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Steven King (footballer)

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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 (age 45)
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

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). He is currently working as an assistant coach at Geelong.

Playing career

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Geelong (1996–2007)

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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)

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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

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St Kilda (2010–2011)

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

Western Bulldogs (2011–2021)

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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)

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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 then coached Gold Coast Suns for a total of seven games with two wins and five losses to finish in fifteenth place on the ladder and did not make finals.[12] King was not retained as Gold Coast Suns senior coach at the end of the 2023 season and was replaced by Damien Hardwick.[13] King then left the Gold Coast Suns at the end of the 2023 season when he accepted an offer to join his former club Geelong as an assistant coach in 2024. [14][15]

Geelong Cats (2024-)

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At the conclusion of the 2023 season, King returned to Geelong and accepted a senior assistant coaching role under senior coach Chris Scott.[16][17]

Statistics

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[18]
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 1 13 3 2 81 55 136 38 13 113 0.2 0.2 6.2 4.2 10.5 2.9 1.0 8.7
1997 Geelong 1 22 8 5 202 91 293 94 24 200 0.4 0.2 9.2 4.1 13.3 4.3 1.1 9.1
1998 Geelong 1 11 1 2 89 47 136 60 9 130 0.1 0.2 8.1 4.3 12.4 5.5 0.8 11.8
1999 Geelong 1 17 14 12 134 60 194 63 29 193 0.8 0.7 7.9 3.5 11.4 3.7 1.7 11.4
2000 Geelong 1 23 12 10 252 120 372 82 43 493 0.5 0.4 11.0 5.2 16.2 3.6 1.9 21.4
2001 Geelong 1 16 11 3 161 81 242 76 40 328 0.7 0.2 10.1 5.1 15.1 4.8 2.5 20.5
2002 Geelong 1 22 14 9 237 135 372 100 52 531 0.6 0.4 10.8 6.1 16.9 4.5 2.4 24.1
2003 Geelong 1 13 2 4 95 80 175 49 29 341 0.2 0.3 7.3 6.2 13.5 3.8 2.2 26.2
2004 Geelong 1 16 6 4 126 67 193 55 40 369 0.4 0.3 7.9 4.2 12.1 3.4 2.5 23.1
2005 Geelong 1 18 3 0 140 85 225 69 30 271 0.2 0.0 7.8 4.7 12.5 3.8 1.7 15.1
2006 Geelong 1 16 1 1 116 97 213 67 23 214 0.1 0.1 7.3 6.1 13.3 4.2 1.4 13.4
2007 Geelong 1 6 0 1 18 40 58 18 22 81 0.0 0.2 3.0 6.7 9.7 3.0 3.7 13.5
2008 St Kilda 2 22 5 4 131 110 241 70 60 408 0.2 0.2 6.0 5.0 11.0 3.2 2.7 18.5
2009 St Kilda 2 19 3 1 81 85 166 43 43 286 0.2 0.1 4.3 4.5 8.7 2.3 2.3 15.1
2010 St Kilda 2 6 0 0 22 26 48 14 11 82 0.0 0.0 3.7 4.3 8.0 2.3 1.8 13.7
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

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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.[19][20][21]

References

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  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. 28 September 2021. 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. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  9. ^ "The Sun King: Gold Coast lands highly rated Bulldogs assistant". afl.com.au. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  10. ^ Whiting, Michael (11 July 2023). "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. ^ "Steven King". Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  13. ^ "'Someone every club would love to have': King backs Suns' Dimma chase". 8 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Steven King to depart the SUNS". 16 October 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  15. ^ "King Joins Cats Coaching Staff". 16 October 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  16. ^ "King Joins Cats Coaching Staff". 16 October 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Return of the King". 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Stephen King". AFL Tables.
  19. ^ "Cats won't act on star's blue". PerthNow. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Clubs should handle punishment: Costa". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 April 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Player defended after headbutt incident". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
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