Barnes Under Cloud As Cats Go With Youth
Stephen Rielly
16 July 1996
The Age
The reign of John Barnes as Geelong's No. 1 ruckman appears to be over, a turn of events that has cast doubt on his future at Kardinia Park.
The Geelong match committee has decided to stay with 17- year-old Steven King as the first-choice ruckman and use Barnes, 27, in a selective fashion that will change each week with the nature of the opposition.
Club and player are in the process of negotiating a new contract, but it seems clear that Barnes will remain at Geelong only if he agrees to the change of role coach Gary Ayres and his staff have in mind. Despite protestations all round, Barnes' name has consistently been linked with Carlton for months.
Six weeks ago, Barnes, 10 years and 96 games King's senior, wore his second Victorian jumper.
But a third break to his jaw and a shoulder injury, received in the dying moments of the drawn match against Brisbane at Kardinia Park in round 10, appear to have created the opportunity for Ayres and King to alter the course of his career.
Since his recovery a fortnight ago, Barnes has been included in the senior 21 to play against Sydney and Hawthorn, but virtually in name only. He started and spent most of both contests on the interchange bench.
Against the Swans, a game in which Sydney ruckman Greg Stafford dominated, Barnes was on the ground just long enough to collect three possesions and four hit-outs. Last Saturday, as Paul Salmon shaded King in a fine duel, Barnes gathered four possessions and two hit-outs.
Geelong football manager Paul Armstrong said yesterday the club believed Barnes still had an important role to play at the club, just a different one.
``He hurt his jaw, missed three games, and in that time Steven King filled the breach and did very well,'' Armstrong said. ``So it's a matter now of fitting them both into the side. You can't drop Steven King just because John's back and, in any case, Steven's form has been very good. With John being more experienced than Steven, he should be able to play in other positions as well.''
According to Armstrong, the intention is for Barnes to return to the ruck occasionally, particularly when the opposition ruckman is of the smaller, mobile variety such as himself.
``It will depend on who the opposition ruckman is to a degree.
Steven is a reasonable match-up in a physical sense for someone like Paul Salmon, but with Jimmy Stynes this weekend, the match-up may swing Barnesy's way,'' Armstrong said.
No small part in the change of direction for Barnes has been the startling emergence of King who, at 200 centimetres, stands seven centimetres above his predecessor.
``We've been fortunate that Steven King has developed quicker than we thought he would. He doesn't turn 18 until December, and he is a young, naturally aggressive player and he's fitted into our plans very well,'' Armstrong said.
King hails from Shepparton and the Murray Bushrangers, from whom he was plucked as a 16-year-old as compensation for the loss of Stephen O'Reilly to Fremantle at the end of 1994.
Barnes' manager Rick Nixon said yesterday that he lodged details of a new two-year deal with Geelong last Thursday and was expecting to hear back from the club in the next week or two.
Steven King articles
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Riewoldting
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Steven King articles
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
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Riewoldting
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For King and country
By GLENN MCFARLANE IN MELBOURNE.
30 April 2000
Sunday Mail
He once was the man who would be king. Only now that Steven King has been anointed Geelong's No. 1 ruckman is he making his presence felt. IT is the middle of winter, 1998, and the premature adulation that once surrounded Geelong teenager Steven King is a fading memory.
After a stellar start to his AFL career in 1996 and '97, King is feeling depressed at breaking his arm for the second time in a season, this time in a routine training drill.
Mentally, he is drained by his 2 1/2 seasons in the sometimes cruel, unrelenting hit-or-be-hit world of AFL ruckmen. Just as importantly, perhaps even more crucial, King is missing his family and friends in the Victorian country town of Shepparton, and contemplating a permanent return.
Openly gregarious and easygoing, King is anything but as he sits down with Geelong officials to tell them he is considering throwing in a career that he has dreamt about since he was a kid, a big kid.
Almost from the time he was born, King was destined for big things. His parents, Leonie and Ashleigh, were told by doctors when he was only two weeks old that King "would be big, very big".
He wore size 15 boots from the time he was 15, and such were the size of his feet his mum had to chase down a pair of cricket spikes from a bemused cobbler in Adelaide.
But for a time in 1998, King is left wondering whether it is all worth it, being away from his family and mates.
He even writes a letter to his mother around this time, detailing his homesickness. Fortunately, for all concerned, he never posts it.
"I was feeling pretty down at the time and there was a stage when I was thinking about going home," King recalled last week.
"When I first went to Geelong (in late 1995), everyone thought I was a big man and would probably take some time to develop. But, all of a sudden, I played 13 games in 1996 and replaced Barnesy (John Barnes) the next year when he broke his arm.
"I played 22 games that season, but I probably wasn't ready mentally or physically.
"I went through that bad period in 1998 when things got tough. I had a few injuries and my form was not great. Footy was taking over my life and my family and friends were a long way away."
Fast forward to Round 4, 2000, at Colonial Stadium. King looks the same, his feet are still size 15, but mentally and physically he exudes the sort of aggression some rival clubs questioned he had, but those close to him never doubted.
For the fourth straight week, he performs great deeds on the field in his newly defined role as Geelong's No 1 ruckman, without the spectre of Barnes hanging over him.
His performance leaves his former ruck coach, 1981 Brownlow medallist Barry Round, with a look of satisfaction etched across his face.
"I was very impressed with him," Round said afterwards. "Steven attacked the ball hard and made the others look pretty ordinary."
The "others" were dual premiership duo Matthew Capuano and Corey McKernan, no slouches in the ruck department.
"He knows he has to be more aggressive," Round said.
"He's the No 1 man now and he has the confidence to stand up to them. I'm not talking about going out and belting them (other ruckmen), it's just about being more aggressive."
So what has transformed this genial giant with the easygoing nature into one of the AFL's in-form, more aggressive ruckmen this season?
King admits it is a combination of many things.
For a start, he has a clearer picture of what his role is at Shell Stadium.
He is also eager to repay the Cats for their continual support, even through the tough times, since plucking him from the Murray Bushrangers as a raw 16-year-old, with a compensation pick for losing Stephen O'Reilly.
Fitness is another key point. In '98, he suffered two broken arms and an ankle injury and then last year played the season with a nagging Achilles injury.
"I couldn't train during the week and there were three or four games when I had to have cortisone injections just to get out there and play," King said.
There have been many theories as to why King appeared to stagnate after his rapid rise in '96 and '97, un upsurge that caused Kevin Bartlett to describe him as a future Brownlow medallist and the best young ruckman since Len Thompson.
The most obvious one is that people seem to forget he is still only 21 and generally ruckmen take longer to develop their body and their game.
He is still developing the tricks of the trade, said his new ruck coach, Peter "Crackers" Keenan.
However, several rival AFL clubs believed it was not injuries and inconsistent form which were hindering his progress, but more his inexperience, his easygoing nature and a perceived lack of "mongrel".
Some clubs put him to the test physically, telling their ruckmen to play close to him and try to intimidate him.
Others wondered whether the constant chopping and changing of King and Barnes in the ruck in the past few years was holding him back.
That problem was forever erased from the equation last October when new Geelong coach Mark Thompson took a broom to the club's culture, demanding a fresh start.
This partly resulted in the axing of King's rival for the coveted ruck role, Barnes, who finds himself back at Essendon playing good footy.
"Kingy was in the gym the day we let Barnesy go," Thompson said. "I went in and told him it was his position, his role.
"He stayed in there for another hour after I'd told him.
"I reckon footy is all about opportunities. You look at history, a lot of players get to play because of someone else's bad luck. Once the door of opportunity opens, players usually take it, and hopefully Steven has done that this year."
A change of lifestyle and eating habits (pasta and stir-fry on the menu) took King's skin-fold levels to best-ever ratings.
In the first four home-and-away rounds, King was listed in Geelong's best players in the three wins against Fremantle, St Kilda and Adelaide, and the five-point loss to the Kangaroos.
He has averaged almost 19 kicks a match. He is also averaging 14 hit-outs a game and has taken 25 marks so far this year.
Perhaps the most amazing statistic involving King is the fact APB Sports lists him as equal second in the competition in out-of-centre clearances, behind Fremantle's Adrian Fletcher. Not bad for a 202cm player!
Importantly, King has confronted head-on any suggestion that he is not as physical as a ruckman should be.
Thompson believes King has hardened up significantly this season.
"I think the whole team has developed that," Thompson said. "Steven needed to improve in that area and he's shown us that already.
"It's a very daunting position to have to go up 40 times in the air and get hit. Sometimes it's only fair that he does a bit of the hitting."
King attributes much of the credit to "Bomber" Thompson for his improvement.
"I haven't really played like a true ruckman (in the past)," he said. "Bomber's basically said this is the way we want to go and we've gone more long and direct.
"That means I've got to try and be there for the contested marks and make a contest of everything. I haven't got the biggest jump, so I've got to play to my strengths - my body and size."
King's father, Ashleigh, who played 200 games in the country, said his son was revelling in the club's positive vibes, another reason for his success in 2000.
The King family is there in a support role, too, albeit from a distance.
Ashleigh, Leonie, brothers Michael and Troy, and sister Kylie are in the Geelong crowd whenever they can be.
"We're a pretty close family," Ashleigh said. "My wife and I try to balance the time supporting all the kids and it is great to watch them in whatever they do."
Round, his former mentor and friend, follows King's career intently.
"You can tell I'm a bit of a fan," he said.
"As long as people don't expect him to be a Polly Farmer overnight, it will be all right. He's a great kid and I'm sure he's got a great future."
If King continues on that steep learning curve, as most expect him to, there is little doubt the adulation this time around will be more permanent and the rewards so much sweeter.
By GLENN MCFARLANE IN MELBOURNE.
30 April 2000
Sunday Mail
He once was the man who would be king. Only now that Steven King has been anointed Geelong's No. 1 ruckman is he making his presence felt. IT is the middle of winter, 1998, and the premature adulation that once surrounded Geelong teenager Steven King is a fading memory.
After a stellar start to his AFL career in 1996 and '97, King is feeling depressed at breaking his arm for the second time in a season, this time in a routine training drill.
Mentally, he is drained by his 2 1/2 seasons in the sometimes cruel, unrelenting hit-or-be-hit world of AFL ruckmen. Just as importantly, perhaps even more crucial, King is missing his family and friends in the Victorian country town of Shepparton, and contemplating a permanent return.
Openly gregarious and easygoing, King is anything but as he sits down with Geelong officials to tell them he is considering throwing in a career that he has dreamt about since he was a kid, a big kid.
Almost from the time he was born, King was destined for big things. His parents, Leonie and Ashleigh, were told by doctors when he was only two weeks old that King "would be big, very big".
He wore size 15 boots from the time he was 15, and such were the size of his feet his mum had to chase down a pair of cricket spikes from a bemused cobbler in Adelaide.
But for a time in 1998, King is left wondering whether it is all worth it, being away from his family and mates.
He even writes a letter to his mother around this time, detailing his homesickness. Fortunately, for all concerned, he never posts it.
"I was feeling pretty down at the time and there was a stage when I was thinking about going home," King recalled last week.
"When I first went to Geelong (in late 1995), everyone thought I was a big man and would probably take some time to develop. But, all of a sudden, I played 13 games in 1996 and replaced Barnesy (John Barnes) the next year when he broke his arm.
"I played 22 games that season, but I probably wasn't ready mentally or physically.
"I went through that bad period in 1998 when things got tough. I had a few injuries and my form was not great. Footy was taking over my life and my family and friends were a long way away."
Fast forward to Round 4, 2000, at Colonial Stadium. King looks the same, his feet are still size 15, but mentally and physically he exudes the sort of aggression some rival clubs questioned he had, but those close to him never doubted.
For the fourth straight week, he performs great deeds on the field in his newly defined role as Geelong's No 1 ruckman, without the spectre of Barnes hanging over him.
His performance leaves his former ruck coach, 1981 Brownlow medallist Barry Round, with a look of satisfaction etched across his face.
"I was very impressed with him," Round said afterwards. "Steven attacked the ball hard and made the others look pretty ordinary."
The "others" were dual premiership duo Matthew Capuano and Corey McKernan, no slouches in the ruck department.
"He knows he has to be more aggressive," Round said.
"He's the No 1 man now and he has the confidence to stand up to them. I'm not talking about going out and belting them (other ruckmen), it's just about being more aggressive."
So what has transformed this genial giant with the easygoing nature into one of the AFL's in-form, more aggressive ruckmen this season?
King admits it is a combination of many things.
For a start, he has a clearer picture of what his role is at Shell Stadium.
He is also eager to repay the Cats for their continual support, even through the tough times, since plucking him from the Murray Bushrangers as a raw 16-year-old, with a compensation pick for losing Stephen O'Reilly.
Fitness is another key point. In '98, he suffered two broken arms and an ankle injury and then last year played the season with a nagging Achilles injury.
"I couldn't train during the week and there were three or four games when I had to have cortisone injections just to get out there and play," King said.
There have been many theories as to why King appeared to stagnate after his rapid rise in '96 and '97, un upsurge that caused Kevin Bartlett to describe him as a future Brownlow medallist and the best young ruckman since Len Thompson.
The most obvious one is that people seem to forget he is still only 21 and generally ruckmen take longer to develop their body and their game.
He is still developing the tricks of the trade, said his new ruck coach, Peter "Crackers" Keenan.
However, several rival AFL clubs believed it was not injuries and inconsistent form which were hindering his progress, but more his inexperience, his easygoing nature and a perceived lack of "mongrel".
Some clubs put him to the test physically, telling their ruckmen to play close to him and try to intimidate him.
Others wondered whether the constant chopping and changing of King and Barnes in the ruck in the past few years was holding him back.
That problem was forever erased from the equation last October when new Geelong coach Mark Thompson took a broom to the club's culture, demanding a fresh start.
This partly resulted in the axing of King's rival for the coveted ruck role, Barnes, who finds himself back at Essendon playing good footy.
"Kingy was in the gym the day we let Barnesy go," Thompson said. "I went in and told him it was his position, his role.
"He stayed in there for another hour after I'd told him.
"I reckon footy is all about opportunities. You look at history, a lot of players get to play because of someone else's bad luck. Once the door of opportunity opens, players usually take it, and hopefully Steven has done that this year."
A change of lifestyle and eating habits (pasta and stir-fry on the menu) took King's skin-fold levels to best-ever ratings.
In the first four home-and-away rounds, King was listed in Geelong's best players in the three wins against Fremantle, St Kilda and Adelaide, and the five-point loss to the Kangaroos.
He has averaged almost 19 kicks a match. He is also averaging 14 hit-outs a game and has taken 25 marks so far this year.
Perhaps the most amazing statistic involving King is the fact APB Sports lists him as equal second in the competition in out-of-centre clearances, behind Fremantle's Adrian Fletcher. Not bad for a 202cm player!
Importantly, King has confronted head-on any suggestion that he is not as physical as a ruckman should be.
Thompson believes King has hardened up significantly this season.
"I think the whole team has developed that," Thompson said. "Steven needed to improve in that area and he's shown us that already.
"It's a very daunting position to have to go up 40 times in the air and get hit. Sometimes it's only fair that he does a bit of the hitting."
King attributes much of the credit to "Bomber" Thompson for his improvement.
"I haven't really played like a true ruckman (in the past)," he said. "Bomber's basically said this is the way we want to go and we've gone more long and direct.
"That means I've got to try and be there for the contested marks and make a contest of everything. I haven't got the biggest jump, so I've got to play to my strengths - my body and size."
King's father, Ashleigh, who played 200 games in the country, said his son was revelling in the club's positive vibes, another reason for his success in 2000.
The King family is there in a support role, too, albeit from a distance.
Ashleigh, Leonie, brothers Michael and Troy, and sister Kylie are in the Geelong crowd whenever they can be.
"We're a pretty close family," Ashleigh said. "My wife and I try to balance the time supporting all the kids and it is great to watch them in whatever they do."
Round, his former mentor and friend, follows King's career intently.
"You can tell I'm a bit of a fan," he said.
"As long as people don't expect him to be a Polly Farmer overnight, it will be all right. He's a great kid and I'm sure he's got a great future."
If King continues on that steep learning curve, as most expect him to, there is little doubt the adulation this time around will be more permanent and the rewards so much sweeter.
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
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Riewoldting
- SS Life Member
- Posts: 2883
- Joined: Thu 05 May 2005 1:34am
- Location: Perth WA
BE PREPARED
Jake Niall, Peter Hanlon
11 June 2000
Sunday Age
THE first, misleading impression of Steven King is of a typical Geelong player. He's a laconic, affable, laid-back country kid with a sturdy frame and terrific football talent. The stereotypical Geelong player is a boy from the bush whose nonchalant talent is matched by a carefree spirit. They can pull down big grabs and kick the ball over wheat silos, as Billy Brownless did once.
Ken Hinkley, the Camperdown recruit who didn't like Melbourne and left Fitzroy, fitted our image of what a Geelong player should be - rural, gifted, with a touch of flair, but not necessarily fanatical about the game. Hinkley retired somewhat prematurely and returned home to play in the Hampden League.
The "typical'' Geelong player plays by instinct rather than rigid team rules. He is likeable and, perhaps, football isn't the be all and end all for him. He can always return to the farm or to coach and run the pub in his home town. The "typical'' Geelong player, of course, is not a premiership player.
King seems like one of these Geelong bush boys. He is affable and appears unaffected by football stardom. He has that casual country drawl. His father was once a dairy farmer near Shepparton (who now works as an excavator in Shepparton) and one can imagine the strapping son directing bovine traffic in a paddock. "There's a fair bit of him country in him,'' Geelong's new coach Mark Thompson said.
But don't be fooled by the laid-back, friendly demeanor. Yes, King is a nice bush bloke, but he is also a thinker who is intense about football. He prepares extensively for each game. He writes dossiers on all his opponents and watches videos to pick up their little chinks and tricks.
Geelong assistant coach Alan McConnell, who coaches the club's onball division and spends much of his time working with King, said King also prepares notes on his role for each game - his own personal game plan. McConnell said King would know his statistical ranking, in every category, in comparison to rival ruckmen.
So, King is far from the "typical'' Geelong player. Can you imagine, say, Bruce Lindner preparing essays on prospective opponents? King sounds more like a graduate of a David Parkin coaching academy than a laissez faire Geelong player whose idea of study is a perusal of the form guide. "He wants to be the best,'' McConnell said.
King said he and McConnell had studied the strengths of the better ruckmen in a bid to learn "why they were good at certain things''. They had examined, for instance, Scott Wynd's talent for clearing the ball himself at ball-ups and centre bounces.
The study of Wynd hasn't been an academic exercise. King has actually supplanted the Bulldog captain as the ruckman with the most clearances in the AFL this season. He ranks in the top four players in the competition for clearances overall, behind ground-level maestros Brett Ratten and Nathan Buckley. Not bad for a 202 centimetre, 106 kilogram giant whose primary task is to give smaller players the ball, rather than pick it up himself.
If Geelong is to fulfil its mission to transform its culture and become a more professional, demanding and perhaps less charming club, one senses that King will be one of the building blocks of the new hard-edged Geelong. To that end, last week he signed a new contract, doubtless for big money, that binds him to the club for another three years. King sounded like a kid who'd been given a new bike when said he was "just rapt'' to remain in Geelong, where he shares a home with teammate Darren Milburn.
King is 21 and has reached the age when the better big men begin to put it together, although they don't approach their peak until their mid to late '20s. He is experienced for a 21-year-old, having joined Geelong as a 16-year-old in 1995.
The story of how King ended up at Geelong has an interesting sub-plot. The failure of other clubs to secure him was to cause rumblings, especially at Hawthorn, where passing on King is believed to have contributed to the sacking (and subsequent wrongful dismissal suits) of the Hawks' then recruiting officers, Frank Davis and Chris Pelchen.
King was not recruited through the draft but, like Matthew Lloyd, he was acquired as a 16-year-old compensation pick for Geelong losing Stephen O'Rielly to Fremantle before the 1995 season. The clubs that lost players to the Dockers were entitled to pick one 16-year-old, according to reverse ladder order.
Essendon, which had the good fortune to finish 10th that season, put together a one-sided deal and picked Lloyd, the stand-out 16-year-old. Hawthorn (seventh) had the next pick as compensation for Ben Allan and, in a fateful decision, selected David McEwan, who did not play a senior game, was traded to the Swans and is no longer on an AFL list. Melbourne (David Cockatoo-Collins) and the Kangaroos (Stuart Cochrane) also passed on King.
The Cats grabbed King as the fifth 16-year-old. West Coast, with the sixth choice, shrewdly chose Chad Morrison. Three clubs had passed on King and Morrison and, in Hawthorn's case, the lack of a ruckman to support and replace Paul Salmon remains a problem. Ironically, one reason that the Hawks opted for McEwan rather than King was the match committee's preference for a key position (ie, down the spine) player, of which they now have an abundance.
To the chagrin of the Hawks, King played regular senior football as a 17-year-old in 1996 and showed outstanding promise in 1997, when John Barnes broke his arm early in the season and King was forced to carry the ruck before his time. But, for periods of 1998 and early in '99, his development seemed to stall. McConnell, who was then part of the Gary Ayres coaching panel, has looked back at '97, at King's struggles in '98 and then at his rapid growth this year and concluded that King responds to responsibility. For King, the heavier burden is easier to bear.
King has developed this year to the point that he has been close to the best performed ruckman in the competition and, on form alone, would be the frontrunner for the ruck spot in the all-Australian team. Today's contest with Carlton's Matthew Allan, last year's all-Australian follower, offers a significant sideshow to the main event. For at least a few weeks, the winner of the duel will be 2000's heavyweight rucking champion.
McConnell thinks the turning point for King was in the middle of last year, when Geelong was in the midst of that horrific, nine-match losing streak and Ayres decided to remove him from the shadow of Barnes, who was destined to be delisted at season's end in a parting that was to benefit four parties: Barnes, his "new'' club Essendon, Geelong and King.
King remembers Thompson, who had just taken over, telling him that Barnes was leaving and that henceforth he would be the man. "I remember Bomber telling me in the gym when he first came. He said `it's there for you now, so make sure you grab it. Make the most of the opportunity'.'' How did King feel? "I was rapt, I suppose.''
Thompson said before he came to Geelong, he viewed King as "a young player with a lot of ability'' who had never managed to string good games together. King, said the coach, had displayed "more potential than performance''. Thompson has since been happy to discover that his building block is a "level-headed'' young man. "He has a good perspective.''
McConnell said King's self-perception has changed over the past 12months. King had always been a good social mixer with teammates, but, in McConnell's words, he "tip-toed'' around the club and would "snake through the corridor'' like a shy lad in the football department. Now, McConnell detects self-assurance in the way King carries himself. "He's got a much greater confidence in himself.''
Experience and confidence. They are the inevitable ingredients in most players' maturation. King has more than 70 games behind him and saids he now feels that if he "does everything right'' he is capable of beating his opponent. "Whereas, in the past, maybe I probably worried a bit too much about who I was up against that week and the confidence is probably a bit of a factor.''
These days, it's the opposition that has something to worry about, as it confronts a very large, skilful 21-year-old who has a plan and does his homework. -- JAKE NIALL
Jake Niall, Peter Hanlon
11 June 2000
Sunday Age
THE first, misleading impression of Steven King is of a typical Geelong player. He's a laconic, affable, laid-back country kid with a sturdy frame and terrific football talent. The stereotypical Geelong player is a boy from the bush whose nonchalant talent is matched by a carefree spirit. They can pull down big grabs and kick the ball over wheat silos, as Billy Brownless did once.
Ken Hinkley, the Camperdown recruit who didn't like Melbourne and left Fitzroy, fitted our image of what a Geelong player should be - rural, gifted, with a touch of flair, but not necessarily fanatical about the game. Hinkley retired somewhat prematurely and returned home to play in the Hampden League.
The "typical'' Geelong player plays by instinct rather than rigid team rules. He is likeable and, perhaps, football isn't the be all and end all for him. He can always return to the farm or to coach and run the pub in his home town. The "typical'' Geelong player, of course, is not a premiership player.
King seems like one of these Geelong bush boys. He is affable and appears unaffected by football stardom. He has that casual country drawl. His father was once a dairy farmer near Shepparton (who now works as an excavator in Shepparton) and one can imagine the strapping son directing bovine traffic in a paddock. "There's a fair bit of him country in him,'' Geelong's new coach Mark Thompson said.
But don't be fooled by the laid-back, friendly demeanor. Yes, King is a nice bush bloke, but he is also a thinker who is intense about football. He prepares extensively for each game. He writes dossiers on all his opponents and watches videos to pick up their little chinks and tricks.
Geelong assistant coach Alan McConnell, who coaches the club's onball division and spends much of his time working with King, said King also prepares notes on his role for each game - his own personal game plan. McConnell said King would know his statistical ranking, in every category, in comparison to rival ruckmen.
So, King is far from the "typical'' Geelong player. Can you imagine, say, Bruce Lindner preparing essays on prospective opponents? King sounds more like a graduate of a David Parkin coaching academy than a laissez faire Geelong player whose idea of study is a perusal of the form guide. "He wants to be the best,'' McConnell said.
King said he and McConnell had studied the strengths of the better ruckmen in a bid to learn "why they were good at certain things''. They had examined, for instance, Scott Wynd's talent for clearing the ball himself at ball-ups and centre bounces.
The study of Wynd hasn't been an academic exercise. King has actually supplanted the Bulldog captain as the ruckman with the most clearances in the AFL this season. He ranks in the top four players in the competition for clearances overall, behind ground-level maestros Brett Ratten and Nathan Buckley. Not bad for a 202 centimetre, 106 kilogram giant whose primary task is to give smaller players the ball, rather than pick it up himself.
If Geelong is to fulfil its mission to transform its culture and become a more professional, demanding and perhaps less charming club, one senses that King will be one of the building blocks of the new hard-edged Geelong. To that end, last week he signed a new contract, doubtless for big money, that binds him to the club for another three years. King sounded like a kid who'd been given a new bike when said he was "just rapt'' to remain in Geelong, where he shares a home with teammate Darren Milburn.
King is 21 and has reached the age when the better big men begin to put it together, although they don't approach their peak until their mid to late '20s. He is experienced for a 21-year-old, having joined Geelong as a 16-year-old in 1995.
The story of how King ended up at Geelong has an interesting sub-plot. The failure of other clubs to secure him was to cause rumblings, especially at Hawthorn, where passing on King is believed to have contributed to the sacking (and subsequent wrongful dismissal suits) of the Hawks' then recruiting officers, Frank Davis and Chris Pelchen.
King was not recruited through the draft but, like Matthew Lloyd, he was acquired as a 16-year-old compensation pick for Geelong losing Stephen O'Rielly to Fremantle before the 1995 season. The clubs that lost players to the Dockers were entitled to pick one 16-year-old, according to reverse ladder order.
Essendon, which had the good fortune to finish 10th that season, put together a one-sided deal and picked Lloyd, the stand-out 16-year-old. Hawthorn (seventh) had the next pick as compensation for Ben Allan and, in a fateful decision, selected David McEwan, who did not play a senior game, was traded to the Swans and is no longer on an AFL list. Melbourne (David Cockatoo-Collins) and the Kangaroos (Stuart Cochrane) also passed on King.
The Cats grabbed King as the fifth 16-year-old. West Coast, with the sixth choice, shrewdly chose Chad Morrison. Three clubs had passed on King and Morrison and, in Hawthorn's case, the lack of a ruckman to support and replace Paul Salmon remains a problem. Ironically, one reason that the Hawks opted for McEwan rather than King was the match committee's preference for a key position (ie, down the spine) player, of which they now have an abundance.
To the chagrin of the Hawks, King played regular senior football as a 17-year-old in 1996 and showed outstanding promise in 1997, when John Barnes broke his arm early in the season and King was forced to carry the ruck before his time. But, for periods of 1998 and early in '99, his development seemed to stall. McConnell, who was then part of the Gary Ayres coaching panel, has looked back at '97, at King's struggles in '98 and then at his rapid growth this year and concluded that King responds to responsibility. For King, the heavier burden is easier to bear.
King has developed this year to the point that he has been close to the best performed ruckman in the competition and, on form alone, would be the frontrunner for the ruck spot in the all-Australian team. Today's contest with Carlton's Matthew Allan, last year's all-Australian follower, offers a significant sideshow to the main event. For at least a few weeks, the winner of the duel will be 2000's heavyweight rucking champion.
McConnell thinks the turning point for King was in the middle of last year, when Geelong was in the midst of that horrific, nine-match losing streak and Ayres decided to remove him from the shadow of Barnes, who was destined to be delisted at season's end in a parting that was to benefit four parties: Barnes, his "new'' club Essendon, Geelong and King.
King remembers Thompson, who had just taken over, telling him that Barnes was leaving and that henceforth he would be the man. "I remember Bomber telling me in the gym when he first came. He said `it's there for you now, so make sure you grab it. Make the most of the opportunity'.'' How did King feel? "I was rapt, I suppose.''
Thompson said before he came to Geelong, he viewed King as "a young player with a lot of ability'' who had never managed to string good games together. King, said the coach, had displayed "more potential than performance''. Thompson has since been happy to discover that his building block is a "level-headed'' young man. "He has a good perspective.''
McConnell said King's self-perception has changed over the past 12months. King had always been a good social mixer with teammates, but, in McConnell's words, he "tip-toed'' around the club and would "snake through the corridor'' like a shy lad in the football department. Now, McConnell detects self-assurance in the way King carries himself. "He's got a much greater confidence in himself.''
Experience and confidence. They are the inevitable ingredients in most players' maturation. King has more than 70 games behind him and saids he now feels that if he "does everything right'' he is capable of beating his opponent. "Whereas, in the past, maybe I probably worried a bit too much about who I was up against that week and the confidence is probably a bit of a factor.''
These days, it's the opposition that has something to worry about, as it confronts a very large, skilful 21-year-old who has a plan and does his homework. -- JAKE NIALL
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
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Riewoldting
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KING of the KIDS.
By JOHN ANDERSON.
27 July 2002
Herald-Sun
Steven King stands head and shoulders above his teammates and this season has consistently proven he has the talent to match. Now, with so many young faces at Geelong, the ruckman finds himself as a leader and player the Kiddy Cats look up to.
STEVEN King was tucked up tightly in his Geelong bed the night his rucking abilities were questioned on national television by Sam Newman.
Newman, picked as a ruckman in Geelong's Team of the Century in 2001, used King as a catalyst to deliver a monumental verbal spray to an old rucking opponent, Peter "Crackers" Keenan.
King was the innocent victim, dragged in as a couple of old dinosaurs went head to head to settle some old scores.
The date was May 23, eight weeks into the season, and Newman's pre-meditated opinion suggested the career of 23-year-old King was going nowhere.
Apart from labelling Keenan an "embarrassment, fool and imposter", Newman added he was holding back King's career.
"Give Steven King a chance to resurrect his career ... you're holding a great man back," advised Newman.
The bush telegraph being what it is, King awoke the next morning to find himself at the centre of a verbal stoush that at one stage was headed for the courts.
His focus was momentarily shifted from the job at hand, one that involved facing Luke Darcy of the Western Bulldogs at Skilled Stadium the next day.
A self-effacing young man from Shepparton, King knew his start to the season had been "a little bit slow", but he was surprised at the ferocity of Newman's attack on a man he regards as a friend and mentor.
"I go up to Melbourne off my own bat to see `Crackers' and he helps me," said King this week.
"He's also very honest and tells me when I've gone shithouse.
"I heard from other people what he'd (Newman) said ... I've only met him once and never see him down here.
"You take it personally whenever your name is mentioned, but I accept criticism now a lot better and try and do something about it.
"I suppose it did spur me on a bit."
Whether Newman was the spur or not, history shows that King's past eight games have been a key ingredient in Geelong's lofty position of fifth on the AFL ladder.
By Herald Sun voting alone, King has been judged best afield in three of those eight games, with his performance against Collingwood judged second best.
It has lifted him to fourth favourite in the Brownlow Medal and, in the eyes of his coach Mark Thompson, his form is a natural progression.
"Steven has learnt more about the fine art of being a ruckman," Thompson said.
"When I first started (in 2000) he was ready to go, but I didn't know how aerobic he was and I don't think he realised how much potential he had.
"He was on his way last year, but this year there has been a smaller gap between his best and worst."
THE Steven King story began in Shepparton on November 22, 1978, the second child of Ashleigh and Leonie King. He grew up with his older sister Kylie, 24 and younger brothers Michael, 22, and Troy, 19.
His arrival created a problem for his parents that would remain until he left for Geelong at age 16, and that was finding clothes and shoes that fitted the boy born to be tallest in his class.
"His sister Kylie is quite small, but by five weeks Steven's head was rubbing against the bassinet and we had to move him," recalled his mother Leonie.
"He always wore the same size shoe as his age until he reached 16, and I can still remember trying to find some cricket boots for him when he was 15.
"I stapled two foolscap sheets together and took his footprint, then sent it off to a bootmaker in Adelaide."
Steven was born on a dairy farm just outside Shepparton, but in 1981 Ashleigh King packed up and moved the family to the Victorian south-east beachside township of Merimbula.
The Kings lived there for eight years before moving back to Shepparton and setting up a bob-cat business, which they still run today.
As a Year 5 and 6 student at a Shepparton Primary School, King, a quiet and friendly lad, was popular with his classmates, including a girl named Kate Dobson.
The two lost touch when Kate went off to boarding school in Year 8, but they ran into each other at a Melbourne party three years ago.
Now they go out together, with Kate working as a pharmacist in Melbourne.
But ask King too much and he'll politely decline any further intrusions into his private life, continuing to speak out of courtesy but not saying too much at the same time.
Unlike his mother and sister, who have been life-long Geelong fans, King followed his father into supporting the black and red of Essendon.
He lists the obligatory trio of Terry Daniher, Simon Madden and Tim Watson as three of his heroes, before coyly admitting his now coach Mark "Bomber" Thompson was also "up there".
His mother takes it a step further: "Steven had a poster of `Bomber' up on his bedroom wall.
"Those kids down at Geelong, they all think the world of `Bomber'.
"He's always picking positives out of a game and doesn't blast the boys like some coaches do.
"And when he's interviewed he has this habit of grinning and pausing ... it's a lovely way."
LEONIE King adds that her son now has some of the country kids around to his home for dinner, remembering what it is like to leave home as a teenager.
It's all part of a process that has King being spoken about as a future captain of the club, something he naturally aspires to should it ever come about.
His coach believes leadership does not necessarily come naturally to King, although notes he's developing. "He's not a stand-out natural leader and he doesn't see himself that way," Thompson said.
"But he's assuming more responsibilities on and off the field."
When asked about his leadership aspirations, King keeps his diplomatic hat on.
"Obviously it would be a great honour, and if I was given a chance one day, it would be great.
"When I was young I was a captain because I was bigger, which meant I tossed the coin.
"A lot of leadership is how you train and what you do on the weekend, the level at what you train hopefully rubs off on the younger guys."
King understands that his God-given build gives him a head start, although is also aware he can learn to use his strength to more advantage.
"It's probably taken a while for me to realise my size, it's (aggression) is something I can still improve on," King said.
"Ayresy (former Geelong coach Gary Ayres) used to say to me one day you're going to wake up and realise you can play at this level and be confident enough.
"He said, `You're big and strong enough to give the game a shake', but it's probably taken me a couple of years since he left to realise that.
"You don't have to go belting blokes to be aggressive."
Part of King's maturity sees him now regard himself in the middle group of players age-wise. He believes the current mix is well on the way to setting Geelong up as a strong side in the next decade.
Yes, he was well aware of the doom and gloom predicted by the cynics, with the wooden spoon ready to be sent down to Sleepy Hollow.
But he knew his maligned club had a solid group of experienced top liners in Ronnie Burns, Ben Graham, Peter Riccardi and Brenton Sanderson.
He also knew the next group, to which he belonged as a young veteran of six seasons, was ready to take the next step.
Players such as David Clarke, Tom Harley, Kent Kingsley, Darren Milburn, Cameron Mooney, James Rahilly, Matthew Scarlett and David Wojcinski were not long past their 21sts and ready for consistent senior action.
YET it was the group below them that made King realise his club was on the verge of some exciting times.
"Jimmy (Bartel) didn't stand out on the track athletics-wise, not like Spriggsy (David Spriggs), who can run a 16 beep.
"It wasn't until the first couple of intra-clubs that you think `Geez, Bartel just has a crack and he's so hard at it'.
"He's a footballer. I didn't know how `Gazza' (Ablett Jr) would go with all the pressure on him, and I'm just amazed how level-headed he is.
"He keeps playing well every week, in the twos as well, his hands in close and he can go and get the ball as well.
"James Kelly I knew was rated pretty highly and then I saw him. He could run all day, take a mark and was also hard at it.
"I was amazed at some of the things Steve Johnson did in the twos and now he's doing it in the ones.
"David Wojcinski has always been pretty quick, but now he's getting confidence to take them on. This year was a bit of a make-or-break year for him. I think he's responded to the new boys putting pressure on him.
"Jarad Rooke is another, hard at it and hard running, a player who came from nowhere."
"But it's not just the younger blokes ... the senior players Benny (Graham) and Ricco (Peter Riccardi) said at the start of the year `We haven't got years to wait around to play in the finals'.
"And then there's the groups within the group, which in my case are players like Kent Kingsley, Matthew Scarlett and Cameron Mooney."
King said the mood at Skilled Stadium was infectious, and admitted to never having enjoyed his footy as much.
No doubt that has a lot to do with his current physical condition, which sees him the fittest he's ever been.
He admitted in his early years he sometimes got caught up in the social aspect.
It's an area he has consciously targeted in the past two years, reducing his body fat while increasing his muscle, mainly through his diet and training. His training program in 2002 has been lightened by coach Thompson after a concern he was overdoing it last year, particularly when he has to run out an entire game on the ball.
Certainly there is no hint of staleness in King, a football never leaving his hands during the hour he spent for this interview. "Footy can go on a bit in the winter, it's cold, it's wet, but we can't wait for each game," King said.
He said the win over Carlton, when Riccardi goaled after the siren, provided the self-belief that shone through the next week when Geelong came from 28 points down in the last quarter.
While King believes "the culture is really good at Geelong now", he was quick to point out they are far from a bunch of tee-totallers and like to celebrate as a group.
He's aware of just how hard the successful North Melbourne sides of the 1990s played and partied, and seems determined to see a similar closeness develop at Geelong, with the emphasis slightly less on the partying.
OUTSIDE football, King owns some land in Torquay - where Scarlett is building a house - and hopes to move to the coastal town.
While his 202cm and 105kg frame is not ideal for the Jan Juc waves, King can be seen over summer riding a long board he borrows from a mate.
He is thinking about life after the AFL by furthering himself in business. He and Kingsley will soon open a business known as Boost Juice in Southgate.
But for those hoping King has peaked in his chosen profession, the reality is there is plenty of improvement left.
He's working on carrying the ball more, showing more poise when he gets it and in the best traditions of another Cats ruckman, Graham "Polly" Farmer, learning to handball to his host of fleet-footed onballers.
His statistics are impressive, with no other ruckman averaging more than the 11 kicks King picks up a game, while only Luke Darcy (20) has more than the 17 disposals King averages a game.
His 398 hit-outs or 25 per game puts him well clear of Jeff White (21) and Matthew Primus (17) and he's a more than useful tackler for a big man.
Where he knows he needs to improve is in the area of contested marks, a skill that would enable him to spend more time in the forward line.
From spending time in his company, you leave with the belief that King will work on his game to the point where he becomes a prolific pack mark.
It will be done quietly, as such is the King way, but it will be done. And with it will ride Geelong, in much the same way as Matthew Primus and Port Adelaide ride together.
By JOHN ANDERSON.
27 July 2002
Herald-Sun
Steven King stands head and shoulders above his teammates and this season has consistently proven he has the talent to match. Now, with so many young faces at Geelong, the ruckman finds himself as a leader and player the Kiddy Cats look up to.
STEVEN King was tucked up tightly in his Geelong bed the night his rucking abilities were questioned on national television by Sam Newman.
Newman, picked as a ruckman in Geelong's Team of the Century in 2001, used King as a catalyst to deliver a monumental verbal spray to an old rucking opponent, Peter "Crackers" Keenan.
King was the innocent victim, dragged in as a couple of old dinosaurs went head to head to settle some old scores.
The date was May 23, eight weeks into the season, and Newman's pre-meditated opinion suggested the career of 23-year-old King was going nowhere.
Apart from labelling Keenan an "embarrassment, fool and imposter", Newman added he was holding back King's career.
"Give Steven King a chance to resurrect his career ... you're holding a great man back," advised Newman.
The bush telegraph being what it is, King awoke the next morning to find himself at the centre of a verbal stoush that at one stage was headed for the courts.
His focus was momentarily shifted from the job at hand, one that involved facing Luke Darcy of the Western Bulldogs at Skilled Stadium the next day.
A self-effacing young man from Shepparton, King knew his start to the season had been "a little bit slow", but he was surprised at the ferocity of Newman's attack on a man he regards as a friend and mentor.
"I go up to Melbourne off my own bat to see `Crackers' and he helps me," said King this week.
"He's also very honest and tells me when I've gone shithouse.
"I heard from other people what he'd (Newman) said ... I've only met him once and never see him down here.
"You take it personally whenever your name is mentioned, but I accept criticism now a lot better and try and do something about it.
"I suppose it did spur me on a bit."
Whether Newman was the spur or not, history shows that King's past eight games have been a key ingredient in Geelong's lofty position of fifth on the AFL ladder.
By Herald Sun voting alone, King has been judged best afield in three of those eight games, with his performance against Collingwood judged second best.
It has lifted him to fourth favourite in the Brownlow Medal and, in the eyes of his coach Mark Thompson, his form is a natural progression.
"Steven has learnt more about the fine art of being a ruckman," Thompson said.
"When I first started (in 2000) he was ready to go, but I didn't know how aerobic he was and I don't think he realised how much potential he had.
"He was on his way last year, but this year there has been a smaller gap between his best and worst."
THE Steven King story began in Shepparton on November 22, 1978, the second child of Ashleigh and Leonie King. He grew up with his older sister Kylie, 24 and younger brothers Michael, 22, and Troy, 19.
His arrival created a problem for his parents that would remain until he left for Geelong at age 16, and that was finding clothes and shoes that fitted the boy born to be tallest in his class.
"His sister Kylie is quite small, but by five weeks Steven's head was rubbing against the bassinet and we had to move him," recalled his mother Leonie.
"He always wore the same size shoe as his age until he reached 16, and I can still remember trying to find some cricket boots for him when he was 15.
"I stapled two foolscap sheets together and took his footprint, then sent it off to a bootmaker in Adelaide."
Steven was born on a dairy farm just outside Shepparton, but in 1981 Ashleigh King packed up and moved the family to the Victorian south-east beachside township of Merimbula.
The Kings lived there for eight years before moving back to Shepparton and setting up a bob-cat business, which they still run today.
As a Year 5 and 6 student at a Shepparton Primary School, King, a quiet and friendly lad, was popular with his classmates, including a girl named Kate Dobson.
The two lost touch when Kate went off to boarding school in Year 8, but they ran into each other at a Melbourne party three years ago.
Now they go out together, with Kate working as a pharmacist in Melbourne.
But ask King too much and he'll politely decline any further intrusions into his private life, continuing to speak out of courtesy but not saying too much at the same time.
Unlike his mother and sister, who have been life-long Geelong fans, King followed his father into supporting the black and red of Essendon.
He lists the obligatory trio of Terry Daniher, Simon Madden and Tim Watson as three of his heroes, before coyly admitting his now coach Mark "Bomber" Thompson was also "up there".
His mother takes it a step further: "Steven had a poster of `Bomber' up on his bedroom wall.
"Those kids down at Geelong, they all think the world of `Bomber'.
"He's always picking positives out of a game and doesn't blast the boys like some coaches do.
"And when he's interviewed he has this habit of grinning and pausing ... it's a lovely way."
LEONIE King adds that her son now has some of the country kids around to his home for dinner, remembering what it is like to leave home as a teenager.
It's all part of a process that has King being spoken about as a future captain of the club, something he naturally aspires to should it ever come about.
His coach believes leadership does not necessarily come naturally to King, although notes he's developing. "He's not a stand-out natural leader and he doesn't see himself that way," Thompson said.
"But he's assuming more responsibilities on and off the field."
When asked about his leadership aspirations, King keeps his diplomatic hat on.
"Obviously it would be a great honour, and if I was given a chance one day, it would be great.
"When I was young I was a captain because I was bigger, which meant I tossed the coin.
"A lot of leadership is how you train and what you do on the weekend, the level at what you train hopefully rubs off on the younger guys."
King understands that his God-given build gives him a head start, although is also aware he can learn to use his strength to more advantage.
"It's probably taken a while for me to realise my size, it's (aggression) is something I can still improve on," King said.
"Ayresy (former Geelong coach Gary Ayres) used to say to me one day you're going to wake up and realise you can play at this level and be confident enough.
"He said, `You're big and strong enough to give the game a shake', but it's probably taken me a couple of years since he left to realise that.
"You don't have to go belting blokes to be aggressive."
Part of King's maturity sees him now regard himself in the middle group of players age-wise. He believes the current mix is well on the way to setting Geelong up as a strong side in the next decade.
Yes, he was well aware of the doom and gloom predicted by the cynics, with the wooden spoon ready to be sent down to Sleepy Hollow.
But he knew his maligned club had a solid group of experienced top liners in Ronnie Burns, Ben Graham, Peter Riccardi and Brenton Sanderson.
He also knew the next group, to which he belonged as a young veteran of six seasons, was ready to take the next step.
Players such as David Clarke, Tom Harley, Kent Kingsley, Darren Milburn, Cameron Mooney, James Rahilly, Matthew Scarlett and David Wojcinski were not long past their 21sts and ready for consistent senior action.
YET it was the group below them that made King realise his club was on the verge of some exciting times.
"Jimmy (Bartel) didn't stand out on the track athletics-wise, not like Spriggsy (David Spriggs), who can run a 16 beep.
"It wasn't until the first couple of intra-clubs that you think `Geez, Bartel just has a crack and he's so hard at it'.
"He's a footballer. I didn't know how `Gazza' (Ablett Jr) would go with all the pressure on him, and I'm just amazed how level-headed he is.
"He keeps playing well every week, in the twos as well, his hands in close and he can go and get the ball as well.
"James Kelly I knew was rated pretty highly and then I saw him. He could run all day, take a mark and was also hard at it.
"I was amazed at some of the things Steve Johnson did in the twos and now he's doing it in the ones.
"David Wojcinski has always been pretty quick, but now he's getting confidence to take them on. This year was a bit of a make-or-break year for him. I think he's responded to the new boys putting pressure on him.
"Jarad Rooke is another, hard at it and hard running, a player who came from nowhere."
"But it's not just the younger blokes ... the senior players Benny (Graham) and Ricco (Peter Riccardi) said at the start of the year `We haven't got years to wait around to play in the finals'.
"And then there's the groups within the group, which in my case are players like Kent Kingsley, Matthew Scarlett and Cameron Mooney."
King said the mood at Skilled Stadium was infectious, and admitted to never having enjoyed his footy as much.
No doubt that has a lot to do with his current physical condition, which sees him the fittest he's ever been.
He admitted in his early years he sometimes got caught up in the social aspect.
It's an area he has consciously targeted in the past two years, reducing his body fat while increasing his muscle, mainly through his diet and training. His training program in 2002 has been lightened by coach Thompson after a concern he was overdoing it last year, particularly when he has to run out an entire game on the ball.
Certainly there is no hint of staleness in King, a football never leaving his hands during the hour he spent for this interview. "Footy can go on a bit in the winter, it's cold, it's wet, but we can't wait for each game," King said.
He said the win over Carlton, when Riccardi goaled after the siren, provided the self-belief that shone through the next week when Geelong came from 28 points down in the last quarter.
While King believes "the culture is really good at Geelong now", he was quick to point out they are far from a bunch of tee-totallers and like to celebrate as a group.
He's aware of just how hard the successful North Melbourne sides of the 1990s played and partied, and seems determined to see a similar closeness develop at Geelong, with the emphasis slightly less on the partying.
OUTSIDE football, King owns some land in Torquay - where Scarlett is building a house - and hopes to move to the coastal town.
While his 202cm and 105kg frame is not ideal for the Jan Juc waves, King can be seen over summer riding a long board he borrows from a mate.
He is thinking about life after the AFL by furthering himself in business. He and Kingsley will soon open a business known as Boost Juice in Southgate.
But for those hoping King has peaked in his chosen profession, the reality is there is plenty of improvement left.
He's working on carrying the ball more, showing more poise when he gets it and in the best traditions of another Cats ruckman, Graham "Polly" Farmer, learning to handball to his host of fleet-footed onballers.
His statistics are impressive, with no other ruckman averaging more than the 11 kicks King picks up a game, while only Luke Darcy (20) has more than the 17 disposals King averages a game.
His 398 hit-outs or 25 per game puts him well clear of Jeff White (21) and Matthew Primus (17) and he's a more than useful tackler for a big man.
Where he knows he needs to improve is in the area of contested marks, a skill that would enable him to spend more time in the forward line.
From spending time in his company, you leave with the belief that King will work on his game to the point where he becomes a prolific pack mark.
It will be done quietly, as such is the King way, but it will be done. And with it will ride Geelong, in much the same way as Matthew Primus and Port Adelaide ride together.
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
-
Riewoldting
- SS Life Member
- Posts: 2883
- Joined: Thu 05 May 2005 1:34am
- Location: Perth WA
Geelong's King of ruck and roll
Chip le Grand
The Australian
There will be no mystery for Steven King when St Kilda throw everything at him tomorrow, reports Chip Le Grand
SOME things in football remain wonderfully, brutally simple. In an era when sport has blurred with science and production terms like "processes" and "structures" have become the favoured cliches, it is reassuring to know the value of some things, though impossible to measure, remain unchanged.
For Geelong defender Tom Harley, Steven King is a case in point. Harley could not tell you what King brings in terms of "hit-outs to advantage" or clearance rates. But he does know what it feels like to run on to a football ground behind the broadest set of shoulders on the team and a massive No.1 striped down the back.
"It is just a presence, on the field and even in the warm-ups and pre-game," Harley said. "He leads the side out, he is the biggest guy, he is No.1, he is the captain, he is Kingy. That is just the way it is and the boys really thrive when he is out there. He is a great fellow, a great leader and when he is out there, it has got to be an advantage."
Grant Thomas might beg to differ. Thomas has his own views about captaincy and, in the age-old debate about the value of ruckmen, the St Kilda coach prefers mobile ruck-replacements to traditional ruckmen like King.
As the AFL's leading advocate of the "no ruck, no worries" position, Thomas believes anything lost in hit-outs can be gained in possessions around the ground.
King has heard the argument many times before and does not take it personally. As he readily admits, Geelong were not above employing a "bash and crash" tap-dud this season when they rucked Cameron Mooney to great effect.
"I guess we showed when I was out of the side that you can get away with not having a ruckman who is getting his hand on the ball," King said this week. "You can almost have a ruck-rover who is just running around being another midfield option."
But King is convinced that over time and particularly in finals matches, rucking craft will prevail over crash.
"If you have got a first ruckman who is in good form and up and firing, you can build a side around that," King said. "If you can make the job for your midfielders a little easier by giving them a couple of possessions at the stoppages, with the pressure of big games and finals, I think it can go a big way to helping your side win.
"You can throw someone in the ruck who is going to pick up 20 possessions around the ground who is going to get smashed in the hit-outs, but I think that if you put a natural ruckman against more of an athlete, over time you will get an advantage out of the ruckman."
King does not consider himself up and firing at the moment. He has played nine out of the past 11 games, but another season frustrated by injury has left King with a close race to reach peak fitness and form before the finals series.
A chronic achilles problem robbed King of the second half of last season and much of last summer's pre-season. A recurrence before this season forced King to undergo surgery and sit out until round eight.
But as far as Harley and midfielder James Kelly are concerned, the return of King, albeit in reduced capacity, has made a crucial difference to young players heading towards their first finals campaign.
Kelly is no longer a part of Geelong's finals plans after fracturing his tibia this month. Having played in Geelong teams with and without King this season, he understands first-hand his captain's influence at ball-ups or boundary throw-ins.
"It makes it easier to attack the game," Kelly said. "It means that we can dictate terms to our opposition, rather than having to follow their ruckman and wherever he wants to hit it. I think ruckmen are only going to get more important as the years go on.
"With teams flooding back and creating more stoppages, having a ruckman who can give his midfielders first use is super important."
From his post in defence, Harley sees King's importance in slightly different terms.
"I think the value of ruckmen has probably been a bit underplayed lately because there are so many sides that are running with ruck-rover types," Harley said.
"Cameron Mooney did a great job for us, but one thing I have noticed with Kingy back in the side is he is getting first use of it and instead of the quick kick coming straight to us, we have had that quick kick go our way."
King's job description, one worked out between the captain and coach Mark Thompson, is two-fold. Lacking the match fitness and conditioning to dominate a game as he once did, King's duties are to get his hand to the ball in ruck contests and put his body in the way of opposition players. The former creates first use for players like Cameron Ling, Gary Ablett, Joel Corey and James Bartel and the latter space for them to work in.
"Basically my job is to make life easier for the midfielders," he said.
"I am not going to go out there and try to make a big statement or do anything to put extra pressure on myself.
"My goal is just for the side to play finals and we need one more win to do that. But I know that if I can get another month of footy under my belt, I will be going a lot better than I have been. You don't have to dominate games to have a presence. You just have to do your part."
St Kilda's rucking response will be as it has been all year. Trent Knobel will jump hard and early into King to nullify his tap work. When Knobel needs a rest, the 189cm Jason Blake will come off the bench and attempt to scale Geelong's man mountain.
The talented St Kilda midfield will expect King to win the taps and rove accordingly. The result will not be measured in hit-outs, but who controls the midfield and as usually follows, the game.
"All you can do is worry about yourself and your own game," King said. "You do plan for it but you just have to make sure that you are switched on and do the little things you can do to influence a game.
"Regardless of whether you have someone running with you who is just happy to negate you or you are playing on someone who is in great form, the simple footy rules apply."
Chip le Grand
The Australian
There will be no mystery for Steven King when St Kilda throw everything at him tomorrow, reports Chip Le Grand
SOME things in football remain wonderfully, brutally simple. In an era when sport has blurred with science and production terms like "processes" and "structures" have become the favoured cliches, it is reassuring to know the value of some things, though impossible to measure, remain unchanged.
For Geelong defender Tom Harley, Steven King is a case in point. Harley could not tell you what King brings in terms of "hit-outs to advantage" or clearance rates. But he does know what it feels like to run on to a football ground behind the broadest set of shoulders on the team and a massive No.1 striped down the back.
"It is just a presence, on the field and even in the warm-ups and pre-game," Harley said. "He leads the side out, he is the biggest guy, he is No.1, he is the captain, he is Kingy. That is just the way it is and the boys really thrive when he is out there. He is a great fellow, a great leader and when he is out there, it has got to be an advantage."
Grant Thomas might beg to differ. Thomas has his own views about captaincy and, in the age-old debate about the value of ruckmen, the St Kilda coach prefers mobile ruck-replacements to traditional ruckmen like King.
As the AFL's leading advocate of the "no ruck, no worries" position, Thomas believes anything lost in hit-outs can be gained in possessions around the ground.
King has heard the argument many times before and does not take it personally. As he readily admits, Geelong were not above employing a "bash and crash" tap-dud this season when they rucked Cameron Mooney to great effect.
"I guess we showed when I was out of the side that you can get away with not having a ruckman who is getting his hand on the ball," King said this week. "You can almost have a ruck-rover who is just running around being another midfield option."
But King is convinced that over time and particularly in finals matches, rucking craft will prevail over crash.
"If you have got a first ruckman who is in good form and up and firing, you can build a side around that," King said. "If you can make the job for your midfielders a little easier by giving them a couple of possessions at the stoppages, with the pressure of big games and finals, I think it can go a big way to helping your side win.
"You can throw someone in the ruck who is going to pick up 20 possessions around the ground who is going to get smashed in the hit-outs, but I think that if you put a natural ruckman against more of an athlete, over time you will get an advantage out of the ruckman."
King does not consider himself up and firing at the moment. He has played nine out of the past 11 games, but another season frustrated by injury has left King with a close race to reach peak fitness and form before the finals series.
A chronic achilles problem robbed King of the second half of last season and much of last summer's pre-season. A recurrence before this season forced King to undergo surgery and sit out until round eight.
But as far as Harley and midfielder James Kelly are concerned, the return of King, albeit in reduced capacity, has made a crucial difference to young players heading towards their first finals campaign.
Kelly is no longer a part of Geelong's finals plans after fracturing his tibia this month. Having played in Geelong teams with and without King this season, he understands first-hand his captain's influence at ball-ups or boundary throw-ins.
"It makes it easier to attack the game," Kelly said. "It means that we can dictate terms to our opposition, rather than having to follow their ruckman and wherever he wants to hit it. I think ruckmen are only going to get more important as the years go on.
"With teams flooding back and creating more stoppages, having a ruckman who can give his midfielders first use is super important."
From his post in defence, Harley sees King's importance in slightly different terms.
"I think the value of ruckmen has probably been a bit underplayed lately because there are so many sides that are running with ruck-rover types," Harley said.
"Cameron Mooney did a great job for us, but one thing I have noticed with Kingy back in the side is he is getting first use of it and instead of the quick kick coming straight to us, we have had that quick kick go our way."
King's job description, one worked out between the captain and coach Mark Thompson, is two-fold. Lacking the match fitness and conditioning to dominate a game as he once did, King's duties are to get his hand to the ball in ruck contests and put his body in the way of opposition players. The former creates first use for players like Cameron Ling, Gary Ablett, Joel Corey and James Bartel and the latter space for them to work in.
"Basically my job is to make life easier for the midfielders," he said.
"I am not going to go out there and try to make a big statement or do anything to put extra pressure on myself.
"My goal is just for the side to play finals and we need one more win to do that. But I know that if I can get another month of footy under my belt, I will be going a lot better than I have been. You don't have to dominate games to have a presence. You just have to do your part."
St Kilda's rucking response will be as it has been all year. Trent Knobel will jump hard and early into King to nullify his tap work. When Knobel needs a rest, the 189cm Jason Blake will come off the bench and attempt to scale Geelong's man mountain.
The talented St Kilda midfield will expect King to win the taps and rove accordingly. The result will not be measured in hit-outs, but who controls the midfield and as usually follows, the game.
"All you can do is worry about yourself and your own game," King said. "You do plan for it but you just have to make sure that you are switched on and do the little things you can do to influence a game.
"Regardless of whether you have someone running with you who is just happy to negate you or you are playing on someone who is in great form, the simple footy rules apply."
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
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King of Cats
ROHAN CONNOLLY
The Age
THE ROHAN CONNOLLY INTERVIEW - STEVEN KING
After the criticisms of 2005, Geelong captain Steven King looks forward to a season that even his coach concedes will make or break his captaincy
IN ORDINARY circumstances, Geelong captain Steven King could be excused for being a little down in the mouth this morning. The Cats might well pick up their first piece of football silverware for 43 years tonight in the NAB Cup grand final against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. It won't be King raising a long-sought premiership trophy should they prevail, though. His biggest contribution to the Geelong cause will come much earlier in the day when he plays half of a VFL practice match for the Cats against Williamstown at Skilled Stadium before a handful of people. It might all be a little depressing. Yet, King's circumstances are hardly normal. After the sort of 12 months the All-Australian ruckman has just endured, even an inconsequential seconds scratch match will be a big milestone."
I can't wait to get out there and play a game of footy again, just feeling good about myself, the way it should be," he says.
That hasn't been the case for a long time.
Certainly not in 2005, when the 27-year-old had more injuries, surgery, plain old bad luck and, perhaps most hurtfully, stinging personal criticism than some players might cop in an entire career.
It began with pre-season surgery to a damaged shoulder rotator cuff, which took a far greater toll than expected on King's overhead ability, and with it, much of his confidence. Then it was a back injury.
Then a calf. Then a broken finger.
As more and more Geelong players went down injured and the Cats struggled through a couple of form slumps, a team crying out for direction was being skippered by a man who couldn't lead a marching band, they chorused. It still rankles."
I got attacked personally from different parts of the media and public," King says."
Yeah, it didn't go down really well. I'm a proud sort of person and want to be the best at what I do, and that's probably the worst thing I've experienced in footy to date."
King soldiered on and led the Cats in an impressive elimination final thumping of Melbourne. Unfortunately, a freakish accident in which his boot fractured Demon Jeff White's face earned him more wrath and scorn. The following week, he tore a hamstring and sat helpless on the interchange bench as Nick Davis' last-second goal consigned his team to heart-wrenching defeat.
Then the final indignity. While his teammates could at least head away to try to shake their demons, King was stuck at home in a wheelchair. He'd just had surgery to his right Achilles tendon, but couldn't use crutches because he'd also had a wrist operation."
All the boys were off doing their thing at the end of the year, and I was just stuck at home in a wheelchair and on the couch. It was doing my head in a bit," King concedes. As indeed did the whole wretched experience."
You end up questioning what you do and why you put yourself through it. My enjoyment of the game probably dropped away as well. You get up in the morning and see yourself on the back page of the paper and think there's bigger things in the world going on than this. Why is it such a big deal I've played a bad game of footy?
"You just spend a lot of time by yourself contemplating what you're doing and whether it's all worth it or not."
But after another summer spent carefully preparing his battered body for a season even Geelong coach Mark Thompson concedes will make or break King's captaincy, he at least now has a definitive answer to that question."
You take for granted when you're younger just playing footy and feeling good about yourself," he says. "I'd sort of forgotten what it's like to play footy feeling normal. I just want to have a real crack at it because I know I can lead from front and do well."
I'm back up to about 107-108 kilograms. I think last year after my shoulder operation, I dropped down to about 98, so I feel a lot stronger compared to what I was this time last year. My legs feel stronger again as well.
"I've sat down and tried to restructure everything about the way I train with the fitness and coaching staff; saving myself for games, really managing the load and trying to get myself right to play as many games as I can."
It's a conservatism both he and the Geelong hierarchy wish they'd adopted last season, when through all the struggle, he managed to take the field 18 times, most of which he'd be the first to admit would be better wiped from the memory.
"I just tried to hang in there and play, but it all caught up with me," he reflects.
"And if I had my time again, I would have waited a bit longer.
"I remember the surgeon who did my shoulder saying at the time it was equivalent to a knee reconstruction on my shoulder.
"I had half-a-game leading up to round one, and couldn't even hold my hand up over my head, but being captain and coming off injury the year before, I felt like I just had to get out there."
It was a gamble that ended up benefiting no one, King conceding even his previously strong relationship with his coach suffered under the weight of pressure, poor form and public criticism.
"My relationship with Bomber got a bit strained at times when I didn't perform and injuries set in. I think it was just purely due to his frustration with me being injured or not performing at the level we both would have liked. You know you've played to that level before, you just want to get out there and do that every week, and at times, I didn't do that to the level I should have."
Now King believes his body is capable of doing just that, he also wants to prove those who have so openly doubted his leadership credentials wrong.
"I think when I'm up and about and playing good footy, my leadership qualities are as good as anyone's," he says. "I'm a pretty private person, and I don't like getting out there and doing a heap of media and things like that, and I guess some people probably look at that a bit.
"I think it's pretty hard to judge my leadership on the last couple of years. I just know when I'm up and playing well, I can lead a side as well as anyone."
And at the very least, a hell of a lot better than the Steven King of the past couple of years has been able to.
ROHAN CONNOLLY
The Age
THE ROHAN CONNOLLY INTERVIEW - STEVEN KING
After the criticisms of 2005, Geelong captain Steven King looks forward to a season that even his coach concedes will make or break his captaincy
IN ORDINARY circumstances, Geelong captain Steven King could be excused for being a little down in the mouth this morning. The Cats might well pick up their first piece of football silverware for 43 years tonight in the NAB Cup grand final against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. It won't be King raising a long-sought premiership trophy should they prevail, though. His biggest contribution to the Geelong cause will come much earlier in the day when he plays half of a VFL practice match for the Cats against Williamstown at Skilled Stadium before a handful of people. It might all be a little depressing. Yet, King's circumstances are hardly normal. After the sort of 12 months the All-Australian ruckman has just endured, even an inconsequential seconds scratch match will be a big milestone."
I can't wait to get out there and play a game of footy again, just feeling good about myself, the way it should be," he says.
That hasn't been the case for a long time.
Certainly not in 2005, when the 27-year-old had more injuries, surgery, plain old bad luck and, perhaps most hurtfully, stinging personal criticism than some players might cop in an entire career.
It began with pre-season surgery to a damaged shoulder rotator cuff, which took a far greater toll than expected on King's overhead ability, and with it, much of his confidence. Then it was a back injury.
Then a calf. Then a broken finger.
As more and more Geelong players went down injured and the Cats struggled through a couple of form slumps, a team crying out for direction was being skippered by a man who couldn't lead a marching band, they chorused. It still rankles."
I got attacked personally from different parts of the media and public," King says."
Yeah, it didn't go down really well. I'm a proud sort of person and want to be the best at what I do, and that's probably the worst thing I've experienced in footy to date."
King soldiered on and led the Cats in an impressive elimination final thumping of Melbourne. Unfortunately, a freakish accident in which his boot fractured Demon Jeff White's face earned him more wrath and scorn. The following week, he tore a hamstring and sat helpless on the interchange bench as Nick Davis' last-second goal consigned his team to heart-wrenching defeat.
Then the final indignity. While his teammates could at least head away to try to shake their demons, King was stuck at home in a wheelchair. He'd just had surgery to his right Achilles tendon, but couldn't use crutches because he'd also had a wrist operation."
All the boys were off doing their thing at the end of the year, and I was just stuck at home in a wheelchair and on the couch. It was doing my head in a bit," King concedes. As indeed did the whole wretched experience."
You end up questioning what you do and why you put yourself through it. My enjoyment of the game probably dropped away as well. You get up in the morning and see yourself on the back page of the paper and think there's bigger things in the world going on than this. Why is it such a big deal I've played a bad game of footy?
"You just spend a lot of time by yourself contemplating what you're doing and whether it's all worth it or not."
But after another summer spent carefully preparing his battered body for a season even Geelong coach Mark Thompson concedes will make or break King's captaincy, he at least now has a definitive answer to that question."
You take for granted when you're younger just playing footy and feeling good about yourself," he says. "I'd sort of forgotten what it's like to play footy feeling normal. I just want to have a real crack at it because I know I can lead from front and do well."
I'm back up to about 107-108 kilograms. I think last year after my shoulder operation, I dropped down to about 98, so I feel a lot stronger compared to what I was this time last year. My legs feel stronger again as well.
"I've sat down and tried to restructure everything about the way I train with the fitness and coaching staff; saving myself for games, really managing the load and trying to get myself right to play as many games as I can."
It's a conservatism both he and the Geelong hierarchy wish they'd adopted last season, when through all the struggle, he managed to take the field 18 times, most of which he'd be the first to admit would be better wiped from the memory.
"I just tried to hang in there and play, but it all caught up with me," he reflects.
"And if I had my time again, I would have waited a bit longer.
"I remember the surgeon who did my shoulder saying at the time it was equivalent to a knee reconstruction on my shoulder.
"I had half-a-game leading up to round one, and couldn't even hold my hand up over my head, but being captain and coming off injury the year before, I felt like I just had to get out there."
It was a gamble that ended up benefiting no one, King conceding even his previously strong relationship with his coach suffered under the weight of pressure, poor form and public criticism.
"My relationship with Bomber got a bit strained at times when I didn't perform and injuries set in. I think it was just purely due to his frustration with me being injured or not performing at the level we both would have liked. You know you've played to that level before, you just want to get out there and do that every week, and at times, I didn't do that to the level I should have."
Now King believes his body is capable of doing just that, he also wants to prove those who have so openly doubted his leadership credentials wrong.
"I think when I'm up and about and playing good footy, my leadership qualities are as good as anyone's," he says. "I'm a pretty private person, and I don't like getting out there and doing a heap of media and things like that, and I guess some people probably look at that a bit.
"I think it's pretty hard to judge my leadership on the last couple of years. I just know when I'm up and playing well, I can lead a side as well as anyone."
And at the very least, a hell of a lot better than the Steven King of the past couple of years has been able to.
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
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Riewoldting
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- Joined: Thu 05 May 2005 1:34am
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FIT for a KING
SCOTT GULLAN
15 July 2006
Herald-Sun
Geelong's hopes of playing finals may rest with one man.
It's fitting that man is the captain, perhaps unfortunate he is the victim of one of football's most severe injury curses. Steven King talks for the first time about his three years from hell, and his hope that, this time, his body is finally right.
ASK Steven King for a low point from the past three years and his head drops. After a few moments thought, the Geelong captain says simply: "I've had many."
For the first time King has revealed the extraordinary battle he has waged with his body to continue playing the game he loves. He admits there have been several moments when he thought he'd lost the fight and contemplated walking away.
"When I had my wrist operated on last year, I found out a day later I had to have my other achilles done so I couldn't use crutches and ended up in a wheelchair for 2 1/2 weeks," he said.
"I missed the club's best-and-fairest, missed the footy trip and I was basically sitting around in a wheelchair thinking, `What am I doing? Is it worth it?'."
Rewind to the 2002 Geelong best-and-fairest count and King was striding up to the podium to accept his second Carji Greeves Medal.
There wasn't a happier man in AFL football. At 23 he was at the top of his game, he hadn't missed a game that season and had won the best-and-fairest by a whopping 55 votes.
He was universally regarded as one of the premier ruckmen in the game -- two years earlier he had made the All-Australian team -- and was soon to be appointed captain of the Cats.
But when King felt some soreness in his achilles tendon early in the 2003 season, little did he know it would be the start of three years from hell.
The new Geelong skipper's season was over in Round 14 when it got to the point that he was struggling to walk during the week.
He then missed the first seven games of the 2004 season, starting a disturbing trend which has seen King plummet from hero to villain in the eyes of the Cats faithful.
Since then, a pre-season hasn't gone by without King being in hospital getting fixed up, with his injury list covering all parts of the body. Both achilles tendons, a shoulder, wrist and finger have been operated on, while there have been knee, calf, back and hamstring problems as well.
King knows every player in the AFL plays hurt from time to time and he has deliberately kept his own troubles hidden because it's not in his character to complain or offer excuses.
It is only now, with the belief in his body slowly returning -- he has played the past three matches after missing three weeks because of a calf strain -- that he feels confident enough to look back at his troubled past.
"There are times when you battle through a game, battle through a year and you know you're not right," King said. "You are just hanging out for the end of the year to get the things fixed that you need fixing. It is then that you weigh up. Am I doing the right thing? Should I even be playing, because I'm getting criticised for it?
"But you feel like you owe it to the club to play, you are getting paid to play and if you're not, then what are you doing here?"
King admits there have been times when he has run on to an AFL ground with absolutely no confidence in his body.
"I have played games in the last three years where I haven't run at all (for the week) until the warm-up for that game," he said.
"When you should be worrying about who you are playing against or what great player you are on, instead you are lying awake in bed the night before worrying about whether you are going to be able to do the warm-up.
"It can get pretty depressing."
North Melbourne premiership ruckman Peter "Crackers" Keenan, who has spent time at Skilled Stadium as ruck coach, has remained a mentor to King.
He said the fact the man mountain in the No. 1 jumper was still running around was testament to his character and toughness.
"If it had been anyone else, they would have given up," Keenan said. "In discussions we had at the end of last season I thought he was getting close to finishing.
"He has probably had the worst three years of any footballer I've ever had anything to do with. And then he has copped the barrage from people, but only the insiders knew what he was going through and how he was doing it.
"The easiest target is a wounded target."
King has been in the gun from supporters and football commentators, with one of the main criticisms of Geelong the club's lack of leadership.
Being captain and injury-cursed means you are enemy No. 1 in that argument. During the most recent form slump the Geelong Advertiser ran the back page headline: Where is Steven King?
"I have probably been criticised more from games I haven't played this year than when I have," King said.
"Injuries get magnified when you lose; your leadership gets questioned when you lose games.
"That is the first thing people keep coming back to, but if you are not out there you can't really defend yourself.
"You have to bite your lip, bite your tongue until you can get out there and play again."
King said he had made it clear he was happy to stand aside as captain before the start of the season but took on the job again after a player vote.
"The playing group chose me to be captain," he said. "I made it clear that at no stage did I want to be captain again for the sake of my own personal honour.
"If there was someone else who wanted it, who the club and everyone thought would be a great idea, then I would have been rapt to sit back and just play footy.
"So that sort of thing goes through your mind but I honestly thought I was due for a bit of luck. But that hasn't exactly come yet."
Speculation has already started about the captaincy for next year, with names such as Matthew Scarlett, Cameron Ling, Tom Harley, Cameron Mooney, Paul Chapman and even Gary Ablett being thrown up.
King said the next two months would answer the question. Put simply, if he breaks down again he will almost certainly give up the captaincy.
"I pretty much sat down at the halfway mark this year and thought, `There are 10 games to go and if I can just finish the year strongly, worry about getting through that stage, then that will answer a lot of questions not only for myself but for everyone'," he said.
"It (the captaincy) is not an issue at the moment. Sometimes you have got to be a bit selfish, just take care of your yourself and make sure you get through the next four games, because once you've done that your fitness levels start to get back to where they need to be."
Right now King's body is intact and he has trained with the rest of the team for the past month, something he has rarely done in the past three years.
He figures the achilles injuries were simply the result of overuse -- he'd rucked unchanged in every game between 2000 and 2003.
"I guess it just caught up with me," he said. "When you play every minute of every game on the ball, and being 110kg running around, it just takes its toll."
The operations to fix the problems started a vicious circle for King; the other muscles in his legs wasted away during these extended periods of non-activity and left him vulnerable.
He knows the hamstring injury suffered in the opening two minutes of this year's Round 3 game against Hawthorn, which cost him three weeks, and the Round 8 calf strain against Collingwood were by-products of not having a pre-season. "I've been behind the eight-ball from the start with basically not doing a pre-season for the last three years," King said.
"The club had an approach of putting me in cotton wool and just getting me up for games, which I did at the start of the year and felt pretty good.
"But just not training to the intensity that you experience in games leaves you in a bad position. You just can't get through games unless you have trained, and now I'm on a program where I am out doing everything with the boys and I feel much better for it.
"You see the blokes who don't miss training sessions for us, they are in our 10 best players every week."
People talk about Scarlett and Ablett as being the most important players to the Geelong set-up but the statistics support the theory that King is far and away the key to the team.
This season the Cats have lost six of seven games when King has been missing (that includes the Round 3 loss in which he played only two minutes). They are 5-2 when the captain is up and running.
And his presence has a significant impact on the fortunes of Brad Ottens. The Cats have a 60 per cent strike rate in the past two seasons when the pair have been able to share the rucking duties.
Keenan said he had noticed the spark returning in King in recent weeks and said it was King who would decide if Geelong played finals.
"If he can stay on the ground, he creates a real problem for the opposition because he can run in the midfield, go back or forward," he said.
"When he won All-Australian (selection) he was really up and about, and if he can maintain the form he found last week, if he can keep going, then Geelong will make the eight."
His extended time away from the playing arena has enabled King, who turns 28 in November and will play his 180th game against Port Adelaide tomorrow, to reflect on life away from football.
He is doing a registered builders course and is planning to join forces with his brother, a builder in Shepparton, when he moves down to the Surf Coast over Christmas.
King also owns a bar, The George and Dragon, with teammates Kent Kingsley and Scarlett, with whom he is living in Torquay while he waits for his new home to be finished.
"Three years ago I probably thought I had another 10 years left," he said.
"Now you start questioning what your body has gone through and is it all worth it. That makes you more aware of what you want to do after footy."
While leading the Cats to the finals is the obvious aim for King at the moment, he does let slip about another important goal, which sums up where he has been.
"I just want to get through without any more surgery," he said.
SCOTT GULLAN
15 July 2006
Herald-Sun
Geelong's hopes of playing finals may rest with one man.
It's fitting that man is the captain, perhaps unfortunate he is the victim of one of football's most severe injury curses. Steven King talks for the first time about his three years from hell, and his hope that, this time, his body is finally right.
ASK Steven King for a low point from the past three years and his head drops. After a few moments thought, the Geelong captain says simply: "I've had many."
For the first time King has revealed the extraordinary battle he has waged with his body to continue playing the game he loves. He admits there have been several moments when he thought he'd lost the fight and contemplated walking away.
"When I had my wrist operated on last year, I found out a day later I had to have my other achilles done so I couldn't use crutches and ended up in a wheelchair for 2 1/2 weeks," he said.
"I missed the club's best-and-fairest, missed the footy trip and I was basically sitting around in a wheelchair thinking, `What am I doing? Is it worth it?'."
Rewind to the 2002 Geelong best-and-fairest count and King was striding up to the podium to accept his second Carji Greeves Medal.
There wasn't a happier man in AFL football. At 23 he was at the top of his game, he hadn't missed a game that season and had won the best-and-fairest by a whopping 55 votes.
He was universally regarded as one of the premier ruckmen in the game -- two years earlier he had made the All-Australian team -- and was soon to be appointed captain of the Cats.
But when King felt some soreness in his achilles tendon early in the 2003 season, little did he know it would be the start of three years from hell.
The new Geelong skipper's season was over in Round 14 when it got to the point that he was struggling to walk during the week.
He then missed the first seven games of the 2004 season, starting a disturbing trend which has seen King plummet from hero to villain in the eyes of the Cats faithful.
Since then, a pre-season hasn't gone by without King being in hospital getting fixed up, with his injury list covering all parts of the body. Both achilles tendons, a shoulder, wrist and finger have been operated on, while there have been knee, calf, back and hamstring problems as well.
King knows every player in the AFL plays hurt from time to time and he has deliberately kept his own troubles hidden because it's not in his character to complain or offer excuses.
It is only now, with the belief in his body slowly returning -- he has played the past three matches after missing three weeks because of a calf strain -- that he feels confident enough to look back at his troubled past.
"There are times when you battle through a game, battle through a year and you know you're not right," King said. "You are just hanging out for the end of the year to get the things fixed that you need fixing. It is then that you weigh up. Am I doing the right thing? Should I even be playing, because I'm getting criticised for it?
"But you feel like you owe it to the club to play, you are getting paid to play and if you're not, then what are you doing here?"
King admits there have been times when he has run on to an AFL ground with absolutely no confidence in his body.
"I have played games in the last three years where I haven't run at all (for the week) until the warm-up for that game," he said.
"When you should be worrying about who you are playing against or what great player you are on, instead you are lying awake in bed the night before worrying about whether you are going to be able to do the warm-up.
"It can get pretty depressing."
North Melbourne premiership ruckman Peter "Crackers" Keenan, who has spent time at Skilled Stadium as ruck coach, has remained a mentor to King.
He said the fact the man mountain in the No. 1 jumper was still running around was testament to his character and toughness.
"If it had been anyone else, they would have given up," Keenan said. "In discussions we had at the end of last season I thought he was getting close to finishing.
"He has probably had the worst three years of any footballer I've ever had anything to do with. And then he has copped the barrage from people, but only the insiders knew what he was going through and how he was doing it.
"The easiest target is a wounded target."
King has been in the gun from supporters and football commentators, with one of the main criticisms of Geelong the club's lack of leadership.
Being captain and injury-cursed means you are enemy No. 1 in that argument. During the most recent form slump the Geelong Advertiser ran the back page headline: Where is Steven King?
"I have probably been criticised more from games I haven't played this year than when I have," King said.
"Injuries get magnified when you lose; your leadership gets questioned when you lose games.
"That is the first thing people keep coming back to, but if you are not out there you can't really defend yourself.
"You have to bite your lip, bite your tongue until you can get out there and play again."
King said he had made it clear he was happy to stand aside as captain before the start of the season but took on the job again after a player vote.
"The playing group chose me to be captain," he said. "I made it clear that at no stage did I want to be captain again for the sake of my own personal honour.
"If there was someone else who wanted it, who the club and everyone thought would be a great idea, then I would have been rapt to sit back and just play footy.
"So that sort of thing goes through your mind but I honestly thought I was due for a bit of luck. But that hasn't exactly come yet."
Speculation has already started about the captaincy for next year, with names such as Matthew Scarlett, Cameron Ling, Tom Harley, Cameron Mooney, Paul Chapman and even Gary Ablett being thrown up.
King said the next two months would answer the question. Put simply, if he breaks down again he will almost certainly give up the captaincy.
"I pretty much sat down at the halfway mark this year and thought, `There are 10 games to go and if I can just finish the year strongly, worry about getting through that stage, then that will answer a lot of questions not only for myself but for everyone'," he said.
"It (the captaincy) is not an issue at the moment. Sometimes you have got to be a bit selfish, just take care of your yourself and make sure you get through the next four games, because once you've done that your fitness levels start to get back to where they need to be."
Right now King's body is intact and he has trained with the rest of the team for the past month, something he has rarely done in the past three years.
He figures the achilles injuries were simply the result of overuse -- he'd rucked unchanged in every game between 2000 and 2003.
"I guess it just caught up with me," he said. "When you play every minute of every game on the ball, and being 110kg running around, it just takes its toll."
The operations to fix the problems started a vicious circle for King; the other muscles in his legs wasted away during these extended periods of non-activity and left him vulnerable.
He knows the hamstring injury suffered in the opening two minutes of this year's Round 3 game against Hawthorn, which cost him three weeks, and the Round 8 calf strain against Collingwood were by-products of not having a pre-season. "I've been behind the eight-ball from the start with basically not doing a pre-season for the last three years," King said.
"The club had an approach of putting me in cotton wool and just getting me up for games, which I did at the start of the year and felt pretty good.
"But just not training to the intensity that you experience in games leaves you in a bad position. You just can't get through games unless you have trained, and now I'm on a program where I am out doing everything with the boys and I feel much better for it.
"You see the blokes who don't miss training sessions for us, they are in our 10 best players every week."
People talk about Scarlett and Ablett as being the most important players to the Geelong set-up but the statistics support the theory that King is far and away the key to the team.
This season the Cats have lost six of seven games when King has been missing (that includes the Round 3 loss in which he played only two minutes). They are 5-2 when the captain is up and running.
And his presence has a significant impact on the fortunes of Brad Ottens. The Cats have a 60 per cent strike rate in the past two seasons when the pair have been able to share the rucking duties.
Keenan said he had noticed the spark returning in King in recent weeks and said it was King who would decide if Geelong played finals.
"If he can stay on the ground, he creates a real problem for the opposition because he can run in the midfield, go back or forward," he said.
"When he won All-Australian (selection) he was really up and about, and if he can maintain the form he found last week, if he can keep going, then Geelong will make the eight."
His extended time away from the playing arena has enabled King, who turns 28 in November and will play his 180th game against Port Adelaide tomorrow, to reflect on life away from football.
He is doing a registered builders course and is planning to join forces with his brother, a builder in Shepparton, when he moves down to the Surf Coast over Christmas.
King also owns a bar, The George and Dragon, with teammates Kent Kingsley and Scarlett, with whom he is living in Torquay while he waits for his new home to be finished.
"Three years ago I probably thought I had another 10 years left," he said.
"Now you start questioning what your body has gone through and is it all worth it. That makes you more aware of what you want to do after footy."
While leading the Cats to the finals is the obvious aim for King at the moment, he does let slip about another important goal, which sums up where he has been.
"I just want to get through without any more surgery," he said.
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
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Riewoldting
- SS Life Member
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Cats' King struck by knee injury
Emma Quayle with Martin Blake
20 May 2007
Sunday Age
GEELONG will begin a challenging three-match stretch with captain Tom Harley back in defence, but without former skipper Steven King to call upon.
King, who has spent the past few weeks in the Cats' VFL side, had surgery on Friday to remove cartilage from the right knee that had become increasingly sore, but, according to coach Mark Thompson, he remained an integral part of his club's season.
While King will miss at least a month, Thompson was hopeful that Harley, who returned from a finger injury in the VFL yesterday, would bolster a team that beat Fremantle by 25 points at Skilled Stadium yesterday but remained "one tall defender" short.
The Cats, who have won their past three matches in impressive style, play Port Adelaide next Sunday, then return to AAMI Stadium to play Adelaide in round 11, after a round-10 clash with a St Kilda side that has found recent form.
Thompson said that while Mark Blake and Brad Ottens had proved a more than capable ruck combination in the past few games, Geelong "desperately" needed an in-form King back in the team. Thompson said that King's latest injury woes came after four seasons of constant problems.
"He's been sore for a couple of weeks. It's pretty hard because he's been playing the best footy he's played," said Thompson after the win against the Dockers, whose struggle for consistent form continued with their fourth loss.
"Unfortunately, his knee was swelling up, so he went and got scans and saw the specialist, and they said 'Yep, we need the operation'. If he hadn't had the operation, the knee could have jammed and there could have been serious damage.
"It must be pretty hard for him. It's another hurdle to overcome. He's had to overcome a few and we'll give him the support that he needs to help with that. We desperately need him. I think Steven King in his best form is a really important asset for the club."
Thompson was satisfied with how well his players ran and carried the ball yesterday, and with the contribution of Steve Johnson, who kicked four goals in his third match back from his pre-season banishment from the senior squad.
"It's a work in progress with him. We're happy so far," he said. "We were happy when he wasn't playing that he actually changed his lifestyle and we're happy now that the group has accepted him back and that he's playing the way he is.
"It's not just a short-term thing, it's a lifestyle challenge for him."
While the Cats could regain Harley, they may be without Max Rooke, who sat out the second half with a groin injury yesterday. Andrew Mackie withdrew from the team with a knee injury.
Thompson said the next few weeks would be a good challenge. "We need to keep winning, which means we have to win interstate," he said. "We've got three Sunday games, two twilight and two interstate. It's a pretty tough three weeks ahead."
Fremantle coach Chris Connolly lamented another poor start.
"Our starts have been the most disappointing thing, reflecting over the last eight weeks," he said. "We haven't kicked the first goal in any game."
Connolly called upon his senior players to act. "Our leadership board has got to look at it. You don't make radical changes, but you've got to look at it in some way, shape or form and put a wrinkle in our preparation. You don't want to be starting behind the eight ball. The competition's too fierce to be doing that."
Midfielder Paul Hasleby, who was a late withdrawal with back soreness, is expected to resume next weekend. -- With MARTIN BLAKE
Emma Quayle with Martin Blake
20 May 2007
Sunday Age
GEELONG will begin a challenging three-match stretch with captain Tom Harley back in defence, but without former skipper Steven King to call upon.
King, who has spent the past few weeks in the Cats' VFL side, had surgery on Friday to remove cartilage from the right knee that had become increasingly sore, but, according to coach Mark Thompson, he remained an integral part of his club's season.
While King will miss at least a month, Thompson was hopeful that Harley, who returned from a finger injury in the VFL yesterday, would bolster a team that beat Fremantle by 25 points at Skilled Stadium yesterday but remained "one tall defender" short.
The Cats, who have won their past three matches in impressive style, play Port Adelaide next Sunday, then return to AAMI Stadium to play Adelaide in round 11, after a round-10 clash with a St Kilda side that has found recent form.
Thompson said that while Mark Blake and Brad Ottens had proved a more than capable ruck combination in the past few games, Geelong "desperately" needed an in-form King back in the team. Thompson said that King's latest injury woes came after four seasons of constant problems.
"He's been sore for a couple of weeks. It's pretty hard because he's been playing the best footy he's played," said Thompson after the win against the Dockers, whose struggle for consistent form continued with their fourth loss.
"Unfortunately, his knee was swelling up, so he went and got scans and saw the specialist, and they said 'Yep, we need the operation'. If he hadn't had the operation, the knee could have jammed and there could have been serious damage.
"It must be pretty hard for him. It's another hurdle to overcome. He's had to overcome a few and we'll give him the support that he needs to help with that. We desperately need him. I think Steven King in his best form is a really important asset for the club."
Thompson was satisfied with how well his players ran and carried the ball yesterday, and with the contribution of Steve Johnson, who kicked four goals in his third match back from his pre-season banishment from the senior squad.
"It's a work in progress with him. We're happy so far," he said. "We were happy when he wasn't playing that he actually changed his lifestyle and we're happy now that the group has accepted him back and that he's playing the way he is.
"It's not just a short-term thing, it's a lifestyle challenge for him."
While the Cats could regain Harley, they may be without Max Rooke, who sat out the second half with a groin injury yesterday. Andrew Mackie withdrew from the team with a knee injury.
Thompson said the next few weeks would be a good challenge. "We need to keep winning, which means we have to win interstate," he said. "We've got three Sunday games, two twilight and two interstate. It's a pretty tough three weeks ahead."
Fremantle coach Chris Connolly lamented another poor start.
"Our starts have been the most disappointing thing, reflecting over the last eight weeks," he said. "We haven't kicked the first goal in any game."
Connolly called upon his senior players to act. "Our leadership board has got to look at it. You don't make radical changes, but you've got to look at it in some way, shape or form and put a wrinkle in our preparation. You don't want to be starting behind the eight ball. The competition's too fierce to be doing that."
Midfielder Paul Hasleby, who was a late withdrawal with back soreness, is expected to resume next weekend. -- With MARTIN BLAKE
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra
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Riewoldting
- SS Life Member
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- Joined: Thu 05 May 2005 1:34am
- Location: Perth WA
King has last laugh on critics
JACKIE EPSTEIN
30 September 2007
Sunday Herald Sun
THE PAYBACK
GEELONG ruckman Steven King hit back at Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams last night, saying he had proved the critics wrong with his performance yesterday.
King, who was recalled for the unlucky Mark Blake, was labelled ``old-school Geelong'' by Williams who sparked the mental war against the Cats.
``Wasn't bad for a weak link, I thought,'' King said. ``Choco had to try to play some mind games because what else was he going to do.
``I've been written off a fair bit. I felt as nervous as anyone going into the Grand Final.
``I've been in good form and didn't question my own ability like some other people have and I knew I was going to play well today.''
King's form was also questioned by Port assistant coach Matthew Primus. But he had the last laugh. He was playing just his sixth match for the year, but it was his second premiership in as many weeks after being part of the triumphant VFL side.
``I just wanted to prove a few people wrong today and pull my own weight and just contribute to this great side,'' King said.
``Things have sort of turned around. I was down and out there for a while.
``I'm just pretty proud of myself for not giving it up and I'll just keep working pretty hard.
``Footy's a pretty ruthless game and this year has pretty much taught me that you've just got to maintain your integrity and character as a person and I've just tried to stay as positive as I could.
``So look, it feels surreal at the moment.''
King said he had a quiet word with Blake after the game. Blake was sharing a drink with the players, but declined to speak to the media.
``I saw him out on the ground and saw him in the rooms just before,'' he said.
``There's not much you can say at the moment. I saw him again Thursday morning and just let him know that I was really feeling for him and to just keep his chin up.
``It's been a pretty big six days, an amazing feeling. Just such a great bunch of blokes and I'm just honoured to be part of it. I'm very lucky. All that hard work you put in, you leave home at 16 to play footy and it just makes it all worth it.''
As for his future, King, 28, is out of contract but has yet to decide if he will stay.
``I've just treated every game in the last six or eight weeks on its own merit so I haven't thought about that at all,'' he said.
``My body the last four or five weeks has felt great. I'm going to keep going round for a couple of years yet and I've got no doubt my body's back to where it should be. I'm going to go on for the next couple of years, I reckon.''
JACKIE EPSTEIN
30 September 2007
Sunday Herald Sun
THE PAYBACK
GEELONG ruckman Steven King hit back at Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams last night, saying he had proved the critics wrong with his performance yesterday.
King, who was recalled for the unlucky Mark Blake, was labelled ``old-school Geelong'' by Williams who sparked the mental war against the Cats.
``Wasn't bad for a weak link, I thought,'' King said. ``Choco had to try to play some mind games because what else was he going to do.
``I've been written off a fair bit. I felt as nervous as anyone going into the Grand Final.
``I've been in good form and didn't question my own ability like some other people have and I knew I was going to play well today.''
King's form was also questioned by Port assistant coach Matthew Primus. But he had the last laugh. He was playing just his sixth match for the year, but it was his second premiership in as many weeks after being part of the triumphant VFL side.
``I just wanted to prove a few people wrong today and pull my own weight and just contribute to this great side,'' King said.
``Things have sort of turned around. I was down and out there for a while.
``I'm just pretty proud of myself for not giving it up and I'll just keep working pretty hard.
``Footy's a pretty ruthless game and this year has pretty much taught me that you've just got to maintain your integrity and character as a person and I've just tried to stay as positive as I could.
``So look, it feels surreal at the moment.''
King said he had a quiet word with Blake after the game. Blake was sharing a drink with the players, but declined to speak to the media.
``I saw him out on the ground and saw him in the rooms just before,'' he said.
``There's not much you can say at the moment. I saw him again Thursday morning and just let him know that I was really feeling for him and to just keep his chin up.
``It's been a pretty big six days, an amazing feeling. Just such a great bunch of blokes and I'm just honoured to be part of it. I'm very lucky. All that hard work you put in, you leave home at 16 to play footy and it just makes it all worth it.''
As for his future, King, 28, is out of contract but has yet to decide if he will stay.
``I've just treated every game in the last six or eight weeks on its own merit so I haven't thought about that at all,'' he said.
``My body the last four or five weeks has felt great. I'm going to keep going round for a couple of years yet and I've got no doubt my body's back to where it should be. I'm going to go on for the next couple of years, I reckon.''
"To be or not to be" - William Shakespeare
"To be is to do" - Immanuel Kant
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra