Sam De Koning was thrown into the ruck against Adelaide in round 13 and came out of it with four coaches votes, the kind of instant payoff Geelong could not have asked for from a position change that was not on the original script.
The Cats beat the Crows in Adelaide, and De Koning was right in the middle of it. He finished with a game-high and career-high 11 clearances, along with 25 disposals, 23 contested disposals, 16 hit-outs and five intercept possessions, a line of work that showed how quickly he adapted to the demands of the contest.
That matters because De Koning was not introduced as a ruckman, but Geelong needed him there and he handled the assignment with authority. The match came in round 13 of the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, and the coaches panel rewarded the performance straight away with four votes for the 24-year-old, a sign that his impact was not just visible but decisive.
Patrick Dangerfield led Geelong in the voting with six coaches votes after a 370th AFL game that brought 30 disposals, seven clearances and seven score involvements. Max Holmes rounded out the votes and moved to 53 for the season, leaving him in fifth place on the overall leaderboard after the match.
The AFL Coaches Association’s Champion Player Award is decided by 18 coaching panels on a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis after each home-and-away game, so De Koning’s four votes reflect more than a passing nod. The unanswered question now is whether Geelong keeps using him in that ruck role or whether Adelaide was a one-off adjustment born out of the situation in front of them.
