.”
ESAVA RATUGOLEA
– Was not interested in being part of the Jeremy Cameron trade and will need to play ruck to get serious game time this year behind Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron.
“Esava is one who has had a really strong pre-season. He will play as that key forward/ruckman. He has been doing a lot of work along with Rhys Stanley and Darcy Fort on the training track as well as going forward. We have had to wind him back at times given his attack in the air. He can really attack the ball with his aggression in the air. We have found his intensity on the training track has been excellent and at times we have needed to make sure he controls it.”
JORDAN CLARK
– A No. 15 draft selection who rebuffed trade interest at 20 years of age but could not find his way into the team regularly last year due to injuries and form.
“Jordan has been training with the midfield and also at different points of time he can play halfback. He has come back and had a really strong pre-season and been influential on the training track.”
NATHAN KREUGER
– A 196cm key position forward who has been pushed into defence for the 2021 pre-season.
“Nathan has been exposed over the last year-and-a-bit as a small defender, and he’s progressed really well in that space. He has been getting a lot of really positive feedback from the coaches. He had a mild ankle sprain early in the new year but he is back into footy as of last week.”
COOPER STEPHENS
– A 188cm inside midfielder taken at pick 16 in the 2019 national draft.
“Cooper Stephens was recruited for his running ability, given his ability to get from stoppage to stoppage. He is a strong inside player and he’s been exposed through the midfield and played at different points across half back in game simulation. We have seen with Cooper he’s got a real ability to win his own footy and he is learning well from the likes of Joel Selwood and Sam Menegola. He’s having a really strong apprenticeship and he has an incredible attitude and great professionalism.”
CHARLIE CONSTABLE
– Midfielder who had only modest interest from rival clubs last year so stayed at the Cats.
“Charlie played a large bulk of games early in 2019 and he had a significant interest. We won most of those games he played. And I would say Charlie is a better player now than he was then. He is a great leader and you can see that on the training track. He is really strong inside the contest, he wins his own ball and distributes it well. And he’s also very good by foot, so Charlie will challenge at different points in time. He is pushing really hard and will continue to do so.”
OSCAR BROWNLESS
– Was given another year on the rookie list despite failing to play a game in his first two seasons with the club.
“Oscar was recruited to the club for his run. He’s a link-up player, but he’s really bulked up over the pre-season and he’s hardly missed a session. He has definitely improved over the time, he’s been here and we are constantly spending time on players like him in our development academy. We think he has a real ability to influence games as a high half forward.”
MAX HOLMES
– A draft bolter as a 189cm wingman, he was taken at pick 20 last year as a freakish runner who is the son of Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lee Naylor.
“Max has shown he has got high speed. He was recruited a national 400m hurdler and we have seen that up close. He has great speed, but we have also seen on the track that he’s played the game for a period of time. He knows how to win the footy and so for him it’s very much around doing an apprenticeship and bulking up and getting used to the rigours of professional football.”
SHANNON NEALE
– A No. 33 draft pick from the 2020 national draft taken from South Fremantle as a 202cm ruck-forward.
“Shannon has shown early on as a tall defender and tall forward that he is highly mobile and really agile. We like what we see. He has that ability to move around the ground. All of the crew we have recruited this year are strong runners and they have shown they are able to handle the expectations and the run required through their first pre-seasons. Shannon is one of those similar to Sam De Koning who is a big key position player. You see it in the pre-season where he is able to win those one-on-one contests by protecting the ball drop and also has the ability to cover the ground.”
NICK STEVENS
– The club’s No. 47 pick in last year’s national draft as a 192cm half back with classy ball use.
“He is a tall defender with an outstanding attitude. He has shown he likes to give and go and he’s a strong runner who is really willing in the contest, too. He has impressed the coaches a lot with his early training.”
PAUL TSAPATOLIS
– A high-level, 202cm former basketballer who adds to the Cats’ ruck depth in the long-term as a Category B rookie after passing up a chance to play pro basketball in Greece to chase his AFL dream.
“Paul came in from a basketball background, having played at a national level. So far he has come in with a great attitude. He has a real thirst for knowledge and a willingness to work so that’s encouraging. He is long-term project, but has shown some real improvement early on.”
STEFAN OKUNBOR
– An Irish rookie who tore his achilles tendon in January last year but will be settled in as a tough defender.
“He had that achilles injury at the beginning of last year, but the season going longer allowed him to return to footy late in the year. Stefan is an absolute bull with his willingness to hit the contest. He is very strong and very physical and has high speed, so he’s one we have to put the handbrake on given his physicality at training sessions, and that’s exciting for someone new to the game.”
Originally published as Geelong Cats: The 12 kids striving to make an impact during the 2021 AFL season
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