Tom De Koning has thanked Blues teammates and staff in a post-match speech after his 100th — and potential final — game for the club ahead of the ruckman’s huge contract call.
De Koning has been strongly linked to a free agency move to St Kilda on a lucrative deal worth north of $1.7 million a year over eight seasons.
The Blues held a presentation to De Koning for his milestone in the rooms after Thursday night’s 34-point win over Essendon at the MCG.
Watch every Round 24 game plus the best coverage of the 2025 AFL finals series, including every game until the Grand Final LIVE with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
It ended with the 26-year old addressing his peers in a message that would appear to signal he’s played his last last game in navy blue.
“Obviously 100 games is an honour, to play for such a big club,” De Koning began.
“Can’t thank the boys enough for getting the win tonight, it’s huge and one I’m definitely going to remember.
“Thanks for all the good times over the past eight years or so. Obviously a disappointing year, but keep going and do good things, team.
“So all the best.”
With the Blues’ disappointing 9-14 season now officially over, we await De Koning’s big decision on his future and the potential for him to sign the biggest contract in AFL history with St Kilda.
There’s a growing expectation that fellow Blues free agent Jack Silvagni will also depart the club, with Collingwood seen as the frontrunner for the third-generation Carlton player.
De Koning acknowledged to Fox Footy post-match it was a “huge” week ahead and that he was “looking forward” to a trip to Bali and “clearing the head after a big year.”
St Kilda legend Leigh Montagna noted it’d been a “tough year” for De Koning, at least in the second half of the season, where the tall “had a lot of press” on speculation surrounding his future. De Koning also battled a larynx issue that affected his breathing.
But Montagna thinks we’re still yet to see the best of De Koning after he showed promising signs earlier this season when given the keys to the ruck.
“Up until Round 14, I think he was the third-highest rated ruckman in the competition still. He had big numbers and was having impact,” Montagna said.
“Clearly he dropped away after that, whether the weight of everything got to him or if it was the way the season panned out. He didn’t finish the way he would’ve liked.
“But I think we saw a glimpse in the first eight weeks in particular that he is a top-line ruckman when he is up and going at his best.”
Montagna suggested talk some Saints were disgruntled by the club throwing big-money offers to rival targets is “a bit overblown,” saying “players who want success are happy to get good players into their football club”.
“The ones you get frustrated about are guys on money who don’t perform,” he added.
“So I think it will be OK.”
TDK on ‘huge week’ ahead for his future | 01:19
Meanwhile dual premiership Kangaroo David King questioned both the value of signing a ruckman for such an inordinate figure and whether if was worth the “pressure” De Koning would face, with Carlton’s offer believed to be closer to $1 million.
“Can you pay $1.7 million a year for that type of player is the question. I don’t think many agree with that, if they were the terms,” King said.
“This is a decision this young man has to make as to where he can play his best football.
“The pressure of the situation if he were to leave for that money is all consuming. If he were to stay loyal at Carlton, he’s still going to get well remunerated.
“I just think for the sake of your state of mind and how much easier it would be for him, you’d probably lean towards you’d want him to stay and play for a little bit less.”
Hawks champion Jason Dunstall added: “It might be a lot less. So that becomes a difficult decision.
“If all of a sudden you’re getting asked to take $500,000 or more less, what do you do?
“You’ve got to make a sound business decision. If you’re talking about a financial deal that can set you and your respective family up for life, it’s hard to turn your back on.
“But I also hear what you’re saying. And I’m a bit from your school in that I’m not sure I’m paying that much to a player I don’t think impacts games the way someone I’d pay $1.7 million to.”
King believes Nasiah Wangeen-Milera’s decision to re-sign with St Kilda on a $2 million deal “certainly makes it easier” for De Koning to arrive at Moorabbin on his own lucrative contract compared to “totally different circumstances” had Wanganeen-Milera moved clubs.
But the Kangaroos great still thinks it’s a “crazy spend” on a ruckman, particularly with the AFL potentially set to bring in last disposal out of bounds in 2026.
“I just think it’s a bad time with the rules changing to potential last touch out of bounds to spend that much on a ruckman,” King added.
“That’s going to minimise their opportunities to impact with limited boundary throw ins.
“It’s a crazy spend for me.”
Tyler Lewis from NCA NewsWire …
Carlton coach Michael Voss is bracing for the departure of Tom De Koning and hopes the ruckman declares his intention as soon as possible.
De Koning played his 100th and potentially last game as a Blue on Thursday night in a 34-point win over Essendon.
He is being lured and likely to join St Kilda on a historic deal in the vicinity of $1.7 million per season.
The Blues conducted a somewhat awkward presentation to De Koning in the rooms post game as a celebration of his milestone.
Voss is unsure when he will be notified of De Koning’s decision to stay or leave but understands a question mark at this point of the year usually means the player departs.
Blues end season on high against Bombers | 01:41
He hopes ‘TDK’ remains in navy blue but wants to be able to move on as soon as possible if he is to leave.
“I am not sure what the timeline will be, I guess we encourage (the call) is soon so we can obviously put what we need in place,” Voss said.
“When you wait this long, we’re not hoping (expecting) for the best of news but we’re holding onto that hope that it’s going to be here.
“I can’t fault TDK, what he’s done across the whole year and the conversations we’ve continued to have.
“… it’s effectively his midfield and he’s led that really well and if he does leave it will be really disappointing but it’ll be a next man up and we’ll keep moving on as a football club.
“One thing I’ve learned about this game is people come and go but the club keeps going; one man goes out, another man comes in and we’ll keep going.”
Voss denied the decision having an impact on De Koning, insisting he was used as a predominant forward at times this year due to personnel issues ahead of the ball.
“He’s played some blistering football,” he said.
“We had to play him as a forward but that was more out of personnel than anything else … ‘Pitto’ (Marc Pittonet) to be fair was in really good form so he earned the right to be in the team.”
Voss during the week joked he had provided “three a day updates” on De Koning’s future this year.
But when asked if he’d like to know before the trade and free agency period – Voss said the industry wasn’t ready.
Voss cited West Coast Eagles captain Oscar Allen making a public apology after meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell as his starting point.
“I don’t know whether we’re mature enough to understand that,” he said.
“I’d just get concerned a little about that when I see the types of responses of an Oscar Allen who has to go through what he went through
“Seeing what he had to work through that period of time and the impact it had on him, I would have huge concerns about that.
“Because we say we want to grow up as a football industry but I don’t think we’re ready – let’s be smart about that one.”
Discussion about this post