Max King inks major extension with Saints, chats career to date and what’s to come in 2025
Max King says he expected more out of himself and that the time is now to show the world how good he can be. The spearhead is ready to pay the faith after committing his future to St Kilda.
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Some days Max King feels like collapsing on the gym floor.
Over the past three months since his season-ending knee injury, the re-signed St Kilda spearhead has felt the sharp need to make the most of every day to strengthen his body.
And when he’s not pounding his chest and shoulders, he’s smashing the squats until he gets jelly legs.
After five seasons, 159 goals and one finals win, King said bluntly he was not happy with his career to date, and specifically his own output.
In a candid interview with the Herald Sun, King said he was at a critical juncture as he attempts to make the transition from prodigiously talented key forward to a consistent performer after signing a bumper six-year extension at the Saints.
But his improvements aren’t all physical.
The 24-year-old’s mental approach also needed re-tuning to help get off footy’s rollercoaster.
Sitting in St Kilda’s board room, King said he was learning to be kinder to himself to help ease the deep cut of disappointment when one of his set shots missed.
But what has driven King through long and punishing training sessions over the past three months was not only the desire to create history at a club which has won only one premiership cup in 151 years, but also the burn of not meeting his own expectations.
So the 2018 No. 4 draft pick, who has signed at Moorabbin until the end of 2032, has put it on himself to get in the best shape of his life ahead of the crucial new season.
“I reflected a little bit through this period as a whole on how it has been and, yeah, if I was being completely honest, I would have expected more of myself,” King said.
“Five years ago, when I was a naive 18-year-old and you feel like the world is at your feet, if you had said to me then ‘How is it going to look in five years’ time?’ I would have liked to have done better.
“Done better as a team and as a player as well.
“I still feel proud of how I have carried myself and I know people have been frustrated with my output and I am probably the number one person who is the most frustrated.
“I know my ability and I know I have been inconsistent in showing that. So at the moment, I feel like I am at a bit of a crossroads.
“If you are going to do it, it is now. It is time to consistently show your ability.
“So when I look back at the past five years, no, there is not much satisfaction there.
“But I’m hungry and feel like there is more to give, so I’m definitely excited for the next block.”
What sharpened that hunger to a degree, was watching the Saints finish off last season strong without him.
After a slow start to the year, Ross Lyon’s men knocked off grand finalist Sydney Swans, preliminary finalist Geelong and elimination finalist Carlton with a smaller forward setup, winning six of their last eight games.
The commitment was clear; no white flag.
King battled some knee issues early in the season and then courageously played on in the second half against Port Adelaide in Round 17 after suffering high-grade posterior cruciate ligament injury in a marking attempt.
But broadly-speaking, his form and role this year drew criticism booting 19 goals from 12 matches.
King has dealt with that spotlight a lot, and felt the walls closing in around him particularly early on in his career.
The pressure has been suffocating at times, and required help on his mental approach to the game in recent months.
The Sandringham product said he has learned that “it is not sustainable to smash yourself (mentally)” after skewed kicks or quiet games.
“Early days it was hard. A few games I found really (difficult),” he said.
“I am my harshest critic and you feel like the world has closed in on you, and then it is like ‘Holy s---, I don’t know what to do here’.
“That was tough, and then I sort of worked my way through it and had so much support from the club.
“I’m still not perfect in that space because I struggle to be kind to myself, to be honest.
“I have high expectations and I probably haven’t dealt very well with not meeting them over the journey.
“There are ways of showing yourself a bit of compassion, but it is a work in progress.
“But as a young fella, yeah, it does feel like the weight of the world at times, but that is the game, isn’t it?
“If you want to kick goals and strut around Marvel (Stadium) like you are the king, you are going to have to deal with a few games where you feel small.
“That just comes with the territory of being a key forward in the AFL. But I feel like I am more clear than I have been in previous years.”
That clarity is about the direction he wants for his team, and the work he knows is required to help get the Saints there.
St Kilda is also clear King is their man, backing him in with one of the longest and most lucrative deals in the club’s history.
His monster six-year contract extension required board approval, and analysis from the football department comparing his output so far against greats of the game like Geelong champion Tom Hawkins, and others, at the same age.
And his progress, as much as King says he is frustrated, stacks up against the best, the club says.
In turn, King has full belief in the coaching staff led by Lyon, the recruiting plans to top-up the midfield over the next two years, and the game style which drew criticism this year.
But King says he is the one who must take full responsibility for his performance, not blame others.
“I have complete faith in Ross and the coaches around him, I reckon it is one of the best groups in the AFL, so I’m very lucky in that space,” he said.
“There is no doubt the game style stacks up. I have no issues with the way the ball moves at all.
“Yeah, some games are hard for me, but some games are hard for everyone, so I would never blame our ball movement for my own performance.
“I have got to improve and do my bit and get on the end of it more to help my teammates. I love the boys and I feel so connected and a big part of the group.
“The other thing is you see how important St Kilda is to the people around here and they have been so starved of success.
“What an opportunity to try and be the second team to bring home a flag here.
“I grew up a Saints fan and went to a few losing grannies (grand finals). I went to 2009 and the 2010 draw.
“So you are ‘devo’ (devastated) as a kid, but I’m also glad we have that opportunity now to break the drought.
“I daydream about how special that would be for this part of town, so it’s a great opportunity we have in front of us.”
So, at some point on Monday, King will re-enter the Saints’ gym for two two-hour sessions to help get ready to start pre-season in great shape.
The penny has dropped, he said.
“I guess you can take a bit longer to really start going after it hard instead of using this first month (of the off-season) to put the feet up,” King said.
“I’m still getting my break in, and chilling out at times, but I feel so clear and hungry about what I want to get better at.
“I was disappointed my season ended early and there were a few tough days, but then it was like, ‘Right, what’s the plan and how am I going to attack it?’
“It has been a good opportunity to get really strong, and coming off a couple of shoulders (reconstructions), in the last couple of years it takes a long time to get that strength fully back.
“But I have been building week by week and the rehab and strength guys have been amazing, so it has all progressed like we wanted it to.
“It’s bloody hard work and I have to break up the days a bit otherwise I collapse on the gym floor, but it’s been really good.
“Next year is front of mind in everything I do at the moment. How I want to come back and how I want to perform.
“So I definitely feel really motivated.”
KING OUT TO REPAY SAINTS’ FAITH AFTER INKING MASSIVE EXTENSION
St Kilda spearhead Max King says he is desperate to repay the club’s enormous faith in him after signing a blockbuster six-year extension with the Saints.
King, who is already contracted until the end of 2026, has added another six more seasons to his deal to remain at the club until the end of 2032.
And in an exclusive interview with the Herald Sun, the 206cm goal kicker opened up on his efforts to “be a bit more in control of the mental game” as he attempts to lift St Kilda back into the eight.
“I don’t think we are that far away (from success),” King said.
“But if we are going to have a crack, it needs to begin. We need to start challenging.”
King has endured a horror injury run in recent years, undergoing two shoulder reconstructions last season as well as a season-ending left posterior cruciate ligament problem in 2024.
King, 24, also had minor surgery on his right knee to repair pre-existing issues.
But the club has shown its total confidence in the 83-gamer, handing the Haileybury product one of the longest and most lucrative deals in club history.
The bumper new extension means King will bypass free agency when he would have been a league-wide target for powerhouse Victorian clubs in 2027.
King, who is three months into a gruelling training program, said he was intent on becoming the player St Kilda needs to help build towards another premiership tilt under Ross Lyon.
“It is obviously a big show of faith by the club in me,” King said.
“I can say all I want but really it is all about repaying them with my actions and show my dedication to getting better and hopefully contributing to this club going forward and playing in finals and playing in big games.
“I feel so supported by the club and have been the whole way through, through all of the ups and downs.
“Ross has been amazing with me and really positive with me even at times probably when he has had every reason not to be.”
King said he had never contemplated playing in different colours and was thrilled to commit two years early on a new contract.
“We have been in discussions and I was like ‘Why wouldn’t we tick it off?’” King said.
“I know I’m here, let’s just get it done and get to work with this group.
“You saw how well things clicked in the back half of the season.”
King has begun ramping up his running and strength training as part of his most intensive off-season program of his career.
The No. 4 draft pick also said he had made a big effort on his mental approach to football to help cope with the public spotlight.
King said he had been harsh on himself in the past which had been counter-productive.
“I have got enough people smashing me, I don’t need to smash myself as well,” he said.
“I have been dealing with that.
“I’m not perfect at it but I feel like I’m starting to mature in that space a little bit and be a bit more in control of the mental game and riding the ups and downs.
“It’s one of the biggest things I am continuing to chip away at.”
Originally published as Max King inks major extension with Saints, chats career to date and what’s to come in 2025
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