Sam De Koning is set to reach the first milestone of his career, when the Cats’ defensive pillar runs out for his 50th AFL game against Carlton this Saturday afternoon.
It has been an incredible rise for the young Cat, who has developed from a versatile tall to one of the best key defenders in the league after just three full seasons at the top level.
De Koning made his AFL debut in 2021 against North Melbourne, playing just one game for the year before cementing himself in the Cats starting line up early in 2022.
Featuring in 23 games across the 2022 season, De Koning was entrusted with lockdown roles on a number of the competition’s top forwards, before ultimately becoming a premiership player when the Cats prevailed on the last Saturday in September.
The star defender produced one of the top highlights from the 2022 Grand Final, when he snuck into the Cats attacking goal square to boot his first (and so far, only) career goal in the final quarter.
De Koning said that he is grateful to reach his first milestone game this weekend, but has far bigger goals ahead in his career as he pushes to improve each and every week.
"Obviously when I came in and started playing, I was pretty fortunate to be part of a successful team so early in my career,” De Koning said.
“I am still a young player trying to develop and work on my game, there are a lot of areas I need and want to improve on to take my game to the next level.
I feel like I can go out there and play my role for the team, but I am just continually trying to improve and make my game better for the team's benefit.
I am striving to consistently play well, still finding my feet in the league and I am working to get better everyday."
De Koning has been instrumental in the Cats incredible start to the season averaging career highs in disposals, spoils and tackles, as the Geelong backline has restricted their opponents to an average of less than 70 points per game.
The 23 year old’s milestone game will poetically coincide with Saturday’s blockbuster against Carlton, which will see Sam take on his older brother Tom De Koning.
De Koning said he and the defensive unit are looking forward to the challenge that awaits them this weekend, against an explosive Carlton outfit at the MCG.
"We're looking forward to the contest,” De Koning said.
“To be able to play big games on the MCG against quality opposition and hopefully with a big crowd, those are the games you want to play in.
They are a really strong side through the middle, good around the contest and up forward they are very damaging.
We have a lot to prepare for but I think we are up to the challenge, we will put our best foot forward and see what happens."
De Koning will play his 50th game on Saturday afternoon when the Cats battle the Blues, with the first bounce from 4:35pm at the MCG.
