Sam De Koning Posts Career-High 11 Clearances in Geelong Win

sam de koning was thrown into the ruck against Adelaide in round 13 and delivered the best clearance game of his career, finishing with 11 and earning four coaches votes. Geelong got another strong return from Patrick Dangerfield, but De Koning’s numbers gave the Cats a different edge in Adelaide on Thursday night.

Dangerfield Drives Geelong

Patrick Dangerfield led Geelong’s coaches votes with six, building on a first quarter that set the tone. He had 13 disposals and five clearances in that opening spell, then finished with 30 disposals, seven clearances and seven score involvements.

The outing also came in his 370th AFL game. That sort of production from the Geelong skipper gave the Cats a front-end push, but the vote count showed the coaches saw more than one source of influence in the clash.

De Koning’s Ruck Shift

De Koning’s four votes came after he was asked to do the job in the ruck against Adelaide. He responded with a game-high and career-high 11 clearances, plus 25 disposals, 23 contested possessions, 16 hit-outs and five intercept possessions.

The clearance total stands out because it came in a role change rather than a standard key-position night. Geelong did not just lean on him to compete; it used him around stoppages, where his contested work and hit-out count fed directly into the Cats’ ball movement.

Holmes Stays In The Mix

Max Holmes also stayed in the coaches’ frame, taking his season tally to 53 votes and sitting in fifth place on the overall leaderboard. He has now featured in the votes for a third consecutive game.

Holmes had 30 disposals for the fifth time in 2026, along with five score involvements and seven intercept possessions. For Geelong, that leaves a clear pattern from round 13: Dangerfield drove the start, De Koning handled the ruck-heavy load, and Holmes kept adding to an increasingly strong season return.