Blues to ramp up De Koning offer in coming weeks
Tom De Koning is one of the AFL’s hottest properties and Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps knows that, which is why the Brownlow Medalist is doing what he can to keep the young ruckman.
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Carlton captain Patrick Cripps believes the Blues resurgence could be the catalyst for ruckman Tom De Koning re-signing.
De Koning is one of the hottest properties in the AFL with Sydney leading the charge for the out-of-contract big man. The Swans are believed to have a massive eight-year $800,000 per season offer on the table.
Carlton are expected to ramp up its own offer in the coming weeks after De Koning’s dramatic form improvement which has seen him play an integral part in the Blues four-match winning run.
The 24-year-old was one of the Blues best in Saturday night’s 50-point win over Port Adelaide with 13 possessions, six tackles and 33 hit-outs.
“He has been super,” Cripps said. “We always talk about our big boys and when our big boys play physically it lifts the group and he’s been lifting the group, he has been in some really good form.
“I think sometimes people forget with rucks they can take some time, he’s only 23 or 24 and he has got his body right now. He always had his tricks but he has got his body now where he can sustain it for longer periods of time.
“He is just confident, you can see he is enjoying it, he’s competing. We love playing with him, he’s done a great job.”
Cripps said he had spoken to De Koning a number of times about his future during the year and compared it to his own contract negotiations.
“I always chat to him, I always say to him, ‘It’s your decision’,” Cripps said. “They are big life decisions, I have been through the same thing, a lot of guys have been through the same thing.
“It took me a while to sign as well, sometimes you just have to be patient. He’s working through it and I think the way we are playing he’ll be noticing that.
“I know he loves the group and the group loves him so I’m sure it will work itself out.”
The Blues initially offered De Koning a two-year deal but questions were being asked about his future when the club contracted fellow ruckman Marc Pittonet for a further four years.
He was then dropped to the VFL early on in the Blues slump, further fuelling speculation that his future might be elsewhere.
With Lance Franklin’s career coming to an end the Swans are best placed to launch a big-money attack on an out-of-contract player with the 201cm De Koning a perfect fit for their needs given they dropped ruckman Tom Hickey from last week’s game.
St Kilda and Essendon have also shown interest while Geelong can’t be ruled out given De Koning’s younger brother, Sam, is a premiership defender with the Cats.
De Koning played his 51st game against Port, coming back into the side after missing two games because of a knee injury.
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