Ben King will remain with the Gold Coast Suns on a $1.5 million deal, removing from the market the player coveted by nearly every Victorian club for a potential homecoming in this year’s trade period.
King has re-signed on a two-year deal worth just over $1.5 million over the life of the contract.
Despite a knee reconstruction ending his 2022 season before it began, neither King nor the Suns were dissuaded from re-committing to one another.
Ben King has re-signed with the Suns.Credit: Getty Images
As The Age reported after King injured his knee in the pre-season, the Suns were undeterred by the injury; their existing two-year offer to him would be unchanged and it was expected King would re-sign before the season began.
Rival clubs keen to secure the athletic tall forward were also undeterred by the injury and would have offered long-term deals on significant money.
There was an obvious connection with St Kilda, where his twin brother Max plays, and the Saints had previously and openly said they would chase him when he was out of contract.
Nearly every Victorian club would have made efforts to make room for King had he been open to moving back to Victoria. He played his junior football as a key defender and has made his mark at AFL level as a key forward.
The degree to which Max recovered from his knee reconstruction to perform without any impact on his speed, agility or leap convinced the Suns and other clubs that Ben would make a similarly strong comeback from knee surgery.
King is a critical piece in the rebuilding of the Suns list and his commitment is a show of faith in the club and in coach Stuart Dew, who is out of contract at season’s end.
The next big signing for the Suns will be Jack Lukosius, who is also out of contract at the end of the year. Fellow South Australian, small forward Izaak Rankine, is also out of contract, but his form at the top level has not yet been consistently strong.
Star midfield pair Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson are both committed until the end of next year.
The Suns already had a plan to move Lukosius forward this year, but that was given extra urgency once King went down and the Suns needed more avenues to goal.
The Suns are still bullish about improvement with the return of influential captain Jarrod Witts in the ruck in particular, after his absence with injury last year corresponded with the Suns’ drop away in form.
Rowell has had a full pre-season after he spent last year playing catch up from injury and will join with Touk Miller and Anderson in the midfield, creating a group that is reaching an age where they can be far more competitive and influential this year.
The arrival of athletic tall Mabior Chol from Richmond, who can help in the ruck and key position, and former Carlton veteran Levi Casboult gives the Suns some experienced players forward of the ball to cover King’s loss and provide stability.
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