Jake King retires after 107 games for Richmond, debilitating toe injury left him no choice
JAKE King’s bond with his Richmond mates was “so overwhelming” it hurt him too much to tell his Tiger mates his playing career was over.
FOR maybe the first time in his career, Richmond’s Jake King spent the past week avoiding teammates.
Simply, his bond to them was “so overwhelming” it hurt him too much to tell his Tiger mates his playing career was over.
An AFL career that seemed so unlikely when he was a 23-year-old plumber scaling roofs in North Heidelberg that he downed tools and went straight to the pub to celebrate for “a few pots” when he heard he was rookie-listed straight out of the Diamond Valley league.
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When the emotional farewell address finally came at Punt Rd yesterday, the 30-year-old said the club “put me on a path I didn’t think I would go down, and I wouldn’t change it for the world”.
But a debilitating toe injury, which needs another round of surgery, has left him unable to kick without pain and change running directions in recent weeks. He played 107 games including only two this season.
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King was a heart soul player, whose tough-tackling inspired teammates.
But the 178cm defender-turned-forward’s loyalty to ex-bikie mate Toby Mitchell brought nation-wide heat on his club.
Despite warnings from former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou, King expressed no regret over his much-publicised friendship with the underworld figure.
“I’ve got mates, I don’t turn my back on mates, I support my friends and family and I’ll go on to do that,” King said.
“I guess I live every day as if it’s my last and be myself as much as I can. And what you see is what you get.”
That honesty is partly what made him such a much-loved figure. Coach Damien Hardwick said he wished he had more players like King, who he hailed as an “outstanding individual”, regardless of any company he kept out of hours.
“He’s the one of those players that players play taller around knowing that he’s around,” Hardwick said.
“He is a player that I loved having in the side, he was always one of my first picked because of the way he played. The way he represented the jumper and it’s what we want all our players to be like.
“If you could put him in a bottle and give it to all our players we would be a better footy club as a result.”
King will never play footy again because of the ongoing toe problem. He will see a specialist today. “My time was up. I’ve got everything out of my body as best as I can,” King said.
“Even in the last couple of weeks I literally can’t even kick a football without any pain. I can’t change direction.
“Running in a straight line I have to run flat-footed. I can’t get up on my toes.”
But the club had left the door open for him to remain in some coaching capacity, helping preserve his legacy at Punt Rd.
“I think he can coach,” Hardwick said. “He’s been incredible for our VFL development side.”
Originally published as Jake King retires after 107 games for Richmond, debilitating toe injury left him no choice