Steven King (footballer)

Steven King (born 22 November 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). On 11 July 2023 he moved into the role of caretaker senior coach at the Gold Coast Suns Football Club.

This article is about the Australian rules footballer. For other football players, see Stephen King (disambiguation) § Football.

Steven King
King in August 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-11-22) 22 November 1978
Place of birth Shepparton, Victoria
Original team(s) Murray Bushrangers (TAC Cup)
Debut Round 5, 27 April 1996, Geelong vs. Richmond, at Skilled Stadium
Height 202 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Weight 105 kg (231 lb)
Position(s) Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1996–2007 Geelong 193 (75)
2008–2010 St Kilda 47 (8)
Total 240 (83)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2023 Gold Coast 7 (2-5-0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2010.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2023.
Career highlights

AFL

Geelong Football Club

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Playing career

Geelong (1996–2007)

Debuting as a 17-year-old with Geelong in 1996, King was a gifted ruckman. He won All-Australian selection and won the Carji Greeves Medal in 2000 and again in 2002. He was captain of the club between 2003 and 2006. In 2005, King was hit by numerous injuries, which affected his form.

King at training prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final

A moment of controversy occurred in King's career in the 2005 Elimination Final, when he accidentally kicked Melbourne's Jeff White in the head. Both men were contesting a boundary throw in, and it was knocked to the ground. King was the man in front, and when the ball bounced up to head height, he took a mighty swing at it with his right foot. He missed the ball completely, but connected with White's face, giving him injuries which have been described as "equivalent to those of a car accident victim," requiring White to have several plates and screws inserted.

Media commentators and fans were largely divided about whether King should have faced the tribunal for kicking, historically the most heavily penalised infringement whether accidental or intentional. Eventually, the Match Review Panel decided that he had no case to answer, and he was free to play in the semi-final against Sydney the following week. Somewhat ironically, a hamstring injury in the third quarter of that game coincided with a Geelong collapse, and eventually defeat.

King fell out of favour in 2007, playing only a handful of AFL games and was dropped to the Victorian Football League (VFL) in favour of Brad Ottens and Mark Blake. In round 18, playing in the AFL when Ottens was rested, he took a mark over goal umpire Michael Hammond – an awkward half-speckie/half-collision which sent the umpire crashing to the ground; for the second time in his career, despite the AFL's generally strict application of the rule prohibiting contact with field umpires, King avoided tribunal action, with the Match Review Panel deeming that the goal umpire had contributed to the clash, due to the fact that he moved towards the ball as it began to fall.

King continued to perform strongly in the VFL, and played in the Cats' 2007 VFL premiership against Coburg on 23 September. Following weak finals performances by Mark Blake, King received a recall to the senior team for the AFL Grand Final, despite Blake having played more games during the season. King then participated in the Cats' 2007 AFL premiership win against Port Adelaide on 29 September, giving him his second premiership medallion within seven days.

St Kilda (2008–2010)

Following Mark Blake re-signing as the number-two ruckman, King was offered a one-year contract on reduced pay, which he declined. Lacking space in their salary cap, Geelong then asked King to retire,[1] but eventually traded him, along with Charlie Gardiner, to St Kilda for a sixth-round selection in the 2007 national draft.

King played in St Kilda's 2008 NAB Cup winning side – St Kilda's third pre-season cup win.[2][3] He played 22 games in 2008 and carried St Kilda's ruck division with 408 hitouts.

King with the Western Bulldogs in February 2017

King played in 16 of 22 matches in the 2009 season home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the 2009 finals, winning the club's third minor premiership.[4] St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. King played in the grand final in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points by his former club Geelong.

On 16 September 2010, King announced his retirement. He played six games for the year, but was being kept out by emerging ruckman, Ben McEvoy.

Coaching career

St Kilda (2010–2011)

Upon retiring from playing, King shifted to coaching at St Kilda for the 2010 and 2011 Seasons.[5][6]

Western Bulldogs (2011–2021)

In 2011, King moved to the Western Bulldogs where he was a part of the coaching panel for the 2016 AFL Premiership win and the 2021 Grand Final side.[7][8]

Gold Coast Suns (2021–2023)

At the conclusion of the 2021 season, King accepted a senior assistant coaching role with the Gold Coast Suns under senior coach Stuart Dew.[9] He was appointed caretaker senior coach prior to Round 18, 2023 for the remainder of the 2023 season, after the club sacked senior coach Stuart Dew mid-season.[10][11] King was not retained as Gold Coast Suns senior coach at the end of the 2023 season, being replaced by Damien Hardwick.[12] King was to remain at the Gold Coast Suns as assistant coach under Hardwick, but later accepted an offer to join his former club Geelong as an assistant coach in 2024. [13]

Geelong Cats (2024-)

At the conclusion of the 2023 season, King returned to Geelong and accepted a senior assistant coaching role under senior coach Chris Scott.

Statistics
[14]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
H/O
 Hit-outs
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
1996 Geelong 11332815513638131130.20.26.24.210.52.91.08.7
1997 Geelong 122852029129394242000.40.29.24.113.34.31.19.1
1998 Geelong 1111289471366091300.10.28.14.312.45.50.811.8
1999 Geelong 11714121346019463291930.80.77.93.511.43.71.711.4
2000 Geelong 123121025212037282434930.50.411.05.216.23.61.921.4
2001 Geelong 1161131618124276403280.70.210.15.115.14.82.520.5
2002 Geelong 122149237135372100525310.60.410.86.116.94.52.424.1
2003 Geelong 11324958017549293410.20.37.36.213.53.82.226.2
2004 Geelong 116641266719355403690.40.37.94.212.13.42.523.1
2005 Geelong 118301408522569302710.20.07.84.712.53.81.715.1
2006 Geelong 116111169721367232140.10.17.36.113.34.21.413.4
2007 Geelong 16011840581822810.00.23.06.79.73.03.713.5
2008 St Kilda 2225413111024170604080.20.26.05.011.03.22.718.5
2009 St Kilda 21931818516643432860.20.14.34.58.72.32.315.1
2010 St Kilda 26002226481411820.00.03.74.38.02.31.813.7
Career 240 83 58 1885 1179 3064 898 468 4040 0.3 0.2 7.9 4.9 12.8 3.7 2.0 16.8

Personal life

Steven King co-owned a Geelong-based restaurant with fellow Geelong footballers Matthew Scarlett and Kent Kingsley called the George and Dragon Hotel from 2004–2007 until it changed name and ownership due to financial difficulty.[15][16][17]

References
  1. Geelong tells King to retire – Geelong Advertiser
  2. "St Kilda wins NAB cup". The Age. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  3. "Saints are NAB Cup Champions in 2008". Jeld-Wen. 8 March 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  4. "2009 Season Scores and Results – Ladder". AFL Tables. 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  5. Pierik, Jon (29 October 2011). "King at home among Dogs". The Age. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  6. "Bulldogs farewell Steven King". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  7. Pierik, Jon (29 October 2011). "King at home among Dogs". The Age. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  8. "Bulldogs farewell Steven King". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  9. "The Sun King: Gold Coast lands highly rated Bulldogs assistant". afl.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  10. Whiting, Michael. "Suns sack Dew after latest slump". AFL.com.au. AFL Media. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  11. "Gold Coast SUNS part ways with Stuart Dew". 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  12. "'Someone every club would love to have': King backs Suns' Dimma chase". 8 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  13. https://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/1453542/king-joins-cats-coaching-staff
  14. "Stephen King". AFL Tables.
  15. "Cats won't act on star's blue". PerthNow. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  16. "Clubs should handle punishment: Costa". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 April 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  17. "Player defended after headbutt incident". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
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