Tom De Koning | 2021 Season Review

Written by Ari Stamatakos

SEASON SYNOPSIS

After missing a fair chunk of season 2020, Tom De Koning made his season debut in round 10 against the Hawks and didn’t look back from then. He played out the rest of the season - despite a pec injury which he was able to fight through against The Saints in round 20 - and showed major improvement in both his technical skills and his physicality. He came up against the competitions best week after week and performed very well against ruckman who had alot more experience on him. While his stats don’t suggest that he had a good season, context and nuance is very important. He played in a midfield which conceded the third most clearances in the comp, in his second full(ish) season, without a backup for a good chunk of it. TDK should be happy with the output he managed this season, and the main thing is that we saw major improvement from last year. 

BEST PERFORMANCE

TDK’s best performance of the year came against perhaps the game’s best ruckman. Managing the ruck burden all on his own - with JSOS pinching in at times as well - he had a big task on his hand, but he showed he is ready to tackle the game’s biggest and best in his position, on the biggest stages. 

Despite only touching the ball 8 times, he had 4 tackles, 4 score involvements, 4 clearances, and 2 inside 50’s. He proved how good and valuable he can be as an extra midfielder, taking Grundy to the cleaners as his numbers place in comparison to De Koning’s. He went forwards and provided a marking target, as seen via his crucial goal in the third quarter, to atone for his earlier mistake. This tenacity and perseverance proved to be the benchmark for Carlton comeback, and TDK’s game was a microcosm of that. When the Pies were on top, he could’ve dropped his head and let the more experience Grundy run him over, but he stayed in the game and fought when his back was against the wall.  

OFF-SEASON & 2021 OUTLOOK

TDK will enter the new season as the number 1 ruckman. This will be the first time that such pressure and burden will be placed on him so it will be very intriguing to see how it pans out. He is also a very capable resting forward, using his athleticism and marking ability, in collaboration with his quite accurate goal kicking, he has all the tools to be the permanent number 1 ruckman, he just needs to put those tools into action. 

With JSOS as his main help for the back end of the season, the situation with Marc Pittonet will be very interesting. They do both offer very different qualities and Pitto was often used to combat the more physical and tough ruckman. However, now that TDK has shown that he can battle with nearly every ruckman in the league, this may turn Pitto obsolete, however, this is more a testament to how much TDK has improved, rather than the potential decline of Pitto.

2021 REPORT CARD RATING

C+

STATUS HEADING INTO 2022 

Starting 22.