Latest news with #CharlieCurnow
News.com.au
17 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Carlton coach Michael Voss reveals how he's handling the contract call for star big man Tom De Koning
Carlton coach Michael Voss says he's balancing his conversations with out-of-contract big man Tom De Koning between personal chats and knowing when to 'leave him alone' as he weighs up a multimillion-dollar offer from St Kilda. Voss has drafted in another ruckman, Marc Pittonet, to help De Koning out in Saturday's clash with North Melbourne, a game the 6-7 Blues have to win to remain in the hunt for finals. Coleman medallist Charlie Curnow is also a confirmed starter to tackle the Roos, having been subbed out of last week's win over West Coast with a calf niggle. But while the focus is on the now, Voss said he couldn't ignore the De Koning situation and while the 25-year-old wasn't being hassled by anyone at the club to make a decision, there had been conversations. The Saints have reportedly offered De Koning a $12m mega contract, a figure the Blues can't match. Voss said he had taken questions from De Koning on the club's future but never at any stage urged him to make a call. 'I reckon two years ago, we were sitting in the same situation – then he walked into my office one day and signed the next day,' Voss said on Friday. 'He'll make that decision whenever that is in due course. But I look at what he's providing us, the investment he has in our team and how much he loves his teammates … this is his team, and he sees himself as that. 'When we have these conversations, that's what we talk about – the team, how he's going to get better and what that looks like in the future. 'We're more than happy to have those he needs from me is the reinforcement of what he brings to the team, how important he is to us as a player and he'll continue to do so. 'The dialogue I have had with Tom is ongoing. We have had some more personal chats with that, but there's also knowing when to leave him alone and give him space to get on with playing football.' Voss said Curnow 'trained pretty much the whole session' on Friday and was expected to take his spot against the Kangaroos, and the Blues had a 'laser focus' on what's needed, with so much at stake. 'We're laser focused in on making sure we play well. We've got a system we want to play, we've been really proud of some aspects of our game that we're getting right,' he said. 'We're laying those foundations down, but we're also really clear on the things we need to be better at – that's where all our energy has been. We haven't shifted our focus, it's the next contest, it's the next team we play and that's North Melbourne. That's what gets our sole attention.'
The Age
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
Friends, finance or flag prospects? Inside Tom De Koning's life-changing decision
The value and prestige of being a one-club player at Carlton, not to mention being part of a drought-busting 17th premiership team, would be another consideration, though featuring in what would be a fabled and historic second flag for the success-starved Saints would also be an attractive proposition. Loading On-field roles Despite possessing a spring-heeled leap and being an excellent contested mark, De Koning is an out-and-out ruckman, not a forward. In 90 games across seven seasons, De Koning has kicked three goals or more just once. His shot at goal accuracy of 38.2 per cent places him 19th at the Blues of their 20 most prolific shots at goal since 2018. He has played almost exclusively in the ruck this year. There have not been any stints resting as a forward. In fact, he has been targeted inside Carlton's forward 50 metres just 10 times in 12 games. With Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay as the focal points, the Blues have less need for him. Nobody expects Rowan Marshall to remain at Moorabbin if De Koning signs, so he would likely be the clear No.1 ruck in the red, white and black. But the cloud hanging over Max King and their lack of proven key forwards will raise the temptation for the Saints to throw him forward. Club environment and lifestyle One of the early players drafted in the Blues' scorched-earth rebuild, De Koning is extremely popular among teammates. He is one of those players who is mates with everyone. His closest friends are Charlie Curnow, who, like De Koning, was recruited early in the Blues' painstaking rebuild, former Dandenong under-18s teammate Matt Cottrell and Adam Cerra. He surfs with skipper Patrick Cripps. Despite the Blues' troubles this year and the uncertainty over his future, he remains invested in the club, as seen by his stellar form that has him contending for his first Blues' best and fairest award. News that he sought a meeting with incoming chief Graham Wright in Brian Cook's office to discuss potential changes at the club has raised hopes at Ikon Park that he will choose friends over finance. A move to Moorabbin, away from the inner suburbs, would allow the Bayside boy to live closer to the where he grew up and be a shorter drive for a surf on the beaches of Mornington Peninsula, though many of his nine siblings now live on the other side of the bay on the Surf Coast. That he is yet to make a call on his future despite the size of the Saints' offer shows how tough it would be for him to leave. Who is closer to a flag? The general view of the list managers and recruiters contacted is that the Saints have better kids, and the Blues have stronger mature talent. One recruiter said both were equally doomed, which does not bode well for De Koning's hopes for success. Since 2021, the Saints have secured five top-20 picks to the Blues' two. Of the Blues' under-23s, half-back Ollie Hollands is the furthest advanced but is not an elite kick, and Jagga Smith has the highest ceiling but is yet to make his debut due to injury. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is already a star at St Kilda, Mitch Owens and Marcus Windhager have become senior regulars though have limitations, and it's far too early to draw conclusions on first-round picks Mattaes Phillipou, Darcy Wilson, Tobie Travaglia and Alix Tauru. The sources said if the Saints were to lose Wanganeen-Milera on top of Max King's continued unavailability with knee injuries would dramatically alter how St Kilda's list is viewed and how it would be compared to Carlton's. Can he handle being the face of the club? If De Koning leaves, he will be seen as the Saints' great hope. His signature would indicate to other recruiting targets that Moorabbin is a place to be. The expectations that come with being the highest-paid player at the club would, as one list manager put it, have his every step on the field be analysed on every talk show. Loading At Carlton, he would be one of several big names, shielded to an extent from saturation coverage by marquee stars Charlie Curnow, Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh. As one recruiter put it, if De Koning does not want to be the face of the club, he should not leave. But what St Kilda can offer De Koning is the challenge of being the main man and a different environment which he can mould to his liking to have the success he has not had at Carlton. And if that doesn't work out? At least he'll have the cash.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Friends, finance or flag prospects? Inside Tom De Koning's life-changing decision
The value and prestige of being a one-club player at Carlton, not to mention being part of a drought-busting 17th premiership team, would be another consideration, though featuring in what would be a fabled and historic second flag for the success-starved Saints would also be an attractive proposition. Loading On-field roles Despite possessing a spring-heeled leap and being an excellent contested mark, De Koning is an out-and-out ruckman, not a forward. In 90 games across seven seasons, De Koning has kicked three goals or more just once. His shot at goal accuracy of 38.2 per cent places him 19th at the Blues of their 20 most prolific shots at goal since 2018. He has played almost exclusively in the ruck this year. There have not been any stints resting as a forward. In fact, he has been targeted inside Carlton's forward 50 metres just 10 times in 12 games. With Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay as the focal points, the Blues have less need for him. Nobody expects Rowan Marshall to remain at Moorabbin if De Koning signs, so he would likely be the clear No.1 ruck in the red, white and black. But the cloud hanging over Max King and their lack of proven key forwards will raise the temptation for the Saints to throw him forward. Club environment and lifestyle One of the early players drafted in the Blues' scorched-earth rebuild, De Koning is extremely popular among teammates. He is one of those players who is mates with everyone. His closest friends are Charlie Curnow, who, like De Koning, was recruited early in the Blues' painstaking rebuild, former Dandenong under-18s teammate Matt Cottrell and Adam Cerra. He surfs with skipper Patrick Cripps. Despite the Blues' troubles this year and the uncertainty over his future, he remains invested in the club, as seen by his stellar form that has him contending for his first Blues' best and fairest award. News that he sought a meeting with incoming chief Graham Wright in Brian Cook's office to discuss potential changes at the club has raised hopes at Ikon Park that he will choose friends over finance. A move to Moorabbin, away from the inner suburbs, would allow the Bayside boy to live closer to the where he grew up and be a shorter drive for a surf on the beaches of Mornington Peninsula, though many of his nine siblings now live on the other side of the bay on the Surf Coast. That he is yet to make a call on his future despite the size of the Saints' offer shows how tough it would be for him to leave. Who is closer to a flag? The general view of the list managers and recruiters contacted is that the Saints have better kids, and the Blues have stronger mature talent. One recruiter said both were equally doomed, which does not bode well for De Koning's hopes for success. Since 2021, the Saints have secured five top-20 picks to the Blues' two. Of the Blues' under-23s, half-back Ollie Hollands is the furthest advanced but is not an elite kick, and Jagga Smith has the highest ceiling but is yet to make his debut due to injury. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is already a star at St Kilda, Mitch Owens and Marcus Windhager have become senior regulars though have limitations, and it's far too early to draw conclusions on first-round picks Mattaes Phillipou, Darcy Wilson, Tobie Travaglia and Alix Tauru. The sources said if the Saints were to lose Wanganeen-Milera on top of Max King's continued unavailability with knee injuries would dramatically alter how St Kilda's list is viewed and how it would be compared to Carlton's. Can he handle being the face of the club? If De Koning leaves, he will be seen as the Saints' great hope. His signature would indicate to other recruiting targets that Moorabbin is a place to be. The expectations that come with being the highest-paid player at the club would, as one list manager put it, have his every step on the field be analysed on every talk show. At Carlton, he would be one of several big names, shielded to an extent from saturation coverage by marquee stars Charlie Curnow, Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Harry McKay's knee surgery won't derail Carlton from focusing on making the finals
Carlton midfield star Adam Cerra is adamant the Blues have 'multiple avenues' to score and finals remain the ambition despite Coleman medallist Harry McKay being sent for knee surgery and Charlie Curnow under a fitness cloud ahead of a season-shaping clash with North Melbourne. The Blues moved to a 6-7 record after taking care of West Coast last week and remain in touch with the eight, needing a win against the Kangaroos to keep their season alive. They'll have to do it without McKay, who has been sent for surgery after battling a knee issue that has sidelined him since round 12. Curnow was also subbed out of the win over the Eagles with some calf 'awareness' and needs to pass a fitness test to take on the Kangas at Marvel Stadium on Saturday. The Blues managed 12 goals against West Coast without McKay and just one from Curnow, small forward Lachie Fogarty bobbing up with three, and Cerra was adamant the small brigade could provide the majors needed to keep kicking winning scores. 'We've seen last couple of weeks, some young players coming in, taking opportunity,' Cerra said on Wednesday. 'Hudson O'Keefe over the last couple of weeks, Harry Lemmy has been playing some really good football in the VFL. 'Then we're not just purely relying on tall forwards down there, we've got our smalls getting to work – Lachie Fogarty, Zac Williams since he's come back from injury. So for us, it's next man up.' Things get tougher for the Blues after this weekend with an away clash against Port Adelaide followed by games against premiership hopefuls Collingwood then Brisbane in what looms as a defining month for a team that maintains finals aspirations. 'Obviously, like every club, we want to be in September trying to win this competition. We're not shying away from that,' Cerra said. 'Obviously, we're disappointed with our first half of the season, but our focus right now is finishing off this year really strongly to put ourselves in a strong position to hopefully play September footy.' The Blues could soon be boosted by the addition of Nic Newman, who is edging closer to a remarkable return from a ruptured patella. 'The other day, I turned around, he was pretty much in match sim with us fully training,' Cerra said. 'So we're super excited for him to finish off his rehab and potentially play some footy this year.' Officially, the Blues have declared Newman is only progressing 'very well' with a view to soon training with the main group, with a determination to be made then 'whether he will be able to return to play later in the season'.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Harry McKay could be sent for surgery on a troublesome knee issue as Charlie Curnow hurt his calf
Carlton coach Michael Voss says star forward Harry McKay could need surgery on his injured knee and more time on the sidelines after he failed to respond to treatment as well as the club had hoped. After taking down West Coast without McKay, who has only played seven games this season, Voss said the club would need to make a call this week on whether to send him to surgery. His absence might be felt even more by the Blues from this week, with key forward partner-in-crime, Charlie Curnow injuring his calf in Perth on Sunday. 'I'm not sure.'We have to explore that,' Voss said of McKay. 'It'd be too early for me to say other than to say that we need to investigate it further and obviously seeing a specialist is one of those steps that we'll take. 'And then we'll make some decisions off the back of that, probably sometime during the week. 'Obviously we had to look at it a couple of weeks ago, and the advice was to wait and see how it responded. 'It seemed like it was hopeful, that we were hopeful that it turned a corner, but it hasn't. 'So, we'll have to just do a little bit more further investigation and make a call from there.' McKay has played only seven of 13 games this season and kicked only nine goals. He's been sidelined with a knee injury since round 11 loss to Greater Western Sydney. The tall forward has been durable over the past four seasons, playing at least 19 games in each season since the start of 2021. The extent of Curnow's injury is not known, with the dual Coleman medallist declaring after the 34-point win over West Coast that he expected to fit to play against North Melbourne next weekend. 'It's fine. I've never really had a soft tissue before,' he told Fox Footy. 'I had a bit of awareness ... so we'll see how we go. It looks like it's going to be pretty fine ... so I look forward to getting out against North Melbourne next week. 'You've just got to be really careful with those things.'
