St Kilda has decided not to rush Max King back this weekend

St Kilda had slotted in round 9 as the return date for star forward Max King and now the club has made a decision on his availability.

Max King won’t return from injury this weekend. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

St Kilda has baulked at bringing star forward Max King back for his scheduled return, declaring there’s “no rush” to get him into the side.

The clash with Adelaide had been earmarked for King to make his comeback, but on Wednesday coach Ross Lyon conceded he had “no idea” whether the spearhead would play, revealing King had encountered minor niggles over the weekend.

Lyon declared the club wouldn’t risk the 202cm key forward unless he was “100 per cent” fit, with King being sidelined since December with a serious shoulder injury and then a subsequent hamstring blow in March.

Following that the decision was made to leave King on the sidelines for another week.

“He’s probably sitting at a 9.5/10, but we’re in no rush, so happy to wait until he’s fully ready,” head of football David Mission said.

“He’s put in a lot of hard work over the summer to get back, so we’re not going to be impatient this week.”

Young tall Anthony Caminiti is available following his three-match suspension and Zaine Cordy, who was dropped for the Saints’ win over North Melbourne, did not play at either level last week.

Max King puts his shoulder to the test at training. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

In further positive news, both Jade Gresham and Rowan Marshall have avoided serious injury after both pulled up sore from last week’s win over North Melbourne.

King misses again having reported niggles in multiple areas over the past few days after what Lyon described as a corkie.

“He’s been pretty good, he just had a little niggle on the weekend. Is that anxiety?” Lyon said.

“Is it maybe just a couple of things over the last few weeks where we thought, ‘Ah maybe not?’ It’s a big decision because he hasn’t played but he is really tall and we could do with a bit of height.

“A little niggle of sorts – sore arm, sore butt, sore groin. They’re just niggles. I think someone corked him.

“If there is any doubt on him, if he doesn’t go, ‘Look I’m 100 per cent’, I don’t think we even consider him.

“Caminiti becomes available and we’ve got Zaine Cordy as well who will be freshened up after a bit of a rest. He was really important to us in those first seven weeks.”

Lyon is looking for improvement after beating the Roos in a match he labelled as “embarrassing”.

Saints coach Ross Lyon is still learning about his side. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“We can do a lot of hard work, both teams, but it just became self-perpetuating – it was embarrassing. Gee it was a hard watch, wasn’t it? But we’ve put that in the bin,” Lyon joked.

Injury-riddled Saint Jack Billings will be considered after tallying 22 disposals and 11 marks in his first full VFL game back, but Lyon said a body of work would be required from him after his long lay-off.

Entering the seventh month of his second coaching stint at the Saints, Lyon said he was still learning about the list but lauded Callum Wilkie and Jack Sinclair in particular for standing up with their leadership and on-field exploits this season.

“It’s a year of exploration, I’m still understanding the list. Some lads playing in the seconds are coming on and some senior players like (Billings). You’re only as good as your next moment – you’ve never arrived,” Lyon said.

“We think we’ve made some gains but we know we’ve got plenty of opportunities in front of us.

“In fairness (Billings) played his first full game on the weekend, it’s been months and months without a full game, full training. He had an unfortunate injury so he’s still building. He’s got to put a body of work together now.

“I didn’t know a lot about the list … (Callum Wilkie) is a really important part of it. He is a really good leader. Seb Ross, our leaders have really stood up. Jack Sinclair has been in it this year and he has come on in leaps and bounds. I thought his ability to persist and turn his game around and what he continued to lead and not panic was first class.”

Originally published as St Kilda has decided not to rush Max King back this weekend