As St Kilda continues to hold firm on keeping Rowan Marshall this off-season, questions have emerged over the very real possibility that he and free agent signing Tom De Koning will play alongside each other in 2026.

Despite being contracted to the Saints until the end of 2027, speculation about Marshall’s future grew throughout 2025 as it became clear De Koning’s arrival would alter his role as the sole ruck.

Geelong quickly emerged as a frontrunner for Marshall, but that interest in a trade for the 29-year-old has been swiftly shut down by the Saints in recent days.

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Speaking on Fox Footy’s Trading Day, Herald Sun journalist Scott Gullan provided insight to St Kilda’s stance on trading Marshall.

“St Kilda are telling him he’s staying as a Saint, at the moment,” Gullan said.

“As we know, Geelong’s all into Curnow. Pick 19 they thought would do the deal for Marshall. They still love Marshall, but I think St Kilda’s dug in … how much can he live with ‘TDK’ coming?”

Marshall, who has played 156 AFL games across nine seasons at the Saints, still has significant interest from the Cats despite his club’s seemingly definitive stance.

“We’ve never been out of the pursuit, it’s just what a deal would look like,” Geelong GM Andrew Mackie told AFL Trade Radio on Friday afternoon.

“Clearly we had that pick 19 on the table for those four days. We want to bring Rowan in, it’s just what a deal would look like.

“Given we did do the offer to Carlton, we’re not exactly sure what the Saints may want … but willing to have that conversation.”

The Cats have long been queried over their ruck stocks, despite their sustained record with veterans Rhys Stanley and Mark Blicavs in the role.

And while both veterans are edging closer to retirement, St Kilda great Leigh Montagna believes it isn’t just Geelong who need Marshall on their list.

St Kilda’s strongest line-up for 2026? | 02:55

“If you want success as a player, and I’m sure Rowan Marshall does, you know you need to bring in more talent. Rowan’s been well-paid for a long period of time now, and he’s turning 30. His contract’s getting towards the back end, and I think it might’ve even been front-ended,” Montagna explained.

“The numbers do look stark, but De Koning’s four years younger than him. They’ve earmarked him.

“I think they need him. I think with Max Heath leaving, they don’t really have a back-up ruck, so they need the two rucks … Rowan Marshall can play as a forward; he got drafted to St Kilda as a natural centre-half forward who ended up becoming an elite ruck.”

Hawthorn sharpshooter Ben Dixon added: “If I’m running next to a guy, and he’s close to $1 million more than me … you’ve got existing core talent who have held your footy club together (on far less money). That would be a hard pill to swallow.”

“No disrespect to St Kilda, but they haven’t been up in finals for a while. When you build culture and you build a group, you might be able to go down that route to pay ‘overs’ to get a guy in — but they haven’t been at that stage yet.

Saints giving away NOTHING | 06:40

“From Rowan’s perspective, it wasn’t so much the money initially, it was probably the communication that ‘we’re going with TDK’, and that wasn’t communicated to your number one ruckman.”

St Kilda has already made a huge statement this off-season in the trade space, recruiting all of De Koning (Carlton), Jack Silvagni (Carlton), Sam Flanders (Gold Coast) and Liam Ryan (West Coast) inside the last seven days.

Several players on their list are still yet to receive a deal for 2026, with Zaine Cordy, Angus McLennan and Harry Boyd delisted last month. Jimmy Webster has retired, while Max Heath was traded to Melbourne on Thursday.