Like the other draftees, Ratugolea is still pinching himself as he starts his life as an AFL player.

But his football journey has been shorter than most, and it started with a bag of chips.

From a rugby-loving family, the easy-going Ratugolea realised he had better find a different sport when his family moved from NSW to Cobram while he was still in primary school.

With no rugby league club to join, Ratugolea first took up soccer.

But then he opened a packet of Smiths' chips and found a packet of football cards inside, baring pictures of Fremantle legend Matthew Pavlich and Sydney great Adam Goodes – not that he knew who they were at the time.

"I decided to search them up and watch their highlights and that's what got me into it, I just wanted to be like them," he said. "High-flying, quick-paced players."

With just four full seasons of AFL football under his belt, Ratugolea registered the second-best vertical leap at the draft combine and the Cats chose the 194cm, 95kg ruckman with their third draft pick, 43 overall.​

Geelong's draft choices had a particularly local feel this year – three of their six picks, Tom Stewart (pick 40), Timm House (pick 68) and Ryan Abbott (pick 69) had been playing for the Cats in the VFL and will not be forced to move house.

Although he will move to be closer to Geelong, Ratugolea was pleased to have landed at a Victorian club, rather than being compelled to head interstate last weekend like SA local and No. 1 pick Brandan Parfitt had done.

"It's pretty much the best-case scenario for me and my family, it'll be easy to pop back for a visit and see how things are going and they can do the same," he said. "Mum and my nan, they're pretty stoked about me moving in Victoria and not having to move interstate, which is good."

The 18-year-old said some of his athleticism may come from his father, who was a boxer, but Ratugolea has not had much to do with him over the years.

Rather it is his mother Kelly and grandmother Kiti who have supported him, as he switched sports from rugby to soccer to AFL.

He has lived with his grandmother for about two years, his mother Kelly and four younger siblings are in a house just around the corner.

His face lights up when he talks about Kiti, who has photographs of her grandchildren on her walls and Ratugolea's medals and trophies on display.

"She's great, she's so supportive of everything I do," he said. "She's very proud of everything I do and definitely a massive support."

Ratugolea said he was still coming to terms with the "crazy change" of being drafted. He smiles often and said he had enjoyed his first week in Geelong, where the more established players had treated the new draftees like friends.

Ratugolea had been most worried about the amount of running he would need to do, unsure of how he would hold up to the rigours of AFL training.

"I did a couple of running sessions in the off season, tried to prepare myself for this," he said. "[I was worried about] the gut running stuff, particularly in this heat, but the staff are so good to us, they make us feel as comfortable as they can."

Little more than a month ago he was a year 12 student at St Mary of the Angels College in Nathalia and working driving a tractor in a friend's cherry orchard.

But he was looking forward to building up his fitness and improving his kick.

"I can't wait to get this first preseason under my belt, to get that running into me," he said. "They'll help me out with that of course, I just can't wait to get started."