THE Sandringham Dragons came from behind to defeat the Oakleigh Chargers on a bright day at RAMS Arena last Saturday. 

Matt Balmer looks in-depth at one of their top draft prospects.

There were two words being mutted by recruiters and spectators waiting at the RAMS Arena canteen on Saturday and it was not “super draft”… it was Max King. 

The 201cm tall prospect has been long touted as a top draftee, and for those lucky enough to see King play in past seasons, they will long know that he is destined for AFL. Max’s twin Ben is not one to be forgotten either, with the pair a commentators nightmare – given the tall duo are almost identical in stature and looks, with both players set to be picked inside the Top 10 at the 2018 National Draft. 

After being a late withdrawal from the opening game of the TAC Cup season due to an issue with his toe, Max King made his presence felt to all watching on – with the recruiters packing the grassed hills in Craigeburn. King’s eight-goal haul was one of the best individual performances in recent memory, marking the ball at will and had he packed his kicking boots, AFL Victoria would’ve been trawling through the record books looking for the highest goal kicker in a game.

What separates King from other talls is his athletic nature, he moves as well as some of the best midfielders in the draft pool, has clean hands, is good when the ball hits the ground and he knows where the goals are. His leap at the ball makes it almost impossible for opposition opponents to take the ball off him in the air. 

The King twins are names you are going to hear about a lot over the next decade. 

Quarter by quarter: 

Max King’s presence was felt early in the contest, demanding the ball on the lead in the second minute of the contest – but put down the chance on the lead. His run down tackle inside 50 a few minutes later was truly outstanding, but his shot on goal was the first of many misses for the day, with this shot going out on the full. Later at speed, he picked up the ball on the wing and used his quick hands to get it to a teammate. As a forward he mostly stayed deep inside 50, with other talls taking the ruck duties when it was inside 50 – but King did venture down to half back for one sole passage marking the ball near the scoreboard and immediately passing it off to a teammate. He finished the quarter with two goals, three behinds and four marks. 

It was more of the same for King in the second term, awarded two free kicks with the Chargers defenders panicking – which gifted King a goal right on the half-time siren. A snap goal on the run from 25 metres out was the highlight, showing off his athletic traits. King had 5.4 and five marks at half-time – the only goal kicker for the Dragons who trailed Oakleigh by 10 points.

The third term was a quieter quarter for Max King, with just three disposals – but that allowed for a further two goals and a behind. He marked right on the goal line but missed from a tough angle after electing to snap around the body off his non-preferred left boot. A very strong lead and leap meant that there was no chance for his Chargers opponent and King kicked truly from the set shot about 35 metres out. 

With 7.5 coming into the final term, you would not have looked out of place to suggest double figures were on the cards, but it was a sole goal from a set shot (thanks to a fine kick from twin brother Ben) that allowed him to finish the day with eight goals. A score assist was impressive, where he collected the ball and handballed inside to Jack Denborough who snagged the goal. With 19 disposals, nine marks and eight goals – it is fair to say King is a monty to get the three votes from the umpires in the 2018 Morrish Medal count. 

Final stats:

19 disposals (13 contested)
15 kicks
4 handballs
9 marks (6 contested)
8 goals 
5 behinds

With Jack Lukosius in pole position for the number one draft pick, Max King is right behind the South Australian tall and as we have seen time and time again – the player in clubs eyes as the number one selection in April, is not always the number one pick come November. Expect many more bags of goals from King as the season continues and it will be good to see how he progresses against stronger and better opponents in the National AFL Under 18 Championships in a couple of months.