AFL: Jake Kolodjashnij re-signs with Geelong for three

Qualifying as a restricted free agent this season, the 25-year-old former Prospect Hawk and Launceston Blue elected to stay with the side that drafted him in 2013.

Announced through Geelong Cats Media on Monday alongside the re-signing of Tom Atkins, the news pleased general manager of football Simon Lloyd.

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"Both Tom and Jake are important, versatile members of our team and epitomise a team-first approach in everything they do," Lloyd said.

"Jake can play on all types of opponents, and that gives us flexibility in terms of our match-ups down back.

"He is a quality player and we are pleased to have secured both players."

Debuting in round 12 of Geelong's 2015 campaign, Kolodjashnij has played 118 games and last year became just the 44^th player to make it to 100 games without kicking a goal.

The defender is still yet to start his top-flight goal kicking tally but has kicked 10 behinds throughout his career.

A key pillar of Geelong's backline, the Cats' number eight has played that amount of matches this year, missing three weeks after suffering a low-grade MCL strain.

The news comes after Launceston's stocks at the AFL level were last week bolstered by the drafting of North Launceston premiership player Jackson Callow, with the 18-year-old joining Kolodjashnij, Isaac Chugg, Jay Lockhart, Tarryn Thomas, Chayce Jones, Toby Nankervis and Rhyan Mansell.

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