FEW AFL footballers have had a tougher run than Max King over the last four seasons.<\/p>\n
However, all of his injury woes could very nearly be behind him.<\/p>\n
Drafted by St Kilda with the fourth overall pick in 2018, King immediately announced himself as a star key forward in the AFL, booting 112 goals over his first 60 games including 52 over 22 games in 2022.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, King\u2019s progression hit a roadblock in 2023, undergoing a shoulder reconstruction that limited him to just 11 games in his fourth season.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, a PCL tear in his left knee ended his season in 2024 after just 12 games, and now, two years on, King is still yet to return to AFL football.<\/p>\n
Setback after setback, the now 26-year-old has endured one of the toughest battles that the competition has seen in recent years.<\/p>\n
Speaking with Tom Morris thanks to Telstra, King specified the extent of his issues that cost him two years of senior AFL football.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssentially, there was a meniscus that was a bit loose, and old tear that was clunking in the knee,\u201d King said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor whatever reason, there was a few other things that they thought they could be and you obviously don\u2019t want it to be that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first two surgeries were no good. You repair it, which you know is probably a 50\/50 chance to work, but you take the punt because you want to keep it in.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t work, you take it out and you get on with it. Down the line, you have a bit of knee stuff when you\u2019re older\u2026 it\u2019s the risk that you take to play footy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The difficulties for King weren\u2019t just physical, with the continued stress of the unknown weighing heavily on his mental strength over the course of his journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sessions when we were still figuring it out ended up being six months of just running straight lines and waiting for it, knowing that one step it\u2019s going to clunk and be pretty painful, but not knowing which step, so you just push on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re running until you\u2019re running off a cliff, but you don\u2019t know when it\u2019s coming. Bloody tough physically and mentally, but I\u2019m very happy to be over that now.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It was most difficult) after the second surgery, when you build back up again for a few weeks and the same thing happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou feel a bit helpless and unsure of the direction. It gets a bit trickier when you\u2019re floating in no-mans land, not sure what the next play is.\u201d<\/p>\n
For King, it wasn\u2019t just the stress of the unknown, but at times, the stress of the known.<\/p>\n
In October of 2024, Max King signed a monster extension with the Saints, committing to the club until 2032 on a deal reportedly amounting close to $1.5 million per season.<\/p>\n
Since signing his extension, King has failed to make a single senior appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely times where you wrestle with, \u2018I\u2019m on a big contract and I want to be paying the club back and playing\u2019, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s helpful to go down that rabbit hole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing everything I can to get back as soon as I can and play good footy. That\u2019s all I can do, really.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some points I have thought that, but it\u2019s just not a space I want to live in. I feel the support from inside the club and that\u2019s what matters to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like if I can get myself right and put together some good footy, it will be worth it for the club. That\u2019s what I\u2019m invested in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the incredible challenge, King has come through in full health and has confirmed his plans for a return to senior football as early as this season, and he doesn\u2019t plan on slowing down his progression any time soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cYep, (playing this season is) the aim,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not rehabbing to help the twos. Whether I have to play one or two in there to get going, it\u2019s whatever the guys think, but I think I\u2019ll get to a spot where I\u2019m ready to come in and help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
JAIDEN SCIBERRAS\/SEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FEW AFL footballers have had a tougher run than Max King over the last four seasons. However, all of his injury woes could very nearly be behind him. Drafted by St Kilda with the fourth overall pick in 2018, King immediately announced himself as a star key forward in the AFL, booting 112 goals over […]<\/p>\n