WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be really honest, this has been the toughest decision I have ever had to make, leaving a club I\u2019ve loved being part of over the last eight years, with friendships I will take with me for the rest of my life,\u201d De Koning said in a Carlton statement.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end I have made a decision that is best for me, but I just really want to take this opportunity to thank the entire Carlton community who has embraced me since I was drafted \u2013 in particular the Cheersquad, who have sponsored me and been an amazing support.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom De Koning of the Blues. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n De Koning\u2019s \u2018restricted\u2019 free agency status means Carlton can match any rival club offer for him. Yet the Blues have already confirmed they won\u2019t match the offer and will instead accept the free agency compensation pick, which will almost certainly land in the first round.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we would have obviously loved to have retained Tom, the contract offer that we understand he has been presented with is not one we are prepared to match,\u201d Blues list boss Nick Austin said. <\/p>\n \u201cUltimately the best interests of the football club come first and remains at the centre of every decision we make in regards to our list management.<\/p>\n \u201cTom and his management have been nothing but professional throughout this process, and while it is disappointing to see Tom depart, we will now look to maximise the flexibility that now exists within our playing list as we move into the off-season period.\u201d<\/p>\n TDK on ‘huge week’ ahead for his future | 01:19<\/p>\n De Koning played 100 games for Carlton after being taken with Pick 30 in the 2017 draft.<\/p>\n The Saints for years have desperately tried to lure big fish to Moorabbin, only to miss out on the likes of Finn Callaghan, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Miles Bergman over the past 12 months alone.<\/p>\n But the Saints are set for a bumper off-season, with De Koning set to sign weeks after superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera recommitted to the club, while Giants defender Leek Aleer and West Coast forward Liam Ryan have also been strongly linked to St Kilda. The club is also in the mix to lure outgoing Blue Jack Silvagni, as well as contracted Suns midfielder Sam Flanders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the most anticipated AFL player departures of 2025 is official, with star free agent Tom De…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[15840,17993,72244,63,689,3423,3239,12015,72242,2105,43,72239,29963,24309,25546,18578,647,7198,44,72243,677,72241,49776,1122,1117,41,39,42,40,11236,660,72240],"class_list":["post-98679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-agency-compensation-pick","tag-agency-rights","tag-agency-status-means","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-carlton-blues","tag-contract-offer","tag-deal-looms","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-headlines","tag-kept-trade-secret","tag-list-boss","tag-list-management","tag-luke-davies-uniacke","tag-mega-deal","tag-melbourne","tag-michael-willson","tag-news","tag-nick-austin","tag-oceania","tag-player-departures","tag-sam-flanders","tag-st-kilda","tag-tom-de-koning","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-trade-news","tag-victoria","tag-worst-kept-trade"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n