Gold Coast forward to make AFL comeback after more than 13 months on sidelines

Despite being sidelined since February last year, Gold Coast Suns star Ben King has improved his “style of play” ahead of his AFL comeback.

Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has hailed the return of Ben King, claiming the star forward is “ready to go” for Saturday’s opening round clash against the Sydney Swans after missing the Suns’ entire 2022 campaign.

It has been more than 13 months since King ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a pre-season training game.

“It’s exciting for all of us … he’s done a mountain a work,” Dew said in confirming King would play on Saturday night at the Suns’ newly named home ground, Heritage Bank Stadium.

“He’s grown in his preparation and his style of play, so we expect him to perform; he’s the number one driver of that.

“He’s going to play, he’s ready to go – we’re pumped to have No.34 back out there.”

Dew wasn’t concerned by 22-year-old King’s limited participation in the Suns’ pre-season matches.

“He’ll be fine. We made a couple of choices around the trials, given the amount of work he’d done,” the Suns mentor said.

“We mapped this out a long way back with a view for round one, so we’re fairly confident.”

Ben King is ‘ready to go’ after missing all of last season. Picture: Bradley Kanaris / AFL Photos

Dew tipped King to relish the different style of forward play the Suns adopted in his absence.

“One part that Ben will enjoy is, with a year out, we’ve learned to play a different way and he’ll certainly slot into that,” Dew said.

“We’ve got multiple options to go to goal. We’re confident that whichever way we go, we’ve got a forward line with good variety.”

While King will play, the Suns won’t risk midfielder Brandon Ellis, who has an injured hamstring.

“You want to go into round one with guys that have got a fair bit under their belt,” Dew said.

“We’ll stretch that out to make sure (Ellis) is absolutely ready. We don’t want to take any risks coming into round one.”

Dew said he is confident in the ability of a “reasonably healthy list” to match the Swans, last season’s beaten grand finalists.

“We’ll pick our most competitive team regardless of age and experience. That’s a good model that I’ve seen over time,” he said.

“Whatever year they were born won’t come into it. It’s how physical they can play. I think that’s a sound philosophy.”

Dew said nothing less than Gold Coast’s best would be sufficient if the Suns were to cause a first-round upset.

“Our players respect the Sydney footy club and they understand the way they go about it,” he said.

“If you don’t bring your game against Sydney, you’re in for a long day. When you look at their experience, it’s top-end.

“There are seven or eight A-graders there. There’s a reason they made the grand final (last year).”