Currently, Tom De Koning is not in Carlton’s best 22.
The ruck-forward hybrid has lost his spot, with the Blues too tall inside 50 as it is and Marc Pittonet ahead of him in the ruck.
Could the Blues revitalise his fledgling career by moving him into a key defensive post in a similar vein to his brother Sam at Geelong?
David King believes De Koning could hold up alongside Lewis Young as Carlton’s key defensive pillars, with the flow-on effect of freeing up star Jacob Weitering to roam and play more of an intercepting role.
With the Blues already using Young as their back-up ruck out of defence, this would seemingly still allow De Koning to relieve Pittonet while also filling a key post.
“I think one of the most important positions on the field is your intercepting defender. I look at Carlton and everyone tells me it’s going to be Mitch McGovern and Adam Saad rates very highly when the ball hits the deck,” King told SEN Breakfast.
“Then we see Tom De Koning is not even in the team and you start thinking – okay, how do they get more out of what they’ve got?
“Do they get enough out of Jacob Weitering? I think he could be a Jake Lever type if you freed him up. You’ve got Lewis Young down there who is playing some pretty good footy and you’ve got Weitering riding shotgun with him.
“Could you play De Koning at centre half-back? Put him at centre half-back with the support of Weitering and McGovern because the intercept defenders just roam where the ball is likely to go. You’re not going to be hung out to dry and isolated.
“I think he can fight the fight. He’s an AFL player, but how do you get more out of Weitering is my discussion because I don’t think he’s having as much influence on games as he should.”
With Sam De Koning having a breakout year as a key defender at the Cats in 2022, Kane Cornes sees this move as a “no-brainer”, adding that Matthew Lloyd suggested the move on Footy Classified on Monday night.
“You see what his brother has done and they have the same physical attributes. It would be a no-brainer,” Cornes said.
“He may eventually be the ruck-forward that they have played him as, but right now they don’t need him there.
“But to your point, he’s too good to not be in the side. He can take the bigger key forward and allow Weitering to do what the best have done.
“Matthew Scarlett didn’t always play on the best forward. Weitering doesn’t touch the footy enough.”
Is it too late in the season to reinvent De Koning’s role as a key defender, however?
“It’s never too late. Their defensive 50 over the last month is bottom three in the competition,” King added.
“You can roll on as you are and say the magnets look good, which they do, Weitering’s magnet and Young riding shotgun looks really solid.
“But how do you get more out of Weitering? To have him as a one-on-one defender is fine, but he’s more than that isn’t he? He’s an elite intercept mark who can counterpunch for them.”
De Koning is unavailable for selection this week after suffering a concussion in the VFL last weekend.
The Blues are gearing up for a huge Friday night clash with Brisbane, one that will likely show whether they truly are a team in the top eight mix.