Geelong Cats: Why Esava Ratugolea will likely walk to new club
If there was any time to play three key defenders, this would be the game. But Geelong’s decision to leave Esava Ratugolea out of the side will spark league-wide interest in the defender.
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Geelong’s decision to not recall Esava Ratugolea after he was managed last week will have ramifications far beyond the round 19 clash against Brisbane.
The born-again defender was not selected for the game against Essendon’s smaller forward line, but in a game against where the Lions have three potent talls in Eric Hipwood, Joe Daniher and Jack Gunston, Ratugolea was left out.
Ahead of team selection, Cats coach Chris Scott said he believed the combination of Ratugolea, Jack Henry and Sam De Koning could work and the trio needed time playing together.
“I’m really, really positive around Esava’s progression back there, I’ve always rated him as a player, not only what he is but what he can be into the future in various positions,” he said.
“We’re always thinking through what the best mix is for us, it’s even more broad than just our defensive group, we’re thinking more in terms of what do we need this week in the context of managing players and their particular health status at that time and picking the right team for that week rather than getting too focused in on what our best structure is.
“It shifts a little bit if you play a team that doesn’t have many key forwards for example, so we need to stay on our toes a bit there, I’m still bullish on what that look behind the ball could look like with all those guys available.
“(Cam) Rayner plays above his height, they’ve got some difficult match-ups down there, all good players in their own right.
“That is something we’ve given great thought to.”
Henry played his best game for the season against Essendon, providing stifling defence and taking intercept marks, while also allowing Tom Stewart and Zach Guthrie to play a more attacking role.
While he is named as an emergency for the contest, Ratugolea’s omission from the 22 travelling to Brisbane will pique the interest of opposition teams looking for tall defenders in a year where the free agency pool is light in that position.
Injured Crow Tom Doedee, Giants swingman Harry Himmelberg, Kangaroos tall Ben McKay, Port’s omitted captain Tom Jonas and Swan Lewis Melican are the biggest named key defenders out of contract at the end of 2023.
It is expected McKay will leave North Melbourne via free agency, Himmelberg has plenty of interest from opposition clubs and Doedee will spend much of 2024 on the sidelines as he recovers from a ruptured ACL injury.
Ratugolea was close to a move to Port Adelaide in 2022, but Geelong opted to keep the contracted defender rather than trading him for the 33rd pick in the draft.
Heading into the 2023 off-season, the 24 year old is out of contract but would be worth more to a team trading for him, with multiple sides reporting interest.
Discussions surrounding Ratugolea are expected to heat up each week he is left out of the side.
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