Key position Geelong star Sam De Koning is in no rush to extend his current deal with the Cats, with the defender-ruck hybrid placing a focus on developing his craft.
De Koning's current deal doesn't expire until the end of next year, with the emerging stopper inking a two-year extension in December of 2022.
That deal came after a breakout season for De Koning, who finished eighth in the club's best and fairest count following the Cats' premiership-winning campaign.
While De Koning does not need to recommit to the club for 2025, clubs have begun to re-sign their 'pre agents' before their contract year to give themselves further stability leading into another season.
That could be the case for Geelong and De Koning, but any agreement isn't expected to come during the season as the 23-year-old places contract talks "on the back burner".
"I'm just trying to commit to my footy at the moment, trying to get better and working on the things I can get better on," De Koning told RSN on Tuesday.
"[A contract] is on the back burner at the moment. I'm just trying to play some good footy and get some team success. That's the goal, there's only a short way until the end of the season.
"It's right in front of us for the taking and I'm committed to that at the moment. Everything else is on the back burner.
"I love the club, I'm really happy here at the moment. Whatever is in store for the future, I'm happy I'm a Geelong person."
Geelong's retention priorities will be firmly placed on their extensive list of free agents in 2024 - a crop that was pruned by the recent extension of star forward Tyson Stengle.
Amid reported interest from St Kilda and Essendon, Stengle turned his back on opportunities elsewhere to recommit to the Cats for a further five seasons.
His signature leaves Geelong with 10 free agents still needing new deals beyond this year, with Patrick Dangerfield, Jack Henry, Tom Hawkins, Jake Kolodjashnij and Mitch Duncan among those.
The Cats have still managed a successful season of re-signings in 2024, with all of Tanner Bruhn (2027), Jhye Clark (2026), Zach Guthrie (2025), Max Holmes (2028), Oisin Mullin (2025), Mark O'Connor (2026) and Stengle (2029) putting pen to paper this year.
De Koning looms as one of the biggest names set to come off-contract in 2025, with older brother Tom also among those and eligible for free agency.
The younger De Koning has recently transitioned to a ruck role for coach Chris Scott in recent weeks, stepping into the midfield role in the absence of veteran Rhys Stanley and youngster Toby Conway.
De Koning has set career-highs for disposals in his past two appearances, with his Round 15 clash against his brother in the ruck seeing the premiership Cat record an AFL Ratings score of 26 - far better than his next highest of 15.5 set in 2022.
