It’s a sign of the kind of player Geelong has on its hands when all its prized 21 year old key defender wants to talk about is how much improvement he thinks he has left in his game.
Sam De Koning is talking to geelongcats.com.au on what’s become a rare sunny December day in Geelong about the contract extension he’s just signed – an additional two years on his existing deal – ensuring he’ll remain a Cat until at least the end of the 2025 season.
After the 12 months De Koning’s just had, he’d be forgiven for basking in a little bit of glory, but he talks enthusiastically not only about the areas of his game he says he can improve, but how excited he is to get to work.
“I'm my own worst critic so I know the areas I can improve on and it's just really exciting to know I've got those areas that I can improve on and I've got another ten levels I can get better at,” he said.
“So, it's just exciting for me to come in every day and work on those things and get better and become the player that I think I can be and reach my full potential.”
For a player whose Dutch name literally translates to ‘De King’, the fresh faced Torquay native regularly, and successfully, took on some of the AFL’s biggest and best key forwards this season, the traditional kings of the AFL jungle, and walked away not only with a Rising Star Nomination, and the respect of the competition but with a premiership medal as well.
It’s been an extraordinary rise for a player who finished the 2021 season with just one AFL game to his name, but De Koning has a very clear vision of the kind of player he wants to be and the plan in place on how to get there.
‘I thought this last season my defensive craft was good, I really worked on shutting down my opponent, but I think I've got a lot of areas I can improve on in the attacking part of my game, so, using the ball and attacking off half back because that's the player I've always wanted to be,” he explained.
“So just improving my physical attributes, my strength, my running, my ball use and stuff like that and my overall confidence coming out of the back 50.
“I think if I get that side of my game working well then I can improve a lot and it's just really exciting to think that there's more to come with the young boys coming through, it's just very exciting.”
De Koning arrived at the club via the 2019 draft and within a couple of months Covid arrived, but as a ‘200cm skinny kid’, he just focused on developing his body and developing his game, and develop he did – he name-checks Harry Taylor, Lachie Henderson, and Mark Blicavs as people within the club that have had a major impact on his rapid improvement.
It’s another tick for the culture that Geelong has developed and nurtured over a number of years, something he’s very happy to talk about.
“It's an unbelievable feeling [to re-commit],” he said.
“I love the club and all of the people that are in it, it's a great organisation and I'm excited to be signing a new deal and continuing to play for Geelong.
“We've got a lot of good young players coming through, Mack and Wellsy did well in the trade and draft period, along with the senior boys who can teach us a lot, I think the club has just got a great culture and I want to be a part of it.”
