Young Geelong star Sam De Koning has re-signed with the Cats with a two-year extension, seeing his services tied to Kardinia Park until the end of the 2025 season.
De Koning's previous contract wasn't set to expire until the end of next year, however the key defender and the club announced on Wednesday morning that an agreement on a new deal had been reached.
The 21-year-old, who played an integral part in Geelong's 2022 premiership successes, expressed his delight in recommitting to the club for the next three years.
“I love the Club and I'm excited to sign a new deal and continue to play for Geelong. The Club is filled with great people and it's just a great organisation to be part of,” De Koning said in a club statement.
“We have a lot of good young players coming through and a great group of senior players who continue to teach us a lot. The Club has got a great culture and I want to be part of it.
“It's been a whirlwind 12 months and my focus is to now get back to work, come into training with the same attitude and be hungry to improve.
“I know there's areas I can improve on to take my game to another level and I'm excited to come in every day and work on those things to become the player I know I can be and reach my full potential.”
Recent reports have suggested that the new deal for De Koning will see the promising defender earn a significant pay bump as part of his next contract.
After playing just one AFL game prior to this year, De Koning featured in 23 matches in 2022, often going head-to-head with the opposition's best forward target.
The two-metre-tall backman averaged 12.22 disposals and 5.22 marks per game in his third season with the Cats, earning a spot in the 22under22 side this season.
The retention of De Koning, a Mt Martha product, is a key signing for the Cats as they look to build on their future prospects.
“Sam has worked extremely hard in his three seasons at the Club to give himself the best chance to be the best he can be.
“He played an important role for the team in 2022 and I have no doubt he has the hunger to continue to work on his craft, which is an exciting prospect for all of us at the Geelong Football Club, and for Sam himself.
“Sam is a great young man and a popular teammate, and we can't wait to see him continue to grow as a player and person over the next couple of years.”
De Koning joined Geelong as the 19th overall selection in the 2019 National Draft.
