In the uncertain middle of a difficult season, Carlton coach Michael Voss stepped forward to steady a narrative that had begun to drift — insisting that signing one ruckman does not mean losing another. At 23, Tom De Koning stands at a crossroads familiar to many young athletes: wanted by several, fully committed to none, his future a question that rival clubs are eager to answer before Carlton can. Voss's message was less a press conference statement than a quiet act of faith — that patience, transparency, and loyalty can hold together what speculation tries to pull apart.
Voss insists De Koning still wanted despite Pittonet re-signing
It doesn't impact it at all. What we want is both.
Mark
So Voss is saying both players stay, but De Koning is still unsigned and other clubs want him. How confident should we be that he actually re-signs?
Mimi
Voss is making a distinction between what the club wants and what De Koning wants. The player chose to wait until season's end—that's his right. Carlton's saying they'll support that decision and hope he stays. But yeah, there's real uncertainty here.
Luke
Right, and we should be clear about what we know versus what we're assuming. We know De Koning is out of contract. We know Geelong and St Kilda are interested. We know Voss says Carlton wants him. What we don't know is whether De Koning actually wants to stay or if he's keeping his options open.
Mark
Does Pittonet's four-year deal change anything for De Koning's decision?
Mimi
Voss is saying it shouldn't. Two ruckmen can coexist in a system. But from a practical standpoint, if you're De Koning and you're watching the club invest heavily in another tall, you might wonder about your role.
Luke
That's the thing Voss is trying to head off. He's saying the moves are independent, but they're not really—they're part of the same roster puzzle. The question is whether De Koning sees it that way.
Mark
What about Voss's own position? He's losing games.
Mimi
He's under pressure, no question. Five losses in six games. But the president backed him publicly, which matters. Voss is framing this as a rough patch, not a crisis.
Luke
The backing is real, but it's also conditional. Voss is contracted through next season, which means there's a window where results need to improve. The De Koning situation is one thing; the team's performance is another.
The Pulse
- Carlton's signing of Marc Pittonet to a four-year deal triggered immediate speculation that Tom De Koning, unsigned and sidelined, was being quietly shown the door.
- Geelong and St Kilda are reportedly circling the 23-year-old ruckman, adding external pressure to an already fragile internal situation.
- Voss pushed back firmly, arguing that re-signing one player does not cancel the club's desire to keep the other — calling the assumptions 'just that, assumptions.'
- De Koning has chosen to delay contract talks until season's end, a timeline Carlton says it respects, even as the waiting game grows more uncomfortable.
- The coach himself is under strain after five losses in six games, though club president Luke Sayers has publicly backed him, and a Friday night clash with Sydney looms as the next test.
In the uncertain middle of a difficult season, Carlton coach Michael Voss stepped forward to steady a narrative that had begun to drift — insisting that signing one ruckman does not mean losing another. At 23, Tom De Koning stands at a crossroads familiar to many young athletes: wanted by several, fully committed to none, his future a question that rival clubs are eager to answer before Carlton can. Voss's message was less a press conference statement than a quiet act of faith — that patience, transparency, and loyalty can hold together what speculation tries to pull apart.
Michael Voss used Wednesday's media opportunity to deliver a message with deliberate clarity: signing Marc Pittonet to a four-year deal was not a signal that Tom De Koning's time at Carlton was ending. The coach understood how the optics might read — one ruckman secured through 2027, another unsigned and absent since round 5 — but he was determined to separate perception from intention.
De Koning, 23, has been away from the lineup while Geelong and St Kilda have reportedly positioned themselves to pursue him ahead of 2024. He remains out of contract and has chosen to delay negotiations until the season concludes — a decision Carlton says it is honouring rather than resisting. Voss framed this not as a sign of tension but as respect for the player's process.
Pittonet's re-signing, Voss argued, changes nothing about the club's desire to retain De Koning. 'What naturally people do is they look at one and that equals the other,' he said. 'It doesn't.' He dismissed the surrounding speculation as assumptions built on guesswork, insisting Carlton's list management strategy was being misread by those on the outside.
The coach delivered this message while navigating his own pressures — five losses in six games have tested the club's resolve, prompting president Luke Sayers to acknowledge the results publicly while also reaffirming his support for Voss. With a Friday night game against Sydney approaching and De Koning a chance to return, Voss kept his focus forward: on the environment being built, the program being developed, and the belief that the goals remain unchanged.
Michael Voss sat down on Wednesday with a message he needed to deliver clearly: signing Marc Pittonet to a four-year deal did not mean Tom De Koning was on his way out. The Carlton coach understood how the move might look from the outside—one ruckman locked in, another still unsigned—but he wanted no ambiguity about the club's intentions.
De Koning, 23, had been absent from Carlton's lineup since round 5, sidelined while other clubs circled. Geelong and St Kilda were both believed to be interested in acquiring him for the 2024 season. The young tall remained unsigned beyond the end of 2023, and he had chosen to delay contract discussions with his current employer. It was a delicate situation, the kind that invites speculation and assumption.
Pittonet's re-signing announcement came on Wednesday, cementing the 26-year-old ruckman at Princes Park through 2027. But Voss pushed back against the narrative that this move signaled De Koning's departure. "What naturally people do is they look at one and that equals the other," Voss said. "It doesn't, it doesn't impact it at all." He emphasized that the club had been transparent about its position from the start: De Koning wanted to wait until season's end before committing, and Carlton was willing to support that timeline. The coach framed it as a matter of respect for the player's wishes, not a sign of wavering commitment.
Voss acknowledged the swirl of speculation around De Koning's future but dismissed much of it as unfounded. "There's a lot of assumptions that get made about our list management strategy and they are assumptions and that's it," he said. Carlton wanted both players in navy blue going forward, he insisted. De Koning remained important to the club's plans, and the ongoing chatter about whether he would stay was, in Voss's view, noise built on guesswork rather than fact.
The coach himself was operating under pressure. Carlton had lost five of its past six games, a run that prompted club president Luke Sayers to write to members acknowledging the performances had "simply hasn't been good enough to this point." Yet Sayers also publicly backed Voss, who is contracted through the end of next season. Voss said he felt that support and was focused on the immediate challenge: a Friday night trip to face Sydney at the SCG. De Koning was under consideration for that match, a potential return to the field after his absence. Voss spoke of the program Carlton was building, the environment they were trying to create, and the need to stick together through a difficult stretch. The goals hadn't changed, he said. Neither had the focus on the weekend ahead.
Notable Quotes
What naturally people do is they look at one and that equals the other. It doesn't, it doesn't impact it at all.— Michael Voss, Carlton coach, on the relationship between Pittonet's signing and De Koning's future
We want him to stay. He's an important person to us.— Michael Voss, on Tom De Koning
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