Tom De Koning seems to have won the positional battle at Carlton for lead ruck. At the start of the season he was pitted against Marc Pittonet, who had on his side no less an ally that Blues captain Patrick Cripps, who preferred Pittonet's ruck craft to maximise clearance opportunities. TDK's strong point is between contests as he covers the ground a lot more than the ex-Hawk, and the Baggers' recent run of wins have come off the back of some excellent scoring from turnovers, rather than scoring from stoppages. Will the tables turn again before September?
Tom De Koning seems to have won the positional battle at Carlton for lead ruck. At the start of the season he was pitted against Marc Pittonet, who had on his side no less an ally that Blues captain Patrick Cripps, who preferred Pittonet's ruck craft to maximise clearance opportunities. TDK's strong point is between contests as he covers the ground a lot more than the ex-Hawk, and the Baggers' recent run of wins have come off the back of some excellent scoring from turnovers, rather than scoring from stoppages. Will the tables turn again before September?
Tom De Koning was awarded the points in a ding-dong battle in ruck with Nic Naitanui last week, about as prestigious a scalp as you could take in the AFL... but it came out midweek that NicNat was carrying an injury which will see him miss weeks. Is TDK really an amazing thing for your system, and can he be one of the next big things for fantasy ruck scoring? He certainly has the hops to take big speccys, but it's stamina to get between contests that is the hallmark of a premium ruck and he's nowhere near it as yet. He's still young; he will be good in a few more years.
TDK not plugged in
As the future of Carlton's ruck division, all eyes were on the progress of Tom De Koning's knee following a two-month sideline stint due to a lateral ligament injury. Once fit, he produced a strong patch of form in the VFL, using his huge leap to his advantage in the ruck and in the forward 50 across his 11 games. De Koning will hope that an uninterrupted preseason paves the way for him to add to his senior appearance tally. Even if he manages to elbow his way ahead of Marc Pittonet to get a call-up to support or replace Matthew Kreuzer, it will be temporary and he won't light up any fantasy coaches' eyes. Pass on the big Blue.
Don't watch tape on TDK
The Blues played the kids late last season, and one such was Tom De Koning who booted his first senior goal but otherwise did not much in two games. His VFL numbers were also negligible. The popular De Koning may win a clubman award or two in his time, but his fantasy relevance given his scoring and his position on the depth chart is currently nil.
TDK does amazing things?
Tom De Koning averaged 14 hit outs and 10 disposals in a ruck/forward role in the TAC Cup last season, adding a goal or two per game. Carlton have Matthew Lobbe and Andrew Phillips to play seniors if Matthew Kreuzer goes down, so De Koning is highly likely to play VFL for at least a year.
