Carlton coach explains De Koning sub call in wake of finals exit

The rationale behind selecting top ruckman Tom De Koning as a substitute for Saturday night’s elimination final, which the Blues lost despite dominating the first 60 points of the crucial game, has been provided by Carlton coach Michael Voss.

Given De Koning’s role and form before his foot injury in Round 19, the sub call seemed odd, but stand-in ruckman Marc Pittonet was also picked to play against the Lions as the Blues got ready to be without another big in star forward Charlie Curnow.

For the journey to Queensland, Voss made six changes, which raised some eyebrows for a game where the season of the Blues was at stake.

Midway through the second term, Carlton made their sub switch, taking Matt Kennedy out of the game after just 37 minutes of play due to an unusually poor start.

Looking back, the call made by De Koning seemed unwise because of the huge deficit that limited his impact on the game. However, Voss later stated that the promising ruck-forward would either start the game on the bench or not play at all.

“At the beginning of the game, we made an effort to control Tom’s playing time. Voss stated after the game, “We didn’t want to activate him when we did, but we were kind of left with no choice with how the scoreboard was rolling.”

“I have no doubts about his availability, and I would enjoy it. We would really like to start [all of the returning players] simultaneously, if we had our way.

“To manage an extremely rare and special set of conditions, though, there were definitely a number in that category, and Tom, for example, was only one or two runs short of being able to complete 100 minutes.

“It was either not to play him or play him in that particular situation. We decided to activate him, and I’m glad we did in the end. A small amount of presence along the line ahead of the ball was what we needed. They were able to rule the air and the ground, so we were unable to win many competitions.”

After De Koning entered the game, Carlton took the lead. In the second half, Voss’s front third gained height, which gave them an edge over the Lions, who were missing Jack Payne due to a knee injury.

Harry McKay, the team’s star forward, scored three goals, while Pittonet scored two goals in the last moments of the game after losing the majority of the ruck battle to Oscar McInerney.

The Blues won the second half 58-37, and De Koning finished the game with 11 disposals, 4 marks, 3 clearances, 10 hitouts, and a goal assist.

The Lions advance to a semi-final matchup against GWS on Saturday, while the Princes Park club’s campaign is ended with the loss.