Gold Coast AFL: Ben King hints at contract extension, puts finals berth on agenda

As speculation grows on the future of Suns star Ben King, the man himself says his focus is on spearheading an inaugural finals campaign for the Suns before starting contract talks.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 25: Ben King of the Suns celebrates a goal during the round 15 AFL match between Gold Coast Suns and Hawthorn Hawks at Heritage Bank Stadium, on June 25, 2023, in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Superstar Suns forward Ben King has hinted a contract extension could come at the end of the season but his focus for the moment is on spearheading a historic Gold Coast finals berth.

King, 22, signed a two-year deal last year tying him to the club until the end of 2024 but that only delayed speculation he could one day seek a return home to Victoria.

Saturday’s opponent Collingwood is one club tipped to be interested in his services, while a reunion with twin brother Max at St Kilda is another popular theory.

But King says he “couldn’t be happier” with life on the Gold Coast.

“Both from a football point of view in terms of where we’re heading and what we are going to be able to achieve, but also from a life and relationships point of view as well,” he said.

“I couldn’t be happier and no doubt that (a new contract) will all take care of itself.”

Ben King says he remains happy at the Suns. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

After missing all of the 2022 season with an ACL injury, King has played every game so far this season and sits 10th in the Coleman Medal race with 33 goals.

As the focal point of a threatening Suns tall triumvirate featuring a redeployed full-time forward in Jack Lukosius and pack-crashing monster Levi Casboult, King is a major part of the club’s present and future plans – and he expects contract talks to continue at the end of the season.

“Yeah I’d say so,” he said.

“At the moment it’s just focusing on the next game and that’s where all my attention is going.”

After dismantling Hawthorn to the tune of 67 points last Sunday, the Suns welcome top-of-the-table Collingwood to Heritage Bank Stadium this week.

It begins a brutal three-week stretch of fixtures featuring an away trip to Port Adelaide before a return home to host St Kilda.

Sitting 7-7, the Suns likely need to win six of the last nine games to lock in a maiden finals berth.

King booted 47 goals in 2021 and needs just 15 over the next nine games to break that mark this season. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

King had to watch from the sidelines last season as Gold Coast managed to win just three of its last nine games to fall out of the finals race and he’s eager to make a difference this year.

“It was hard watching (from the sidelines) last year and I think, reflecting on that I do feel really grateful just to be playing football again and to be part of this team and hopefully push for success towards the end of the year and I’m really enjoying my role in that,” he said.

“I guess we’re not talking about it (finals) too much really, we’re just trying to focus on week to week … but it is obviously hard not to think about.

“That’s what we want to achieve certainly, but not what we’re focusing on at the club. We have Collingwood this week and that is where all our focus is going.”

Saturday’s clash at Heritage Bank Stadium is a near-sellout, with fewer than 1000 tickets still available.

Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans urged fans to pack the stands this weekend and help break the club’s single-game attendance record at Carrara of 24,032, which was set in Round 16, 2014 against Collingwood.

“The record crowd is a little over 24,000 and we haven’t had a crowd about 20,000 (at Heritage Bank Stadium) since then. The maximum capacity for this week’s match is a little over 25,500,” Evans said.

“Whether we can beat the record will depend on the show rate of people who have access to seats, so I would encourage them to make sure their seat is being used either by themselves or a family member – and to make sure that we have plenty of red and gold representing the Gold Coast.”

Gold Coast believes it will come close to breaking its all-time single-game home attendance record when the Suns host Collingwood at Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Evans also envisions a summer sit-down with King and his management to go over the terms of a contract extension.

“We had some good discussions with him when this current contract was done and we’re delighted by the fact he’s bought a property on the Gold Coast and looks to be here for quite a while,” Evans said.

“I would think that somewhere across this summer we would have the follow-up chat to the ones that we had previously.

“He shows great commitment to the club and his teammates and we know how well-settled he is off-field and all of those things point towards a good outcome in the right time frame.”