Carlton salary cap squeeze may force De Koning out

The Blues’ infamous salary cap woes are being felt more than ever before — and they may just force out a gun on the verge of a breakout year.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 25: Tom De Koning of the Blues is challenged by Griffin Logue of the Dockers during the round 15 AFL match between the Carlton Blues and the Fremantle Dockers at Marvel Stadium on June 25, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Carlton’s salary cap squeeze is at an all time high as we head into the 2023 season, and it’s been made worse with Zac Williams out for the year.

Questions are rightly being asked of the club’s list management having not won a final since 2013, despite the club finally seeing reward for its recruiting and starting last season 8-2.

Whether this is as far as the Baggers’ latest rebuild goes is another question.

Having rebuilt over and over again with the same core group of young talent, the salary cap gods have awoken from their slumber and Carlton have begun to walk an incredibly delicate tightrope as they re-sign their initial crop of rebuild recruits.

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After locking in Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh, the only real question is how to stave off the interest in ruck-forward Tom De Koning.

The Bombers and Saints have reportedly been circling hard, and News Corp’s Jay Clark writes they are the strongest contenders to poach De Koning and add to their key position stocks.

To have De Koning roaming as a spare tall alongside Peter Wright and Sam Draper or the likes of Max King would be one of the most potential-laden tall combinations in the competition, but the Blues are a long way ahead of the struggling Saints and Bombers in the race for a flag.

With the 23-year-old still uncontracted, the biggest barrier to locking in for the Blues where he best fits in a side that has Marc Pittonet as the first-option ruck, as well as McKay and Curnow up forward.

De Koning doesn’t present as the main option in either scenario, and risks being surplus to requirements if Michael Voss can’t find a way to be able to use him effectively.

It’s reported Carlton are keen to lock in De Koning as soon as possible, but that the young star is happy to let his performances this season inflate his market value before commencing negotiations.

Tom De Koning’s (left) market value could soar this year. Pic: Michael Klein

Carlton could risk losing Tom De Koning (back) if they can’t sort their salary woes with some tinkering of their list. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Clark suggests that Jack Martin and Mitch McGovern, alongside injured running defender Zac Williams, will need to take reduced deals in order to fit under the cap.

The alternate option for Carlton is offloading De Koning’s likely significant salary in order to bring in some key defenders that can complement Jacob Weitering, given the dearth of talls out back for the Blues at the moment.

It would free some significant space for a team that CEO Brian Cook admits is in a “challenging” position with the salary cap.

Kane Cornes on SEN Breakfast last year said it was a “tricky spot” for the Blues to be in.

“It’s fine to be in salary cap difficulty if you’re Richmond or even Geelong who have missed finals once in the last 10 years,” Cornes said.

“Or if you are Melbourne and you’ve got the younger players who are looking to get paid,” he said.

“It’s not a great spot to be if you’re Carlton and you haven’t won anything.”

David King said this was a circular line of argument, and that winning tends to make contract negotiations easier.

“The way they’re tracking, if you’re a Carlton player you’re taking unders and staying,” he said.

“If they’re sitting 9th or 10th on the ladder, I understand your point, but when they’re sitting in (near) the top four, you can easily have the conversation, ‘You’re worth X, we can only pay you Y, let’s get it done’.”

Cornes more recently called for AFL salaries to be public knowledge, citing Carlton’s salary cap squeeze as an example of why fans deserved transparency.

“I see Carlton are in trouble with their salary cap, well, I want to know who they’re paying…they haven’t won a final yet,” Cornes said.

“If they’ve butchered their cap to the point where they’ve got no money left and they’ve got no success, then their fans should keep the club accountable for the way they’re spending the salary cap.”

Originally published as Carlton salary cap squeeze may force De Koning out