Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes has expressed his shock at Hawthorn's "ridiculous" $5 million deal reportedly offered to Geelong big man Esava Ratugolea.
The key defender was linked to a move to Port Adelaide in 2022 with a year remaining on his contract which he turned down, but has yet to sign on with the Cats at the end of 2023.
Cornes explained his disbelief when he first heard of the deal, which would see Ratugolea head to the Hawks for seven years to help bolster their defence.
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"I nearly fell off the treadmill … when I heard from (SEN journalist) Sam Edmond … this morning about Hawthorn's offer for Esava Ratugolea," Cornes said on SEN.
"Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous."
Cornes broke down the deal, which would reward the 25-year-old around $715,000 a year, likening Ratugolea's current form to the early days of Port Adelaide's Aliir Aliir.
"Could he do what Aliir Aliir has done for Port Adelaide?" Cornes asked.
"I thought Aliir used to make a lot of mistakes when he played for Sydney, but he doesn't really make those brain fade-type mistakes now."
Despite Cornes believing the key big man could grow into a stronger footballer at Hawthorn, he urged the Cat to understand the move would be a challenging one.
"He's not going to be in as good a side as what he is at Geelong if he goes to Hawthorn. He's going to be under the pump," Cornes said.
"Do Hawks fans want (Sam) Frost and Ratugolea in the same backline? I'm not sure.
"Certainly not at, I don't know, $850k a year for seven years."
Ratugolea was drafted to Geelong at pick 43 in 2016, spending the first part of his career plying his trade in the forward line.
After suffering a broken leg in during a match in 2018 when he was just 19-years-old, he struggled to regain his spot at the senior level in a ruck-forward role.
In 2023, Ratugolea notched up 16 games after a move to the backline, with an average of 8.9 disposals and 2.8 intercept marks, coming second behind premiership defender and five-time All-Australian Tom Stewart.
The AFL Trade period begins on Monday October 9 and closes on Wednesday October 18.
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