Off-contract Geelong man wants to stay at Geelong

Off-contract Geelong defender Jake Kolodjashnij struggles to envision himself anywhere else as he prepares to sign a new contract to stay with the Cats.

Kolodjashnij will become a free agent at the end of the season unless he signs a new contract before then.

But the premiership player is more than happy where he is, even as his native state of Tasmania prepares to become the AFL’s 19th club in 2028.

“I’m Geelong through and through; I’ve been here since I was a kid, slowly matured and started a family, so it’d be hard to pull up stumps and ship over to Tassie,” said Kolodjashnij.

“It’s a long time away (before Tasmania enters the AFL), and I’m not sure how the body will be (in 2028).

“But I’m loving my time at Geelong and I don’t really see myself being anywhere else.”

Despite professing his allegiance to Geelong, Kolodjashnij stated it was difficult not to be swept up in the excitement around the Devils’ upcoming AFL season.

“I haven’t looked too far ahead,” he remarked of the Tasmanian club.

“The memberships they’re doing are pretty viral (the club passed 150,000 memberships sold in March), people jumping on board, so it’s pretty exciting.”

Geelong are seeking to recover from a four-game losing streak, their worst in 14 seasons under coach Chris Scott.

The Cats play struggling Richmond on Saturday night, looking to snap a two-game losing streak at GMHBA Stadium.

“We’re going to really narrow our focus on the next two weeks and knuckle down at training and turn around those areas we’ve been lacking,” Kolodjashnij stated.

“It’s probably little bits and pieces all over the ground (the Cats need to fix up).”