Voss still 'holding onto hope' over TDK decision, Bombers limp to finish line

Carlton coach Michael Voss is all but resigned to losing ruck Tom De Koning over the off-season

Tom De Koning leaves the field after the Round 24 match between Carlton and Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on August 21, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

MICHAEL Voss is hoping for a call from star ruck Tom De Koning sooner rather than later now that Carlton's season is done and dusted.

With speculation rife that De Koning will head across town and join St Kilda during the off-season via free agency, this week will likely answer the question one way or another.

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"When you wait this long, you know, we're not hoping for the best of news, we’re holding onto that hope that he's going to be here," Voss said of De Koning's impending decision.

"And I can't fault 'TDK', I mean, across the whole year, what he's done across the whole year, and the conversations we've continued to have … All I wanted to be was just really clear with him about what my expectations about him were, and the type of player that he wanted to be."

Voss is hopeful that De Koning sticks around, but if not, Carlton will just find a way to cover the loss.

"If he does leave it'll be disappointing, but it'll be a next man up and we'll keep moving on as a football club. And, you know, one thing I've learned about this game is that people come and go, but the club keeps going, and one man goes out, another comes in and we keep going," he said.

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Finishing the 2025 season with back-to-back wins isn't something Voss is hoping to be thinking about in the years to come, but it was crucial to establishing the place of several young Blues.

Last week, it was a 54-point victory over Port Adelaide, and on Thursday a 34-point defeat of Essendon, taking the side to nine wins for the year.

"I'd imagine in two years' time we probably sit back and we're not necessarily referring back to this back-end of the season, nor talking about it, but the choices we made through this period of time are pretty critical," Voss said.

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"We could have been that club that just gave the season away, probably every reason to. You know, injuries, external pressure, calls for change, and despite that, the group steadied, and the leaders acknowledged that we needed to be better and as younger players were coming in, they wanted to lead the standard at least.

"Didn't want to rob the experience of younger players being able to come in to get better."

A host of the young players who earned opportunities throughout the season, including ruck/forward Hudson O'Keeffe and key defender Harry O'Farrell, are seen as a key part of Carlton's future. So it's this which Voss, and Carlton more broadly, are hopeful to build upon over the off-season and into 2026.

For Essendon coach Brad Scott, things look a little different. Limping to the line, the Bombers must front up to play Gold Coast on Wednesday in a rescheduled fixture.

Finding enough players who are fit and available, however, might be a different story. Key defender Jayden Laverde and midfielder Sam Durham were both pulled from the game an hour before the opening bounce with hip and foot injuries, respectively, further adding to the club's massive injury ward.

"We were very confident that Laverde and Durham would play, but when they got to the ground and they're both similar in terms of when they say that they're struggling to function, they mean it … especially on Zach Merrett's 250th, they would do anything to get out there," Scott said.

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Scott is hopeful the pair will be available for the final match of the season but was reluctant to confirm anything at this stage given the year the Bombers have had regarding injuries.

But one player who didn't let the pain concern him was Merrett, who played following surgery on a broken hand. He wore a distinctive black glove, but struggled to have his usual impact through the contest because of the injury, spending the majority of the game in attack.

"We struggled to have him in the centre bounce because he was hampered in there with that, but he did what he always does, which is just keep fighting and competing," Scott said.

Meanwhile, Scott was non-committal when addressing news - first reported by AFL.com.au's Gettable on Wednesday - that Dylan Shiel has been told he won't be a required player at Essendon next year.

"I've given Dylan all the scenarios that he needs in terms of, we can't guarantee a position for him next year … this has been a discussion that we've had regularly throughout the season because I really feel, and there are a number of players I've have the discussion (with), I don't want to go into all of them individually, but he's been fantastic, Dylan, in terms of his attitude," Scott said.

"He understands the position the club's in, and he understands the position that he's in and that there are no guarantees. But it certainly hasn't been locked in. It's just the conversation has been (that) we can't guarantee a position on the list next year."

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