ANALYSIS: Geelong Cats woes with defender Esava Ratugolea

He is out of contract, would garner significant interest on the open market, and his coach is desperate to keep him. So why does Geelong’s back six look so much better with Esava Ratugolea out of it?

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 30: Esava Ratugolea of the Cats looks on during the round 16 AFL match between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats at Sydney Cricket Ground on June 30, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

He is out of contract, would garner significant interest on the open market, and his coach is desperate to keep him.

So why does Geelong’s back six look so much better with Esava Ratugolea out of it?

The Cats’ big man made the move to the defence in an effort to revive his career in Geelong and was denied a move to Port Adelaide at the end of the 2022 season.

Instead, Ratugolea returned to Geelong and started 2023 in the AFL side as Jack Henry recovered from off-season surgery.

But now with Henry and Sam De Koning both healthy and in the side, Geelong is struggling to find a position for Ratugolea in the back line and look balanced at the same time.

When Ratugolea went down with a hamstring injury, Geelong had its best three-week defensive period of the season, conceding an average of 75 points per game and never more than 78.

But in the 12 games of the season Ratugolea has played in Geelong’s back six, the Cats have won just four games and have conceded an average of 87.4 points per game, which includes holding a struggling Hawthorn to just 45 points on Easter Monday.

In Friday night’s thrilling draw against Sydney, Ratugolea was found out multiple times throughout the contest, not allowed to fly for high balls on deep forward 50 entries, held to just four disposals through three quarters and was tactically subbed out.

Instead, Sydney players lowered their eyes and hit players on the lead, resulting in 16 marks inside 50 in the opening half.

Geelong’s woes cannot be put firmly on Ratugolea’s shoulders, with the Cats struggling to get their hands on the ball during the contest, losing the disposal count by 55.

Esava Ratugolea. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Coach Chris Scott made a clear decision to change the team’s defensive structure in the back half, moving away from the floating zone which allows the intercepting players like Ratugolea, Tom Stewart and Zach Guthrie float off, instead moving to a clear one-on-one setup.

It helped, at times, with Sydney taking just four marks inside 50 in the second half, with the Cats almost holding onto a thrilling win, with Sydney kicking two points in the final minutes to draw the clash.

The Cats will be sweating on the availability of Brad Close and, to a lesser extent Tom Stewart, after dual-action tackles on Sydney players.

While Stewart is unlikely to face the wrath of the match review officer, Close‘s tackle on Aaron Francis may be under the microscope over the weekend.

If Stewart does miss round 17 through suspension it may keep the door ajar for a Ratugolea match, but if he is given the all clear it may force the big key defender out of the side for a smaller defender like Jack Bowes, who replaced him halfway through the third quarter.

Ratugolea is out of contract at the end of the season, and has already tried to leave Geelong once before, with his request denied at the end of 2022.

While Scott has declared Ratugolea is a required player in 2024, there is little the premiership coach can do if the key defender decides his future is not in Geelong.

There have already been reports of teams offering Ratugolea contracts worth $700,000, meaning Geelong could struggle to hold onto the 24 year old.

But with Geelong declining offers of third round picks for the untried key defender at the end of 2022, Ratugolea’s 2023 campaign will likely boost the Cats’ asking price into the realm of a decent second round selection.

Originally published as ANALYSIS: Geelong Cats woes with defender Esava Ratugolea