Trade talk: Saints want brother in big man Cats trade

St Kilda has set its sights on a potential De Koning duo.

Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary is reporting that the Saints are looking at bringing Geelong’s Sam De Koning to Moorabbin to partner with his brother Tom who joined from Carlton last trade period.

Cleary says this will only likely be possible if Rowan Marshall requests a trade to the Cats after missing out on a move there 12 months ago.

“They believe that if Rowan Marshall, in readiness for a trade request, if that comes again, the Saints want to try and prise Sam De Koning out of the Geelong footy club to bring him to Moorabbin to play with his brother,” Cleary said on the Agenda Setters.

“Now, they had a crack a couple of years ago when Sam De Koning last re-signed to try and get Tom and him together before Tom joined as a free agent. That was not the case — he re-signed at the Cats, Sam De Koning.

“But the view from the Saints is that if Rowan Marshall is to request a trade again, they don’t care about picks, they want players, and Sam De Koning is their man.”

Premiership Cat De Koning, 25, is contracted until the end of 2027.

There could a domino effect of sorts at play here with Tom Morris reporting earlier in the week that Marshall is looking to get out of St Kilda.

Morris says Marshall, who is contracted for 2027, is “weighing up the Western Bulldogs and Geelong as an option”, but it depends on who departing Port Adelaide star Zak Butters chooses.

“Let’s say hypothetically, Zak Butters nominates the Cats, that opens the door for the Dogs and Rowan Marshall, because they will have potential draft picks to spend. The opposite applies as well,” Morris said.

“That’s the watch on Rowan Marshall over the next few weeks, but I do believe that he is still very much looking at moving clubs at the end of the year, understanding that he is contracted so the Saints would have to agree to that as well.”

The Saints landed Tom De Koning, Liam Ryan, Jack Silvagni and Sam Flanders in last year’s trade period and are looking to bring in more established players this year.