Carlton coach Michael Voss has commented on the future of Tom De Koning, as reports suggest he is increasingly likely to take up St Kilda's lucrative seven-figure deal.
The offer tabled by the Saints is said to be a seven-year contract, potentially upwards of $1.7 million a season, offering a substantially greater contract than Carlton can afford.
De Koning put contract talks on hold last week too, emphasising a decision to re-sign is still well off the cards.
However Voss believes that the Blues current playing group are determined to "stick together", and as there are many months to go until the free agency window opens, there is nothing to suggest De Koning has made up his mind.
"It's always ongoing dialogue, he's an important player for us clearly," Voss said.
"He's in some really good form, regardless of where we're at and how it's speculated, all I can see is what Tom's doing, and he's a very important part of our group.
"This group is at a real determination to stick together, and I've got nothing to suggest otherwise than that he's fully invested in us, and that's all I really care about."
With Harry McKay to miss the Good Friday clash with concussion, as well as Brodie Kemp devastatingly rupturing his ACL, Voss hinted that De Koning could spend more time in the forward line to create another tall target alongside Charlie Curnow.
"Possibly, that's a definite option (De Koning spending more time forward)," Voss said.
"We've settled on a few of those things, without divulging too much, but maybe six or seven weeks ago, our rucks disappeared for a few weeks because they were injured, but now they're fit and healthy.
"It certainly gives us options to maybe look at a few different ways to be able to tackle that."
With fans riding the high of their first win of 2025, Voss was quick to downplay any suggestion that the bumpy road had been passed.
The Blues take on a Kangaroos outfit dealing with inconsistent performances to start the season, but the Good Friday game is set to be as competitive as ever.
Voss said while the West Coast win was a confidence-booster, it is too quick to judge if the pain of the Blues' first month is over, but believes they are on the right track.
"I think it's too early to tell, I think you've got to get more evidence, but there's enough evidence to suggest we're focusing on the right things, so we haven't shifted off that," Voss said.
"I think there's probably a lot of other reasons to shift your focus somewhere else, but we've been really dialled in on that our defence gets us in good positions and it will generate our opportunities.
"Clearly, improvement comes when we finish those a little more consistently."
The Blues have been one of the better sides in first halves this year, but their four straight losses came in an identical fashion through second-half fadeouts. Carlton only increased their lead against West Coast and improved their scoring conversion rate from inside 50s for their highest score of the year, highlighting that a consistent four-quarter effort will be the key in turning the tide.
A win for either side will see their record jump to 2-4 and keep them on the cusp of rejoining the current finals contenders, while a loss will send them to a 1-5 record, nearly impossible to recover from.
