Football has taught the Kolodjashnij family that the only thing you can control about your career is your attitude.
Thirteen years after Kade and Jake were drafted as twin brothers from Launceston, both brothers ended their careers in eerily similar circumstances.
Jake Kolodjashnij retired last week amid a blaze of controversy after Geelong was forced to withdraw a waiver offering the club legal protection over his repeated concussions.
Kade was selected by Gold Coast with pick five in that 2013 national draft but it was a career defined by repeated head knocks and then a 2020 medical retirement after his move to Melbourne.
A career that had promised so much ended with multiple years of injury rehab and then a goodbye handshake in Melbourne at the end of a Covid-impacted 2020 season while his teammates played in a Queensland hub.
For Kade Kolodjashnij, the great question was what the hell happens next?
How do you replace a lifelong dream with something meaningful?
What do you do when the music stops so abruptly?
It has taken six years but a player who was always financially literate has finally found his new passion.
As brother Jake works on finding his new purpose, 31-year-old Kade has finally secured a role that fills his cup.
A long-term mentorship with GSC Finance’s Matt Turner, one of the country’s leading brokers, has morphed into a new role as a financial broker in Geelong.
And as part of that role he has dipped his toe into social media and found that his property and financial advice has gone viral in a way that his football never quite did.
Only weeks into spreading that gospel, he has racked up 1.5 million views and growing across his various platforms and has his own website – financewithkade.com.au.
He is hopeful his own cautionary tale – and financial successes – can be instructive for players who believe the big wages and good times will never run out.
But he is also proud of how he has fought amid a particularly challenging concussion history that included as many as 15 concussions – including once being concussed three times in one week.
“I am really enjoying being back in a competitive, high-performance environment,” Kade told Code Sports.
“I have lacked that since I retired from footy. It was a challenge initially. I finished up in 2020 and the first few years, I was dealing with my medical issues and you are left up to your own devices,” he said.
“To be honest I don’t think it is touched on how difficult the transition can be. One day you are in a rigid, structured routine and around people where there is so much camaraderie and then it’s thanks for your services and good luck. It can be quite daunting and there is lots of anxiety about that. For me it was trying to find a new purpose for a number of years.
“You try new things and get out of your comfort zone but you question everything. It’s quite a lonely place, when you are medically retired at 24 and no longer allowed to play contact sport again. The best thing about mortgage broking is finding that passion again as you help people out with their finances.”
Kade played 59 games in his first three seasons but by 2016 he was battling with the first of those concussions, with AFL concussion expert Paul McCrory’s management making his challenges even greater.
He was knocked out in 2016 after a knee to the head but kept training and returned to the field two weeks later.
In 2017 he had a concussion midweek, played on the weekend and suffered a sub-concussive hit, then trained the next Wednesday and copped another sub-concussive hit.
He didn’t return again that year and played only 10 more AFL games as the league at first told him symptoms were neck-related in a period where he was traded to Melbourne.
At the end of 2019 an AFL concussion panel told him symptoms were migraine-related even though he knew his litany of concussions were the cause.
Kade says his message to young players is that from the first moment of their careers they need to plan long-term.
“I have enjoyed posting online and I am getting really good feedback but it all ties back to my story of a few poor financial decisions while playing. It’s all too common in my time in the game, seeing players not make the greatest financial decisions or their literacy not being there.
“I have had athletes reach out wanting help. I did a commerce and finance degree at Deakin Uni and have been able to go on to complete a Certificate Four in mortgage and finance broking.
“The best thing I did was start early. I invested in property at 19 and one of the best-performing properties I still hold to this day. I have crunched the numbers and that property after tax outperformed my total career earnings. I got lucky that I bought it and then flipped it into an investment property and then moved back to the Gold Coast after I retired. I have since turned it back into an investment but the biggest lesson for me was a long term plan.
“Some players want to buy as many properties as possible and their career isn’t guaranteed. Cash flow can be the biggest constraint and you can see players coming unstuck and over-leveraging.”
Kade isn’t sure if he actually enjoyed his AFL career.
“It’s a great question. I didn’t reflect on it when I first retired. I moved on. I didn’t give it a lot of thought, which is almost a trauma response. I played at the Suns and we finished last every year. At Melbourne we were on the bottom of the ladder,” he said.
“I remember running out and thinking, “What am I doing here, I don’t want to be here today. I lacked a lot of confidence from my setbacks. I had a lot of time in rehab and lost a bit of self belief. It was a relief to announce my retirement. I had four years in rehab and every time I tried to come back I had a concussion setback.
“My time in the game wasn’t like Jake’s in comparison. So there was a bit of envy and jealousy. He got to experience a lot of success but at the same time I am really proud of him. You question what could have been but at the same time you can’t go too far into those thoughts or they are too negative.”
Kade and his fiance Kiara are kept busy by four-year-old-daughter Mila and one-year-old son Cruz.
Parents Sharon and Paul have relocated from Tasmania to Geelong, while Kade and Jake are investors in sister Emma’s Settlers Insect Repellant business, which is stocked in Coles and Bunnings.
Kade says as much as Jake was shattered to have his career end because of medico-legal issues he has achieved plenty in a 209-game career.
“We are very proud of his 13-year career and the premiership. It’s a moment the family will always cherish. To make it to the top of the mountain and bring home a premiership was amazing after all those setbacks and preliminary final losses,” he said.
“It is a shame to see it unfold the way it has and for him to medically retire a few days ago. He probably wouldn’t have pictured it happening 12 months ago … but overall we are very proud.
“I think Jake’s in pretty good spirits. He has gratitude and is appreciative of the Cats.
Realistically he was getting older and his body is getting worn down so for Jake I am not sure what it looks like but it’s about sitting down and figuring out the next steps moving forward.”
Is there anger that he is no longer on Geelong’s list?
“I wouldn’t say it’s anger. He’s appreciative of the Cats. I think there is still a long way to go with medical science. It’s a coincidence we were both medically retired with concussion. You wouldn’t have pictured it when we were both drafted in 2013, but it’s the way the cards fell. It’s our inside joke, but we continue to live our lives. (Our parents) have been through it with me so it’s nothing new for them but obviously they were disappointed with the way it finished for him and ideally they would have liked to see him play on for a few more years. But medically it was suggested he finish up. That it was in his best interests.”
So regrets? Maybe a few.
But now that he is marching onto his new chapter he is aware those lessons learned will help him in the next chapter of his life.
“I remember my first game running out against Fremantle in 2014 playing against Nat Fyfe and Aaron Sandilands, all those guys you idolised. Matthew Pavlich. It was very surreal. And to get drafted alongside Jake is up there as well. Two young Tassie kids with a dream. To be drafted on the same night together is a memory I will always cherish.”