Why it's time for Carlton to hand the keys over to Tom De Koning

Carlton’s win over Gold Coast on the weekend caught the attention of Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne because the Blues returned to their early-season form.

It comes in part as the club went back from two rucks to one, given the injury to Marc Pittonet – similar to the start of the year.

Whether coincidentally or otherwise, Carlton moved the ball better from the back-half, scoring almost 80 points against the Suns, a number they haven’t got near since the opening month of the season.

With both rucks in the side, the club’s clearance and contest game improves, but it comes at the expense of their transition out of defensive 50, according to Hoyne.

The Champion Data analyst wants the Blues to persist with this current setup going forward.

“Loved what Carlton did on the weekend,” Hoyne told SEN’s Sportsday.

“Their ability to get their transition and turnover game back, that was the number one thing that came out of that performance on the weekend.

“First month of the season, they had it intact, it then dropped away over the next five or six weeks.

“I don’t mind clubs having a look at a few things, but if I’m a Carlton supporter, I’m looking at that going – give De Koning the keys.

“You’ve got Pittonet locked away for the next three years. He wouldn’t be costing you much.

“That was De Koning’s highest rated game of the season this year, but it was more the impact he had on the match around contest and clearance.

“Patrick Cripps was enormous, but De Koning had close to 10 clearances himself, almost 15 contested possessions up against Jarrod Witts, he just looked like he thrived.

“And then for them to be able to get their transition game going from the back half – we haven’t seen a Carlton team move the ball from one end to the other for years.

“To be able to score almost 80 points is something we just don’t see. That’s the profile that got us excited about Carlton after Round 4.

“We were looking at that going they are absolutely every chance to be the number two seed going up against Sydney as their main challenger.

“It’s a sustainable profile. Don’t get consumed with what happens at contest and clearance. That was still strong against Gold Coast anyway.

“Get consumed by what happened in the first month of the season against Gold Coast because it is a sustainable profile.”

Kane Cornes believes it has proven savvy list management for the Blues to lock Pittonet in for four years, given he is capable of being a starting ruckman elsewhere.

“It’s actually perfect. I was like ‘why sign Pittonet for four years’, but the more that I think about it, he can’t go anywhere, even if he wants to go to Geelong, Carlton will just say ‘nah, we have you locked away’,” Cornes said.

“And he’s perfect for if De Koning gets injured. It’s actually a reasonable position for them to be in.

“De Koning was so aggressive in the finals last year and he is a leader in that midfield with the way he plays.”

The Blues take on Port Adelaide on Thursday night, with Pittonet still unavailable as he battles a finger injury.