Shackles off: Ben King conquers Tigers, contract talks to set focus on footy under Damien Hardwick

Ben King understands the fascination with contract talks, but is glad he can let his football do the talking after putting pen to paper last year. He tells CALLUM DICK he wants the footy to be talking loudly.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 09: Ben King of the Suns celebrates a goal during the 2024 AFL Opening Round match between the Gold Coast SUNS and the Richmond Tigers at People First Stadium on March 09, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

With the contract shackles now off Ben King is happy to finally talk footy once again.

The Gold Coast spearhead signed a two-year extension last month to push pause on speculation he would return home to Victoria and immediately repaid the faith with a five-goal haul against Richmond on Saturday.

After a quiet pre-season King was among the Suns’ best in the Opening Round demolition of the Tigers, equalling his career-high goal tally to go with six marks and seven score involvements.

“I’d rather talk about football than the semantics of a contract,” King told this masthead.

“I’m just relieved I was in a position to get another couple of years and keep playing my footy up here.

“I understand (contract speculation) is all part of footy. I was getting those questions on draft night and I’ve had them consistently ever since – it doesn’t faze me too much.

Ben King of the Suns celebrates a goal during the Opening Round match against new coach Damien Hardwick’s old side. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“I’ve recycled the same answers for the last six years and I’ll keep doing so.”

Hopefully now those questions can fade into the background as King and the Suns set about realising new coach Damien Hardwick’s vision of finals and premierships on the Gold Coast.

The Suns’ first half against the Tigers was the best in club history and certainly the most electric football ever played by a home side at People First Stadium.

Hardwick had called for patience from fans after his side was well handled by both Brisbane and GWS in pre-season. However the version that ran out to face the Tigers looked much improved.

“It was always going to take a little bit of time for this game plan to kick in and for us to get used to it and tinker with it a bit,” said King.

“We learned a lot from those two practice games and we still have a lot to work on, but it was definitely a step in the right direction on the weekend.

Ben King starred for the Suns in their first-up encounter with Richmond. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“We had confidence that we would be able to sort it out and the system would start to click.”

For all the talk of Hardwick’s complex system, King said not much had changed as far as he was concerned.

What was most important was finding a way to impact the scoreboard early.

“It’s taken a little bit of learning given I only had one senior coach before Dimma so it’s the first real change that I’ve had, but there’s also freedom inside the system to play to our strengths and on instinct,” King said.

“Starting a game well I find sets you up for a good game. It’s not always going to start like that and that’s the challenge in football is being able to manufacture that feeling and try to get yourself feeling good even when it’s not going your way.

“That’s something I’ve worked on a fair bit – when it’s not going your way, being able to flip it.”

Originally published as Shackles off: Ben King conquers Tigers, contract talks to set focus on footy under Damien Hardwick