Does Kingy Even Like Playing

[spert]

Max is a footballer who is out of form right now and needs to go to the VFL to regain some touch- simple, otherwise might be another case of a high pick who can't quite get it happening at the top level.

[Stephen Theodore]

Tripe absolute tripe. Apparently unfit lol lazy lol doesn’t try lol
Uncompetitive lol

Two games ago he took 6 contested grabs 10 marks v Geelong. Five goal games v WC. The kid in his 2nd season can seriously play . Last two weeks haven’t been his best but he can seriously play.

Agree

[repta]

He needs a break. He looks like he is on the verge.

Playing with no confidence. His goal kicking ability has become a burden of emence pressure.

8f something isn't done soon he will have a mental breakdown

[cwrcyn]

Some pretty awful comments on here. He's a young guy playing a really hard position and his skinny body is getting smashed each week. Some people just expect players to become a superstar in the blink of an eye. His kicking for goal has been woeful, like Billings in his first couple of seasons, but overall, he's tracking well for a key position player who's played less than 30 games. He's got an enormous amount of responsibility for such an inexperienced player, and probably needs a rest. He looks exhausted, and that's a bit to do with our awful ball movement and poor performances. To write this guy off is just insane.

[cwrcyn]

He is taller than Carlisle, but a whopping 16 kg lighter. He's currently 90 kg. He needs to get up to around 96kg and that's going to take at least another year to achieve.

[footynut]

Agree he needs a break to assits him in his development. Tell him that in the VFL they want to see him pushing to contests (effort), practicing a consistent goal kicking routine (that he has developed with coaches) and his leading patterns (leading into space - maybe from the goal square & making players kick it to him).

However Lockdown is an issue as there is no VFL, and the only player they have to bring in to play forward if Joyce.

Yesterday he never in the game, I thought the coaches could of been more creative and even played him in the ruck or up on a wing for 5mins to bring him into the game

[cwrcyn]

And his Brother Ben has had an extra year of AFL footy. It makes a difference

[CURLY]

And his Brother Ben has had an extra year of AFL footy. It makes a difference

Correct.

[Ghost Like]

King will be fine. The Geelong game was proof of that, goals will come. Our forward line needs to work together but that can only happen when our midfield gets better.

By better we need more than a midfield brimming with slow, one sided, inside mids who look like they are kicking balloons. Very hard for any forward line to function when that's the norm rather than the exception.

King will get fitter, he will get stronger. Ben has a year more in the AFL that was spent playing, not rehabbing. Their bodies are identical, both AFL ready, one is simply fitter. This is all on our coaches, medicos and fitness team.

The recruiters actually picked correctly, even though I wanted Smith, unfortunately we had to play catch up from the McCartin debacle.

[carn_sainter]

Some pretty awful comments on here. He's a young guy playing a really hard position and his skinny body is getting smashed each week. Some people just expect players to become a superstar in the blink of an eye. His kicking for goal has been woeful, like Billings in his first couple of seasons, but overall, he's tracking well for a key position player who's played less than 30 games. He's got an enormous amount of responsibility for such an inexperienced player, and probably needs a rest. He looks exhausted, and that's a bit to do with our awful ball movement and poor performances. To write this guy off is just insane.

In what ways is he tracking well, would you say? Is his game improving?

If tracking well means competing in the air, to me that's not good enough. We kick it on top of his head, he doesn't have much choice but to compete.

I haven't seen his leading improve, his repeat efforts, his understanding of where and how to lead (hard to tell from tv, i admit). His kicking isn't improving. His one on one play isn't improving, his ground ball play is still great but not improving, his tackling, chasing, pressure haven't really improved. I don't think his hands are any cleaner or faster, I haven't seen him improving in terms of helping his teammates out with bodying or shepherding.

He is a long way off, which is fine. He was never going to dominate straight away, despite the best efforts of the marketing department to sell more memberships in convincing people otherwise.

But I also don't see him tracking well...i think the frustration is that there is not clear improvement really in any aspect of the game, let alone in general.

So I'm not sure he is tracking well. He's treading water. Doesn't mean he won't improve from here, time is well on his side, but I disagree that there is evidence his game is improving. I'm very open to being told otherwise though since I don't go to games.

Ultimately, he'll be fine with his size...I guess the questions is whether fine is good enough, because if he was really pushed hard - either by himself like Riewoldt did, or by the coaches - and if really high standards were demanded of him he can be better than fine.

[cwrcyn]

28 games. That's all. A little over a season of AFL football. Give him a little time to develop......................

[cwrcyn]

McKay at Carlton has just hit his straps this year. He's played 58 games

[B.M]

McKay has had a lot of injuries

[bigcarl]

Tripe absolute tripe. Apparently unfit lol lazy lol doesn’t try lol
Uncompetitive lol

Two games ago he took 6 contested grabs 10 marks v Geelong. Five goal games v WC. The kid in his 2nd season can seriously play . Last two weeks haven’t been his best but he can seriously play.

Not worried about King. Had a mare yesterday but will be good long term.

At the moment is too green to be our sole big forward. Will benefit from having some physical presence alongside him up forward.

I thought Battle showed a bit in that role yesterday.

Good post. We need Marshall or Battle down there permanently for young Max to learn and thrive....BUT

I would always worry if a player is showing the body language I saw tonight. It's like we are torturing the kid. Give him a rest and let him enjoy his footy and have fun with the guys his own age at Sandringham

A beak wouldn’t hurt him. It’s no dishonour for a young player to be dropped and the good ones come back better players,

An alternative that I’d prefer is to mix his role up a bit. Get him moving around. Give him a run on the ball. Move him up to the wing for a while.

Just don’t leave him deep, flying for long bombs against two or three opponents and feeling that he alone has to kick us a winning score.

[SemperFidelis]

Some pretty awful comments on here. He's a young guy playing a really hard position and his skinny body is getting smashed each week. Some people just expect players to become a superstar in the blink of an eye. His kicking for goal has been woeful, like Billings in his first couple of seasons, but overall, he's tracking well for a key position player who's played less than 30 games. He's got an enormous amount of responsibility for such an inexperienced player, and probably needs a rest. He looks exhausted, and that's a bit to do with our awful ball movement and poor performances. To write this guy off is just insane.

This. FFS, he’s not the Messiah (nor is he a very naughty boy!) Some very ordinary comments about a kid who needs some faith shown in him by the rest of us. If we had any spare players we could have given him a rest. If we had a VFL to drop him to we could have given him a rest. We don’t.

[B.M]

At present he looks a mile off league footy

Easy to play against

Doesn’t use his mobility, has poor endurance, and woeful strength (gets pushed off the ball with ease!)

How about getting into the gym and throw some weights around, eat some protein and do some plyometrics

How about some hard running sessions, and when I say hard running I mean gut busting till you spew repeat running!

I’d get him to do a few sessions with Nick Reiwoldt to see what training intensity looks like

[Bruce G McAbee]

There maybe two things effecting Max now. 1) his goal kicking is terrible, yes he played really well against Geelong, but if he had kicked 5.1 instead of 1.5 he would have been a match winner. 2) that big new contract may have made him a little complacent in his attitude.
Our game plan too doesn't help him. There was an instance yesterday where Hill got the ball in the middle of the ground and looked like he was wide open to take off towards the goal but looked and had to stop because there was no one ahead of him in the forward 50 to kick to. Max should be told in my opinion not to leave the forward 50. He should be planted there along with Higgins to rove watch Max doesn't mark.
In regards to his mindset and goal kicking, the club should get Roo down there to talk to him, give him a little bit of personal training and how he can improve his goal kicking like Roo did through his career.

[Wayne42]

Tripe absolute tripe. Apparently unfit lol lazy lol doesn’t try lol
Uncompetitive lol

Two games ago he took 6 contested grabs 10 marks v Geelong. Five goal games v WC. The kid in his 2nd season can seriously play . Last two weeks haven’t been his best but he can seriously play.

Not worried about King. Had a mare yesterday but will be good long term.

At the moment is too green to be our sole big forward. Will benefit from having some physical presence alongside him up forward.

I thought Battle showed a bit in that role yesterday.

Good post. We need Marshall or Battle down there permanently for young Max to learn and thrive....BUT

I would always worry if a player is showing the body language I saw tonight. It's like we are torturing the kid. Give him a rest and let him enjoy his footy and have fun with the guys his own age at Sandringham

A beak wouldn’t hurt him.

A sharp one would.

[Sanctorum]

Unbelievable comments here! I wonder if any of you people have ever heard of psychology or are you like the club psychologist and coach who obviously haven't. He is a young man with so many expectations he is finding hard to cope and with the extra weight of his twin brother excelling at another club and appears to has completely lost his confidence. He must be living in some kind of hell. He's being attacked because of the club's inadequacies to manage players psychological well being, and is subject to the media and many supporters lack of understanding making it worse. He doesn't look lazy to me, he looks really hurt and confused and is a young man who seems to have completely lost all confidence in himself and just going through the motions. Many others in the team have got what the media calls the Yips, with quite a few looking despondent as well. It wasn't all that long ago when Roo went through a pretty lengthy period of having the so-called yips, but in those days there appears to have been a club psychological support mechanism that worked much better in managing players in this area.

With financial restrictions imposed by the AFL I expect no club will be employing a psychologist at the moment.

I agree that last night Max King was totally switched off and he is certainly not deserving of his place in the seniors.

My suggestion is that the club should find him a personal trainer/mentor (at player's expense) to work with him 24/7 and assist him to get back into the sort of form he obviously displayed in his junior footy.

Such an approach, which must include developing a set routine when he takes a set shot (bring in Matthew Lloyd who tutored him when he was at school), and I have full confidence that he will become the elite FF that he was destined to become.

[saynta]

Tripe absolute tripe. Apparently unfit lol lazy lol doesn’t try lol
Uncompetitive lol

Two games ago he took 6 contested grabs 10 marks v Geelong. Five goal games v WC. The kid in his 2nd season can seriously play . Last two weeks haven’t been his best but he can seriously play.

Not worried about King. Had a mare yesterday but will be good long term.

At the moment is too green to be our sole big forward. Will benefit from having some physical presence alongside him up forward.

I thought Battle showed a bit in that role yesterday.

Yep. One positive out of the game,

[B.M]

Thought Battle kicked well

[B.M]

I am worried about King, great key forwards are peacocks, even from a young age. He looks timid!

[bigcarl]

Thought Battle kicked well

Do I detect a note of sarcasm?

His kicking was horrid, but if he’s as good as he thinks he can be he will get them on target. Persevere with him forward at least until Marshall is back.

[The Fireman]

he needs to be developed, unfortunately he's at the wrong place for that.

[saynta]

Heartbrakingly painful to watch imho.