BRINGING the heat has been a consistent focus for Carlton this season, and that was evident on Friday night against a high-calibre opponent.
The ability to apply pressure and capitalise in a nine-goal second quarter before being able to hold strong defensively in the back half meant the Blues were able to secure a 15-point win against the Swans.
Tom De Koning led Carlton in the ruck, getting the better of Sydney’s Tom Hickey and Peter Ladhams. Totalling 23 hitouts and five marks, De Koning grew more important as the game went on, with all four of his final-quarter marks coming in a contest.
De Koning felt confident in his aerial ability throughout the game, prompting him to keep pushing himself and taking his chance in the air.
“It was a big challenge coming up against two pretty good rucks,” De Koning said.
“I think after I took a few marks, I gained a bit more confidence and I just had the licence to run and jump at it, which ‘Vossy’ gave me.”
Noting that he's always been encouraged to trust himself in marking contests, De Koning rose to the occasion when his team needed him most on the weekend.
“It’s not always going to happen: it’s my job to bring them to ground, but it's always good to take a few,” he said.
“I think it’s something I’ve always had the licence to do. I’m coming into my fifth year now, I’m starting to get more confidence in my ability and I feel like I’ve got a bigger body to jump at the ball and really trust myself in the air.”
Speaking on the dominance of the first half compared to the second half, De Koning assured that the Blues were focused on implementing their system and getting the most out of themselves throughout the whole four quarters.
When things started to look dangerous for Carlton, the team was able to band together and get the job done, with De Koning adamant that they will always be up for the challenge no matter the circumstances.
“There’s no challenge too big for us and we just trust our system,” he said.
“We believe our system can beat any type of football, it’s really just coming in and resetting and going back out there and playing our way.”
Speaking on Michael Voss’ addresses, De Koning detailed two different approaches to how Voss spoke to the group ahead of the third and fourth quarter of the game.
“I think half time, we had a challenge in front of us and it was going out there and trying to play our system and our way,” he said.
“At three-quarter time, ‘Vossy’ called us in and said how much he believes in us, how he didn’t really care what happened. As long as we went out there and tried to play our brand of footy and bring our strengths, he was going to be happy: he really did give us the licence to play our way.”
As for De Koning himself, having to step up as the key ruckman in the absence of Marc Pittonet has given the 22-year old the chance to step up in the middle.
After a string of injuries in previous seasons has prevented him from featuring early in the season, he is lapping up the chance to feature in some crucial early games for the Blues.
“I’m a lot more confident in my body this year,” he said.
“It’s the first year I’ve actually been able to play Round 1 at any level since my first year.
“I had a few bad injuries to begin the other years but it’s really good to start well and I’m really confident that I can run out the year – I’m feeling good.”
