Esava Ratugolea

Esava Ratugolea
Ratugolea playing for Geelong in April 2019
Personal information
Full name	Esava Ratugolea
Date of birth	(1998-07-24) 24 July 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Griffith, New South Wales
Original team(s)	Cobram Football Club, Murray Bushrangers (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 43, 2016 national draft
Debut	Round 1, 2018, Geelong  vs. Melbourne, at MCG
Height	197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	102 kg (225 lb)
Position(s)	Key Defender
Club information
Current club	Port Adelaide
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2018–2023	Geelong	75 (38)
2024–	Port Adelaide	23 (4)
Total		98 (42)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Esava Ratugolea (born 24 July 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ratugolea was initially drafted by Geelong with their third pick and forty-third overall in the 2016 national draft. ^[1] Ratugolea made his debut in Geelong's 3-point win against Melbourne in round 1, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. ^[2]

Ratugolea was born in Griffith, New South Wales. His parents are Fijian, and arrived in Australia a few years before his birth. At the age of six, Ratugolea moved to Cobram, Victoria. He only began playing football in 2011, after previously playing rugby and soccer. ^{[3] [4]}

At the end of the 2023 AFL season, he was traded to Port Adelaide. ^[5]

Statistics

Ratugolea playing for Geelong in 2023

Updated to the end of the 2022 season. ^[6]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks	H/O	Hit-outs

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals								Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	H/O	G	B	K	H	D	M	T	H/O
2018	Geelong	17	8	7	7	37	32	69	26	15	62	0.9	0.9	4.6	4.0	8.6	3.3	1.9	7.8
2019	Geelong	17	20	15	15	103	72	175	53	46	126	0.8	0.8	5.2	3.6	8.8	2.7	2.3	6.3
2020 [lower-alpha 1]	Geelong	17	12	5	5	60	44	104	32	30	73	0.4	0.4	5.0	3.7	8.7	2.7	2.5	6.1
2021	Geelong	17	15	11	5	63	52	115	32	30	93	0.7	0.3	4.2	3.5	7.7	2.1	2.0	6.2
2022	Geelong	17	4	0	0	17	9	26	9	8	13	0.0	0.0	4.3	2.3	6.5	2.3	2.0	3.3
Career			59	38	32	280	209	489	152	129	367	0.6	0.5	4.7	3.5	8.3	2.6	2.2	6.2

Notes

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Team

• 2× McClelland Trophy (Geelong): 2019, 2022

Individual

• Geelong F.C. Community Champion Award : 2021

References

1. Nicholson, Larissa (3 December 2016). "The Geelong draftee Esava Ratugolea's love of football started with a packet of chips". The Age . Fairfax Media . Retrieved 25 March 2018.
2. "Demons are Gawn as late miss lets Cats hold on". ABC Sport . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
3. "Counting the cost - Shepparton News". 18 August 2017. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
4. "Ratugolea's rapid rise - TAC Cup". 7 July 2016.
5. @AFL_House (18 October 2023). "Trade paperwork lodged" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. "Esava Ratugolea". AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 November 2020.

External links

• Esava Ratugolea's profile on the official website of the Port Adelaide Football Club
• Esava Ratugolea's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Esava Ratugolea at AustralianFootball.com