AFL grand final: Geelong star Sam De Koning on how he keeps fresh during hype of September

The star Cat played a key role in Tom Stewart’s absence in his team’s preliminary final win over Hawthorn and will need to deliver again when his side tackles Brisbane in Saturday’s decider.

But as far as getting the jump on the Lions, De Koning swapped their huge MCG win over Collingwood last weekend for a hit television show with his family.

De Koning says he’s “not much of a footy watcher” ahead of big games to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the occasion and stuck to his routine on Saturday.

“I wasn’t watching (Collingwood-Brisbane), I was just cruising with the family – I think we were watching Shark Tank,” he said.

“I knew it was on, obviously it’s in the back of your mind, but I wanted to get a good night’s sleep and watching the footy doesn’t help that.

“I do my work during the week to prepare for my opponents. They’re some of the best players in the comp, so you have to be ready for that.

“But it’s more just getting my mind prepared for the week. I feel like I can get a bit overhyped by watching footy, so I just leave it to the coaches.”

De Koning, a 2022 premiership player, comes from good football stock.

His father Terry played at the highest level, while his older brother Tom has just joined St Kilda on one of the competition’s most lucrative deals.

But De Koning, perhaps the key to the Cats’ success, is much more modest and laconic with his and his family’s achievements.

“We’re not the biggest footy family, me and Tom are the youngest boys in the family and the older siblings weren’t too into footy,” he said.

“We kind of just grew up playing it with our mates and ended up making it to the AFL.”

Originally published as AFL grand final: Geelong star Sam De Koning on how he keeps fresh during hype of September