WHEN the stories started dropping late last year, the first person to approach Tom De Koning was the captain.

Carlton's list management team had just enjoyed a satisfying couple of months. First, in August of 2022, there was the news that Coleman Medal winner Charlie Curnow had opted to forego his free agency rights and sign a six-year extension. Just a few weeks later, his goalkicking partner Harry McKay would do likewise by inking a monster seven-year deal.

But the spotlight doesn't stop shining, as De Koning would quickly find out. Clearly the club's next priority from a contract perspective, Curnow and McKay's extensions meant the overwhelming focus at Ikon Park rapidly shifted to what the Blues' gifted and athletic 201cm ruck-forward would do in 2023.

Enter Patrick Cripps. Having recently endured the rigours of a contract year himself – Cripps was the game's biggest free agent in 2021, before signing a six-year deal that July – he understood the stresses and the complications involved, as well as the very public nature in which it can all play out.

"I've leant on him a fair bit," De Koning told AFL.com.au this week.

"When it all started popping off in the media, about what was happening with my future, he was the first one to come to me and make sure I was all good with it. He pretty much said that he's been through it all before and told me it's not necessarily an easy decision to make.

"He said it was different for everyone and he just wanted to make sure I made the right decision for me, given where I was at. For me, it took a little bit of time to figure out what I wanted and where I was at. I ended up making the right decision for myself and he was a massive part of that."

De Koning's season has ultimately culminated in a terrific two-month stretch, where he has emerged as a key piece in Carlton's remarkable return to form playing alongside Marc Pittonet in the ruck. It's been that improvement, both individually and collectively at Ikon Park, that convinced the 24-year-old his future was at the club.

De Koning chose to shun rival interest and sign a two-year contract extension with Carlton last month, taking him through to his free agency season in 2025, having just registered career-high games for disposals, hitouts, clearances, goals, marks and tackles during the side's recent winning run.

It hadn't all been so straightforward, though. Earlier this year, when the attention on De Koning's future reached a climax, the youngster found himself dropped to the VFL. He then suffered a concussion at reserves level, resulting in five straight weeks out of the team. It coincided with a period where the Blues lost six successive matches and sunk into the League's bottom four.

De Koning credits regular trips to the beach with teammates, both on the surf coast and back home on the Mornington Peninsula, for providing him with some vital peace of mind during his rough patch. It was on those surf trips where he found clarity when deciding where he wanted to be playing his footy next year and beyond.

"To be honest, I was more focused on playing good footy and playing consistently and knowing I was part of the team. I got to the point in the year where I thought, 'I'm really determined to be part of this team'. I could see where we were going and the future of the club and everything. It made the decision really easy in the end," De Koning said.

"I just didn't want to rush the decision. I was working through it, but I was mainly focused on my footy. I didn't want to allow it to take over the way I was feeling or the way I was going into games, I just wanted to be able to focus on the footy I was playing and be part of the team.

"Eventually, I was able to figure out all of the factors and ended up making the best decision for me. Staying at Carlton, it's the best decision I've made. I'm so happy to be part of it for the next two years and beyond."

The rival interest in De Koning was significant and public. Carlton had obviously always wanted to retain one of its best young talents while Sydney, Geelong and St Kilda also made their own plays for his signature. It created a heightened sense of anticipation as to what decision he would make, and when.

"It was a bit … I don't know. I was a little bit surprised," De Koning said.

"I tried not to look into it too much, but obviously it's hard when you've got mates and family who are sending you stuff and they're all over it. Obviously, there aren't many other players out of contract this year so that might have been a big part of it. But it is what it is. There are always people sending through some things here or there, but I just had to stay focused."

De Koning's re-signing had followed that of his ruck partner Pittonet, who was also being tracked by a host of teams across the competition before opting to pen a four-year extension back in May.

Speculation as to what that would mean for De Koning, and whether the two could play together in the same side, has since been emphatically put to bed. In fact, the Blues have a 7-2 record when De Koning and Pittonet are paired together this season compared to 2-1-2 with just De Koning and 1-4 with just Pittonet.

Their work in tandem was highlighted last week when the Carlton duo effectively nullified Melbourne's Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy – who have eight All-Australian blazers between them – in the Blues' thrilling four-point win over the Demons.

"I'm loving it," De Koning said.

"We're complete opposites. He goes in there and uses his physicality and he beats them up, then I go in there and try and use my athleticism a bit more. I feel like our strengths really complement each other and we're able to work over and nullify our opponents a bit.

"It's been exciting. I've really tried to embrace my role playing as that forward-ruck. When I needed to, when 'Pitto' was injured for a time there, I was able to go in there and play as a predominant ruck. But I'm really happy with the split at the moment and I think it's working well for us."

Now, the 55-gamer De Koning is looking towards the prospect of playing in his first ever finals series. One more victory, either against Gold Coast this weekend or Greater Western Sydney in round 24, will secure the Blues a September berth for the first time in a decade. It would cap a stellar turnaround for the club, given the depths it fell to just a few weeks ago.

"It's been good," De Koning said.

"It's exciting, what we're doing at the moment. Being able to finish off games the way we are, I feel like we've been put in all sorts of situations and we've been able to get through. Last year, we probably weren't able to say the same thing.

"We've worked on all different situations in games and we've been able to be put through different situations. Just being able to trust your teammates next to you, it's been awesome."