Player Watch Esava Ratugolea

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Festerz said:
Yep and this sentence really sticks the knife in..

“We’re just really disappointed, obviously for us, but even more so for Esava who was desperate to get to our footy club." (i.e. and desperate to leave Geelong)
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If that's at all true, he can just sit out next year and let his worth tank so he can just walk here.
 
Winganeen said:
Tell me, what do Kelly and Sav have in common? Hint. Stephens and Clark do not share this trait ;)
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Cripps: "Well, you won't trade your best. You won't even trade your second best, but your third best? You don't wanna trade either, but if I made you an offer so ridiculous, you'd be forced to consider it?"
 
Hoping he doesn't have a change of mind in 12 months and finds his way here for next to nothing.

I'm sure he realised who was at fault.... Given we offered above his worth in a trade.

Would be even better if he plays a full season too for some nice development :)
 

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Disappointed we couldn't get him. Clearly has enormous potential as a KPD.

But, as he is still contracted, Gee-cheats can exercise their option to retain him, so fair enough.

Mind you, they have acted like total ****s over the deal, so I hope it bites them on the ***e big time - and we get him cheaper next year!

We did already nab a contracted player in JHF, so can't be too unhappy with our trade haul this year :D Perspective.
 
Maybe his manager Scott Lucus wasn't strong enough ? Paul Connors probably gets it done.
 
Don't want him next year. He was an opportunistic trade this year as the kpd market is so tight and with the picks we had left. With a full year to sound out players before next trade period, I'd be extremely disappointed if we couldn't get a decent quality, proven player instead.
 
robbo1981 said:
Maybe his manager Scott Lucus wasn't strong enough ? Paul Connors probably gets it done.
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To be fair we were pretty hamstrung with what we had to offer (pick 33)... which was more than fair currency for him.
Bottom line is that he's contracted and Chris Scott isn't a fool. Why would he hand us a player that could fill a much needed role for us.
 
Jojay said:
a player that could fill a much needed role for us
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That's basically the case for every trade lol

It seems pretty ridiculous to suggest that the premier would be spooked out of trading a fringe tall with unproven KPD ability to the team that came 11th.

It comes down to Geelong prioritising their KP depth over the best interests of a player that will likely be stuck in the twos most of next year. Which is fine, I'd prefer our club had that kind of mindset with KPPs rather than pushing out contracted talls for questionable pick shifts.
 
Everybody drafts for needs so the excuse Geelong didn’t let him go because we need a KPD is BS.

Geelong didn’t let him go because they want him as back up.
There smart enough to have back ups we don’t.
Thats why we wheel out the same crap each week because there’s nobody to replace them.
 
Jojay said:
To be fair we were pretty hamstrung with what we had to offer (pick 33)... which was more than fair currency for him.
Bottom line is that he's contracted and Chris Scott isn't a fool. Why would he hand us a player that could fill a much needed role for us.
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This X plenty, Scott would be very aware Port are already strong enough in the midfield and forward lines to be a genuine challenger, so hanging on to a contracted player who could have been the missing piece of the puzzle for us makes total sense.
 
LeoMessi said:
Geelong are doing something under the table I am sure of it. How they can get all these players and seemingly have enough to hang on to players that aren’t best 22 is beyond me. AFL surely turning a blind eye
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Nah m8, it's the lifestyle of the "surf coast" that gets them to stay on less money!!!

Honestly, you'd think it was the Whitsundays the way they go on about that windswept, freezing cold dump.
 
1954 said:
This X plenty, Scott would be very aware Port are already strong enough in the midfield and forward lines to be a genuine challenger, so hanging on to a contracted player who could have been the missing piece of the puzzle for us makes total sense.
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It's the only conclusion I could draw outside of keeping Ratugolea as depth in case of injury.
If Ratugolea wanted to go to Gold Coast then the chances of the deal getting done would of been greater.
 

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LeoMessi said:
Geelong are doing something under the table I am sure of it. How they can get all these players and seemingly have enough to hang on to players that aren’t best 22 is beyond me. AFL surely turning a blind eye
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Yes the AFL ARE turning a blind eye.

Biggest, most obvious rumour about Geelong players and real estate.
 
Jojay said:
To be fair we were pretty hamstrung with what we had to offer (pick 33)... which was more than fair currency for him.
Bottom line is that he's contracted and Chris Scott isn't a fool. Why would he hand us a player that could fill a much needed role for us.
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Yep.

Geelong see us as a threat. Remember we have beaten them in 2 QFs and the last couple of games at AO outside of those finals have been close. We are rubbish at Kardinia Park, but the big finals aren't played at Kardinia Park.

Why would they give Port a player under contract, to us if they see us as a main competitor who is likely to strengthen the area they have a major deficiency in?? I bet if North Melbourne wanted Esava, he wanted to go there, was under contract and North offered pick 33, they would have let him walk.

No real difference to us not letting Nick Stevens go to Collingwood when they were a major competitor to us winning a flag in 2004. If Max Stevens didn't **** things up, a trade to a hapless Carlton would have been approved, instead no contract, so he walked to them in the PSD.
 
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Geelong now have to play Esava Ratogolea in 2023 or he will walk during next year's trade period. It is obvious that Esava is not happy to be playing VFL and the only way Geelong have any hope of keeping him is if he plays more than a handful of AFL games in 2023. Hopefully his enthusiasm to join us does not diminish. In this morning's press Jason Cripps was reported as saying Port will be 'tracking' Esava throughout 2023. I guess that is code for we will be maintaining our interest within the AFL guidelines.

Having a player who really doesn't want be with you creates a problem. Having a player who doesn't want to be with you but who you have to play exacerbates the problem.
 
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RussellEbertHandball said:
Yep.

Geelong see us as a threat. Remember we have beaten them in 2 QFs and the last couple of games at AO outside of those finals have been close. We are rubbish at Kardinia Park, but the big finals aren't played at Kardinia Park.

Why would they give us a player under contract to someone they see as a main competitor who is likely to stenthen the area they have a major deficiency in. I bet if North Melbourne wanted Esava, he wanted to go there, was under contract and North offered pick 33, they would have let him walk.

No real difference to us not letting Nick Stevens go to Collingwood when they were a major competitor to us winning a flag in 2004. If Max Stevens didn't * things us, a trade to a hapless Carlton would have been approved, instead no contract, so he walked to them in the PSD.
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What hasn't been spoken about is that Geelong will want to rest some of their older players like Hawkins during the season.

Esava is a good stop gap for all of their talls to rest.
 
It kind of pisses me off seeing Geelong not doing the deal with pick 33. It's was a reasonable offer and knowing how they were with us in the Kelly trade and seeing them doing the same thing again it really grinds my teeth and makes me mad. It's that reason why Eagles were dissapointed losing Rioli. Although I'm not pissed at him seeking other opportunities and wish him the best at Port. It's the way some clubs like Geelong are behaving and being unreasonable that's become pretty obvious. I hope Geelong suffer big time in the coming seasons for how they are handling trading. I can feel Ports frustration in this on. At least the Eagles are reasonable when push comes to shove we don't hold players back.
 
Perhaps as SOS said on trade radio its as simple as Geelong not wanting to make us better.

We have beaten them in 2 of the last three qualifying finals, Hawkins V Clurey/McKenzie is a dominant match up where they have a clear advantage over us. Perhaps they don't want to take that away.
 
I get that Geelong had a couple of very sound reasons for wanting to keep him. That's fine, he's a contracted player and they may have a plan for him.

Why I was surprised the trade didn't go through was that Ratugolea was clear he wanted the trade, his manager seemed confident it would happen, CD was confident it would happen, posters here who we know have good info were confident it would happen. So Geelong must never have dismissed the offer and it was in front of them the minute the JHF and Rioli trade was done.

Yes, De Koning could fall over in pre-season but with pick 33 they could have drafted a player like Van Es who would fit effortlessly into their backline as experienced and structured as it is. And they would be putting development into a player who would replace one of those experienced players in the not distant future.

Tbh I find it hard to believe that a perennial finalist like Geelong who almost effortlessly won this year's premiership see Ratugolea as the difference between another dominating season and oblivion. A player who they concede after 6 years they still don't know where to play him.

Anyway it's done now, hopefully we pick up Van Es and he becomes a rock of our defence.
 
Geelong would rather give up a 2019 first round draft pick in Cooper Stephens rather than give Ratugolea to us.

They are scared.
 
I'm no fan of geebung and would probably only support them against the tingles or occasionally against some of the other kissed on the appendage Vic teams, but those who were around 50 odd years ago would be aware they were high up on the list of the most derided clubs in the old VFL for decades, and were known as the Hand Baggers!

They have turned that around to now be a very successful take no prisoners pack of campaigners, hated by many and maybe even a tad like the old Port Adelaide many of us grew up idolising.
 

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Player Watch Esava Ratugolea

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