St Kilda’s new list boss Stephen Silvagni will be keeping a close eye on Carlton salary cap squeeze

Tom De Koning would top new Saints list boss Stephen Silvagni’s Blues hit list, but who else would SOS be keeping an eye on at his former club?

Stephen Silvagni.

For the second time in Stephen Silvagni’s list management career, Tom De Koning will loom large.

The first was when Silvagni landed the gun tall for Carlton at pick 30 in the 2017 national draft in one of the best value pick-ups of that year’s crop.

And now once again as Silvagni attempts to repair the Saints’ middling list after taking over as list boss last week.

Silvagni was the man who drafted Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow at Carlton, held the No.1 pick to welcome superstar Sam Walsh, but got unceremoniously booted from Carlton in 2019 because his two sons were still on the club’s books.

Silvagni was hurt and blindsided by the “messy” exit which included a fallout with former CEO Cain Liddle over, in part, the move to bring Eddie Betts back to the Blues.

“SOS” is a Carlton legend after a brilliant 312-game career in navy blue, but felt the club used his sons as scapegoats to turf him. It was a deeply personal departure.

Now back at Moorabbin, Silvagni’s list management moves won’t be driven by a revenge plot.

But it is clear he has an enormous repair job on his hands to inject more top-line quality at St Kilda which has made one finals series in 11 years.

Stephen Silvagni and Carlton’s recruiting team at the 2019 draft combine. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Dodge

It seems no coincidence that St Kilda listed ex-Blue Liam Stocker (another one of Silvagni’s picks) under the supplemental selection rules a fortnight ago.

They got him virtually for nothing, and Stocker is hungry to make it after he was surprisingly cut last year by Carlton after 28 games in four seasons.

But, as the Saints’ footy department review showed, years of topping up on high-priced recruits (Daniel Hannebery, Brad Hill, Zak Jones, Jack Higgins and Brad Crouch among others) has left the St Kilda list build neither here nor there.

But Silvagni won’t baulk at making necessary cuts to St Kilda’s list to trim the fat, realign the salary cap, and go hard at players who can steer the Saints back up the ladder. Clearly, some tough calls loom.

Promising Carlton tall Tom De Koning will be on Stephen Silvagni’s recruiting radar. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

And as president Andrew Bassat has proven with the Lyon coup, the club is in an aggressive frame of mind, and there is plenty of optimism surrounding the summers of Hunter Clark, Marcus Windhager and top pick Mattaes Phillipou.

We know Gold Coast’s Ben King has been the one to watch for years at St Kilda after a few failed attempts to return him to Bayside.

But De Koning would be high on the wish list as well, in a year when the free agency pool looks light on for star bigs.

It is why Silvagni will be keeping a close eye on the salary cap squeeze at Carlton and any opportunity to prise out one of the most exciting young talls in the game.

Respected analyst Kane Cornes has already suggested De Koning could be worth up to $1 million a year as the hottest out-of-contract player on the market.

Can the Blues keep him with Cripps, Curnow, Walsh and Weitering all on blockbuster deals, following moves to land Jack Martin, Zac Williams and Mitch McGovern?

In any case, clubs will want to try to make Carlton pay top dollar, so that if De Koning stays, others would have to go.

Brothers Tom and Sam De Koning.

Jack Silvagni, who is also a free agent this year, is another looking for a contract extension.

At this stage, De Koning seems in no rush to make a call on his future as the Blues look to make their first finals campaign in 10 years in 2023.

And, to be fair, it is a great spot to be. It’s a big club, with shiny new facilities, seemingly on the verge of a genuine premiership widow. Blockbusters and packed crowds await.

And De Koning can make the No.1 ruck role his own.

Carlton chief executive Brian Cook knows from his glorious reign at Geelong that sacrifice helps breeds success.

And if the Blues are winning, it could be an impossible place to leave.

But it won’t stop Silvagni trying.