AFL news: Ben King on why he choose not to go home after inking new 2-year deal with Suns

Gold Coast star Ben King has opened up on the real reason why he turned his back on returning home and signed on again with the Suns in an exclusive interview with Jon Ralph.

Gold Coast star Ben King has declared he wants to be a one-club player helping transform the Suns into a finals force after signing a new two-year $1.5 million contract.

King’s new deal is a watershed moment for the Suns and AFL House given the league’s determination to make the club successful after so many seasons of mediocrity.

The Herald Sun reported on Saturday King would sign a two-year deal in a huge show of faith in the club’s direction under Stuart Dew.

It is understood teammates Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine are keen to sign new deals this year after a season of conjecture about whether the pair might return to Adelaide at season’s end.

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Ben King has extended his deal with the Gold Coast Suns for another two years.

King told the Herald Sun on Monday his initial trepidation upon joining the Suns given so many negative headlines had quickly been replaced by a determination to build a legacy alongside his teammates.

The $1.5 million deal will give the club the cap space to retain its stars in coming seasons and remove a huge distraction as coach Stuart Dew attempts to secure his own contract extension.

Asked if he could see himself staying at Gold Coast for his entire career, the fourth-year forward replied: “Yeah, definitely, I love this group of lads. I’m really confident with where the club is heading, so for sure”.

King’s knee buckled on him in a routine marking contest and while it is a disastrous setback for the Suns’ finals hopes it did expedite his contract negotiations under manager Robbie D’Orazio.

“I was always confident I was going to re-sign, it was just when. When I came back (to Melbourne) I had a chance to reflect on everything and I thought it was the perfect time to make the decision,” King said.

“Obviously (the decision) was one made over time but to be honest I have been blown away by the club since I set foot in there and I have developed really close relationships with all the coaching staff and players as well and I am confident we will be able to play some good football and finals football in the coming years so that’s how I reached (the decision).”

King says something special is brewing at the Suns and he wants to be part of it.

Sitting in the backyard of his parents’ bayside home on Thursday with his knee in a compression bandage, King is aware his return to Melbourne could have been a trigger to remind him of home’s comforts.

But he says he never really held out hope of reuniting with brother Max at St Kilda.

“Not particularly, to be honest. I do miss my family at times which is all part of it but in terms of football I have loved every minute of it,” he said.

“It was daunting at first when I was an 18 year old living out of home for the first time but I have loved every minute of it. I live with two guys who I am really close to in Rowelly and Jack Lukosius.

“I love leaving out of home and being a bit more independent and forging that separate identity from my brother as well.”

Rowell and his own best mate Noah Anderson signed early extensions through to 2023, and King says South Australian No. 2 draft pick Lukosius will stay put.

“I think all the boys are on the same page. We are all really close friends and we are all really committed to the football club.”

After a 47-goal 2021 season King was perfectly primed for another brilliant season but he says the ACL tear was caused by an innocuous plant of his foot as he flew for a mark.

“I just planted on it and it buckled a bit. I sort of knew straight away what it was going to be,” he said.

“I was shattered because I was so excited about the year and felt like the team and myself were going well but everyone has injuries.

King says he does miss his family but is thriving on the independence.

“It was very painful and I thought, “If this isn’t it, it certainly feels a bit like what I would imagine it is,” and then the pain subsided a bit and I was able to walk off and that’s when I was thinking, ‘F---, I don’t want to be walking here’. That’s usually a sign I have done something bad. The doc gave it a feel and said, ‘I think it is what you think it is’.

“I will never take playing football for granted again. It changes so quickly.”

King knows the only way the Suns can gain respect is by a breakthrough season after so many sub-par years but wants fans to know something special is brewing with the core group of players.

“It is hard to change minds and before I was drafted I was in that group, I didn’t know what it was like up there and I had read all this negative media and until you get up there you don’t know what it’s like but the culture of the club is great, we have got some really good leaders.

“Everyone is committed to the football club and it’s just a great group of people. No one will really acknowledge it until they see some on-field success but in my opinion we have been doing everything right and building a culture.”

Sunny future: Ben King turns back on VIC return

Gold Coast forward Ben King has turned down the chance to move back to Victoria for now after signing a two year deal with the Suns.

King, 21, was set to be one of the most in demand key position players in the game but has put pen to paper putting faith in Stuart Dew’s emerging young side.

Ben King remains loyal to the Suns. Picture: Getty Images

King has been recovering in Melbourne after his ACL tear and while St Kilda was keen to drag him home the Suns have been confident for some time they would lock him away on a deal expected to be over $800,000 a season.

As the Herald Sun revealed on Saturday, King’s two year extension won’t see him able to explore free agency when the contract expires but the Suns are supremely confident they will add the signatures of Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine in coming months after signing up co-captain Touk Miller on a six year deal.

The Suns’ young core has grown extremely close and despite the pressure on coach Stuart Dew to make finals this year the flight risk to established football states has dimmed.

The club’s young players are crediting academy boss Rhyce Shaw and new assistant Steven King with helping build the club’s platform for success this year after wins over Geelong and Port Adelaide in the pre-season.

The Suns are also thrilled young defender Connor Budarick is finally available to play next week after an ACL tear.

While Budarick has flown under the radar the young defender is one of the most important parts of the Suns backline given his lockdown capability as well as quality disposal off half back.

Axed Tiger wins 11th hour AFL lifeline

West Coast has finalised its list with a trio of pre-season Supplementary Selection Period deadline signings as a new D-Day looms for premiership forward Jack Darling.

The Eagles added former Brisbane Lions midfielder Tom Joyce, ex-Richmond winger Patrick Naish and East Fremantle ruck/former Fremantle rookie Luke Strnadica to their injury-hit squad in the hours before Wednesday’s 2pm deadline.

It takes their number of SSP additions to four after ex-Fremantle key forward Hugh Dixon was added last week following a standout two-goal display against his old side in a pre-season scratch match.

Long-term injured pair, first-round draftee Campbell Chesser (foot) and premiership defender Tom Cole (ankle ligament damage) were both added to the inactive list.

“We have obviously received an unusually high number of long-term injuries in the last few weeks and we needed to navigate a way through that to offer greater depth in a number of areas,” West Coast’s list and recruiting manager Rohan O’Brien told the club website.

“So we placed Campbell Chesser and Tom Cole on the inactive list because they are likely to be sidelined for the next four to six months. They are both important players in the short and long-term and we need to act in their best interests and give them time to recover appropriately.

“That also means we are able to provide opportunities for Luke Strnadica, Tom Joyce and Patrick Naish, which is exciting. All three have been most impressive through this period with both their attitude and application and it is great to offer them another chance.

Former Lion Tom Joyce will officially join West Coast on Wednesday.

Patrick Naish has earned a second AFL chance with the Eagles.

Darling has stayed in the main squad despite not being able to train at the club since January.

The Eagles are locked in a stalemate with the 236-game goal-kicker, who missed both of the AFL’s vaccine mandate deadlines.

The AFL deadline to terminate contracts on May 18 is the next important date in Darling-Eagles saga.

Darling’s lawyer Peter Kimpton said late last month that the 29-year-old was hoping to return “in the near future” and reiterated his claims of a work-related injury.

“Jack continues to be under a medical certificate that he has already disclosed back in January,” Kimpton said.

“He is hoping to return to play in the near future.”

Darling has been silent since releasing a statement on social media in January.

Delisted Tiger Patrick Naish only arrived last Thursday once WA’s borders reopened, two days after he finished an unsuccessful training stint at St Kilda.

Tom Joyce is wrapped up by Dockers ruckman Sean Darcy.

Meanwhile, former Adelaide Crow Tom Lynch and Port Adelaide’s Jarrod Lienert have also been given another chance at the top level.

Lienert will join St Kilda, while Lynch has signed at North Melbourne as a pre-season supplementary selection with the period closing on Wednesday,

Lynch, 31, was moved on by the Crows at the end of the 2021 season after playing 164 games over 12 seasons with St Kilda and then Adelaide.

Originally from Melbourne, Lynch moved back to Victoria and worked under David Noble as a development coach during the pre-season.

He is expected to mainly play in the VFL to boost the young group’s experience.

“This signing leaves the door open to Tom playing state-level football in the VFL,” North Melbourne football manager Brady Rawlings said.

The Saints announced Lienert would join the club on Tuesday under the supplemental selection period.

Lienert, a capable defender, played 20 games for Port Adelaide after being recruited via the rookie draft in 2017.

Brisbane also added to its playing list with the signing of midfielder Mitch Cox, who was set to play for Williamstown in the VFL this year after starring for Frankston last season.

The Lions opened up a spot when they moved Cam Ellis-Yolmen to the inactive list in January after he refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

It comes after former Fremantle key forward Hugh Dixon’s SSP signing last week.

Both Joyce and Naish made a compelling case for a second chance in the AFL, several months after their first stints ended, in Sunday’s AAMI Community Series loss to the Dockers at Optus Stadium.

“I think both of them have come in and done a really good job,” West Coast coach Adam Simpson said post-match.

“We had Joyce for a couple of weeks and then he hurt his ankle so we waited a week before we got him to play an intra-club and he had 25 possessions and competed really well.

“Tonight I thought he held up his own battling against some quality A-grade midfielders.

“Naish came on in the second half. On Tuesday he was at St Kilda and today he was kicking a goal with the boys in the last couple of minutes of the game.

“It’s a little bit bizarre but at the same time he’s come in with a really good attitude and brings a different look for us on the wing as well.

Strnadica, who didn’t play in either pre-season match against Fremantle because of a foot issue, is closing in on a return.

He has been training at Mineral Resources Park since early December and is a part of team meetings since.

The 24-year-old led the WAFL’s hit-outs last season and will provide important ruck depth behind Nic Naitanui.

Fremantle are expected to save their remaining list spot, freed up by luckless midfielder Luke Valente’s retirement last month, for the mid-season draft in May.

KING’S MANAGER HINTS AT WHERE FUTURE LIES

Jon Ralph

Ben King is expected to recommit his future to Gold Coast on a two-season deal in a massive momentum boost for the AFL’s expansion club.

News Corp reported last month the Suns were confident King wanted to build something special at Gold Coast and were optimistic he would sign a two-year deal early in the season.

King is recovering in Melbourne after an ACL tear that will wipe out his 2022 season.

King’s manager Robbie D’Orazio has made clear his player is loyal to the Suns and while a deal is not yet done all signs point to a contract renewal.

The young full forward’s current $650,000-per-season contract expires at the end of 2022, but King’s signing would give the club momentum as it seeks the signatures of Izak Rankine and Jack Lukosius.

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Ben King is expected to re-sign in a huge coup for Gold Coast.

“There’s an offer from Gold Coast,” D’Orazio said on SEN.

“I caught up with Ben during the week and he had surgery about five days ago in Melbourne, we will sit down in the next few weeks and try and get a deal down or at least present the opportunities that lay in front of him.

“He’s a really loyal person and having discussions with him, for mine I think he’s pretty happy where he sits at the moment.

“Hopefully he recovers well, Gold Coast have been fantastic for him so we’ll sit in front of him over the next week or so and see where it lands.”

St Kilda players have been extremely optimistic about their prospects of reuniting King with his brother Max to form one of the most powerful forward lines in the competition.

While Essendon was another contender for his services, the Suns believed this summer his decision would come down to staying or heading to St Kilda.

The Suns will have to form a forward line with players including Mabior Chol, Levi Casboult, Chris Burgess, Sam Day and young ruck-forward Mac Andrew.

But the Suns made a strong start to their year in a practice match against Port Adelaide last week as youngster Jeremy Sharp and Alex Davies caught the eye in a 21-point win over the 2021 preliminary finalists.