How Esava Ratugolea handled 3am wake ups, Guinness hangovers and the trade period

The alarm would go off and Esava Ratugolea would shake off a headache. Here’s what was happening in his mind during the trade period.

Esava Ratugolea went through an interesting trade period. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

The alarm would go off at 3am and Esava Ratugolea would shake off a Guinness headache to reach for the phone.

The big man was enjoying his off-season last year along with a large contingent of Geelong teammates in Ireland watching teammate Mark O’Connor play some Gaelic football.

Esava Ratugolea has switched back into footy. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

But while some of the Cats were still celebrating their premiership win only a few weeks before, Ratugolea was connecting with his manager Winston Rous in the early hours on what could have been the biggest move of his professional career – a trade to Port Adelaide.

Amid all the swirling talk about the forward-turned-defender, the time difference was his biggest issue.

“I didn’t see my socials enough because I was overseas, I knew they (the media) were talking about me, I was talking to my manager and getting up in the early hours of the morning at 3 or 4am and getting on the phone then,” he said.

“The biggest issue for me was the time difference. I was up early in the morning and I had had a few Guinnesses the night before and I am trying to talk to my manager, I have never been through anything like that before.”

Ratugolea has been strong in defence this year. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Having played just eight games combined in the 2021 and 2022 seasons and watching on as Geelong won the flag last year, Ratugolea was hunted by Port Adelaide to help its undersized defence.

A move was never on the cards as Geelong was determined to keep the athletic 24-year-old and Ratugolea didn’t press the issue and “never wanted to go”.

Having played every game to start this year, he is moving forward.

“It was a wake up call for myself but honestly, that is all behind me,” he said.

“I am glad where I am at the moment and I just look forward to playing and I just want to stay in the team really.”

Ratugolea first began playing in the backhalf midway through last year and impressed in the VFL with his closing speed, ability to read the play and aerial strength.

The high flyer at it again. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

A soccer player in his junior years, Ratugolea would play a sweeper role, the last man in defence, and get between the ball and the goal.

He said he sees some similarities between that role and the one he has played this year – he swept across to mark Hawthorn’s sole inside-50 in the third quarter on Monday as Geelong pounded its rival.

“I am going okay, I am just trying to find my feet at the moment,” he said.

“These last few weeks have been the hardest games I have played because our defence has been under the pump but it has been good. I have some bloody good defenders around me that I can learn off, they show me the way and I get a lot of confidence out of that.”

Originally published as How Esava Ratugolea handled 3am wake ups, Guinness hangovers and the trade period