Jake Kolodjashnij Biography

Jake Kolodjashnij kicks his first AFL goal in his 127th career game against Greater Western Sydney, breaking one of the game's longest streaks without a major.

Jake Kolodjashnij is set to miss Geelong's 2020 season opener after being sent for hip surgery which will sideline him for at least six weeks.

The Cats had attempted to ease the 24-year-old's ongoing pain through rest but opted to send him under the knife this week.

Jake Kolodjashnij says he is relishing his role as a shutdown defender in 2019.

"I like playing on the quality forwards. I like the challenge," he said.

"Being on that last line and playing on some quality forwards I really relish it. It's quite rewarding if you can limit their influence."

Jake Kolodjashnij signs a two-year extension with Geelong to remain at the club until the end of 2021.

"Jake continues to learn and develop, as he has done since he first arrived at the club," Cats head of football Simon Lloyd said.

"He is an integral part of where we are going as a football club. He is a very consistent player and fits our team ethos."

Jake Kolodjashnij made a costly bet to pay for the end-of-season trip flights for Ryan Gardner if the defender-turned-forward kicked six goals against Northern Blues in the VFL.

After taking on the nickname of 'Plugger' since his move forward in the past fortnight, Gardner will soon be laughing all the way to the USA.

"Joel Selwood's talked about passing the hat around for poor old Kola because he's made the big call he'll pay for his (Gardner's) trip away if he kicked six," Cats coach Chris Scott said.

"I think Jake's on reasonable money, but that's going to hurt him a little bit."

Cats defensive coach Matthew Scarlett who has nominated Jake Kolodjashnij to take a giant leap forward in 2018 following a stellar pre-season.

"He didn't do much in pre-season last year, he had his groins and glandular fever," Scarlett said.

"He hasn't missed a session this year. So hopefully he can have a big year, whether that's around the footy or down back he's going to be pretty versatile."

Jake Kolodjashnij, Wylie Buzza and Jordan Cunico sign new deals with Geelong to remain at the club until the end of 2019.

"We see Jake, Wylie and Jordan as key members of our team well into the future," Geelong’s general manager of football Steve Hocking said.

"Jake has already shown his ability, work ethic and versatility. He plays and prepares in the Geelong way and makes our team and our club better.

"Wylie and Jordan continue to work hard at their craft and while they haven't experienced a lot of football at AFL level, we hope to integrate them as part of our core group in the coming years."

Jake Kolodjashnij is expected to miss at least the next two weeks after surgery to repair a break in his left hand sustained at training.

Geelong have come to terms with emerging defender Jake Kolodjashnij, re-signing him for two seasons.

Jake Kolodjashnij makes his AFL debut for Geelong at Kardinia Park with 7 disposals (2 kicks and 5 handballs), a mark and 4 tackles in a 24-point loss to Melbourne.

After a lifetime of playing together, Jake and Kade Kolodjashnij will play for different teams in 2014 after being drafted by Geelong and Gold Coast, respectively, in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft.

"I'm sure over the next couple of days that's when it's going to sink in," Jake said.

"Once we settle down in the new clubs and meet all the boys, make new friends, it'll be fine."

"I was out the back here doing photos and I was worrying about whether Jake had got picked up or not," Kade said.

"It's awesome. He's now at Geelong.

"That (only one brother getting picked) would've been a pretty bad situation ... would've been mixed emotions really."