Carlton coach Michael Voss is not expecting positive news from Tom De Koning when the high-profile free agent announces where he is playing next year.
The Blues’ influential ruckman played his 100th – and almost certainly final – game for the club on Thursday night in the 13.12 (90) to 8.8 (56) win over Essendon.
Carlton president Robert Priestley acknowledged De Koning’s milestone in the MCG rooms post-game in front of players and supporters.
The 26-year-old even spoke after Priestley, telling his Carlton teammates: “Keep going and do good things soon, so all the best.
Thanks for all the good times over the past eight years.”
De Koning has had a monster offer – one of the largest in AFL history – on the table from St Kilda for most of this year to join them next season.
Carlton want to keep him, but could go nowhere near matching the Saints’ bumper contract.
In an interview with Fox Footy, De Koning admitted the coming week would be “huge”, but was also heading to Bali to surf.
Voss insisted he was unsure when De Koning would tell the club, but encouraged it to be soon as the Blues head into exit meetings following a disappointing season.
When you wait this long, we’re not expecting the best of news,” Voss said.
“But we’re holding on to that hope that it’s going to be here.
“It’s effectively his midfield, and he’s led that really well.
So if he does leave, it’ll be disappointing, but it’ll be next man up and we’ll keep moving on as a football club
One thing I’ve learned about this game is that people come and go, but the club keeps going.
“One man goes out, another one comes in, and we keep going, and we’ll be a better version.”
Voss stressed the AFL industry was “not mature enough” to handle a player publicly announcing where they will play next year while their season is still going.
He used the example of West Coast co-captain Oscar Allen as an example, who was put under intense scrutiny when it became public he had met with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell.
Allen will almost certainly sign with the Brisbane Lions as a free agent during the trade period.
I just get concerned a little about that when I see the types of responses of an Oscar Allen that has to go through what he went through,” Voss said.
“Seeing what he had to work through, the impact it had on him.
“I would have huge concerns about that.
“We say we want to grow up as a football industry, but I don’t think we’re ready.”
Carlton will finish the season in 11th – or 12th, if St Kilda upset GWS – after going 9-14 when they started the year with hopes of breaking a premiership drought.
Pressure intensified on Voss’s position, before Priestley and the board backed him to coach into 2026.
“Despite it being unsteady and some shaky ground, we chose to stick together,” Voss said.
“There’s been a lot of question marks on the players about their futures and where they’re going to be, and despite that, they’ve stuck together.
“There’s been a lot of question marks around my own role, around people around me, despite that, we’ve stuck together.”
The rugby league community is buzzing about the possibility of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui returning to the Melbourne Storm. This excitement grew after Brandon Smith mentioned he heard some talk about the move on Wednesday. On Thursday, Storm coach Craig Bellamy shared that he would really like to have the talented player back, even though he hasn’t got any official news about it.
Tino doesn’t have family ties with the Gold Coast Titans anymore since his younger brother Iszac joined the Catalans Dragons in the UK Super League. Tino’s contract with the Titans lasts until 2033, but he has several exit options in his long-term deal. One option allows him to explore the market starting on November 1 of this year, which might help him leave his contract before it ends in 2027. The agent for the Queensland Origin star mentioned that they plan to see what other teams might offer, but he pointed out that Tino is content living on the Gold Coast due to the support from family. Rumors suggest that both the Dragons and Bulldogs are looking to make him offers, but on Wednesday, Smith revealed something surprising by saying he heard the Storm might want him too.
