While many kids begin kicking a footy as toddlers, and sign up for Auskick or junior league teams as soon as they are old enough, King didn’t play her first game of football until she was 15 and in Year 9 at Launceston’s Scotch Oakburn College.

Even then, King fell into the sport quite by accident, only signing up to play with East Launceston Junior Football Club because a teacher suggested it and King thought it seemed like a fun excuse to hang out with her friends.

But it turned out to be a life-changing decision for King. The now 23-year-old is quickly making up for lost time as a gutsy midfielder, climbing steadily through the ranks on her way to becoming a star of the AFLW.

King has played 49 games for North Melbourne since being drafted for the 2020 season, and picked up North Melbourne’s AFLW Best Young Player Award in 2021, as well as being an AFLW Rising Star nominee in 2022.

In 2023, King had her best season yet as a Kangaroo, averaging 20.3 disposals and 8.9 tackles per game. She also finished sixth overall in the competition for average tackles – taking as many as 14 per game – and was monumental in helping her side make it to the 2023 AFLW grand final.

Although North Melbourne didn’t pick up the premiership – losing to Brisbane Lions – it was a history-making game, as it was the first time the club had played in a grand final since making its AFLW debut in 2019.

King’s 13 clearances against the Lions in that match also set a new record, as the most clearances any player has recorded during an AFLW grand final.

King now has her sights set firmly on the 2024 AFLW season – which starts on Friday, August 30 – in which she hopes her dream of winning a premiership with the Kangaroos will become a reality.

She’s also got a few other projects in the works – like finishing her physiotherapy degree, and using her profile to better support Indigenous Australians.

King says she still has to pinch herself at times, and feels very lucky to be playing sport professionally.

And it all started that day, back in high school, when she agreed to play in a footy team, despite having no idea how to actually play the game.

“I came to football later,’’ King explains.

“I’d always loved sport as a kid growing up. I played basketball and netball, and I actually did gymnastics for a long time too, but that was a very individualised sport.

“A teacher asked my friends and I if we wanted to start playing for East Launceston Junior Football Club. And we said ‘Let’s do it’. I remember being super excited. But I had no idea how to play. I’d never watched much AFL growing up or ever really even kicked a football.

“I didn’t know the rules, and I just ran with the ball from one end to the other – I had an umpire chasing me down the ground, I didn’t realise you had to bounce it!’’

But King quickly mastered the basics and says she felt an instinctive connection to the game, appreciating the open space of the footy field which felt less restrictive than being on a much smaller – and more tightly controlled – netball court.

As well as playing for East Launceston, King soon found herself representing the state with the Tasmania Devils, being named the Tasmania Devils U18 Best & Fairest in 2019, and she quickly earnt a name for herself as one of Tasmania’s most accomplished players at junior level.

A three-time U18 All-Australian squad member, and chosen in the final team in 2019, King also won two Tasmanian State League Women’s (TSLW) premierships with Launceston. The first was in 2017 and the second in 2020, where she claimed best on ground honours, quickly proving to North Melbourne that the club was right to draft her in the year prior.

“Initially for me, football was so much fun, I never once thought professionally I would be doing this,’’ King says.

But by the time she reached Year 11 and 12, and more and more football opportunities continued to open up for her as the growth in women’s football continued to gain momentum, King realised football could in fact be something she could pursue as a career.

“I started to think ‘Wow, this is a real possibility’,’’ says King, who admits she’s always been “super competitive”.

“I remember playing state league basketball, and it was too much playing both basketball and football, and I kind of had to pick one. I decided to go with football, which I’m so glad I did. Because there was now this possibility to play at the highest level and I just thought that in itself was absolutely amazing.’’

When North Melbourne entered the AFLW in 2019 – with the side officially known as the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos due to an ongoing partnership deal with the state – King says many friends and teammates were drafted to the club. And with the club’s investment in the state, which includes two home games being played in Tasmania every season, King felt it was a “pretty cool possibility” that she might also one day end up playing for the Roos.

“I had lots of chats with Rhys Harwood, who was the list manager of North Melbourne at the time,’’ King recalls.

“And I thought ‘Wow, this actually might happen’.’’

Then 18, King was invited to the draft announcement in October 2019, ahead of the 2020 season, and was thrilled to hear her name called as the 49th selection, along with fellow Tasmanians Ellie Gavalas (10th) and Abbey Green (79th).

“I was drafted and it was definitely one of my happiest memories – I’m super grateful I got the opportunity to come into that when it was kicking off in Tasmania,’’ King says of joining the AFLW club in only its second year of operation.

“When I look back it kind of happened pretty fast, everything kind of fell into place at the right time. A lot of wonderful mentors helped me get there, and I was fortunate to land where I did.’’

But while being drafted opened the door to some amazing opportunities for King, it also posed some challenges. At 19, she moved out of home for the first time, away from her mum and sister Molly, in Launceston.

It was the year the global pandemic hit Australia, and fortunately for King, North Melbourne decided to keep its eight Tasmanian players in Tasmania, in a show of support that Tasmanians could play sport on the national stage, while still being based in their home state.

Which meant in that first year King only had to move as far as Hobart, training locally with the Tassie-based player group while also travelling interstate for training camps and games, but it was still an adjustment being away from home.

“There have been lots of ups and downs,’’ King admits.

“Moving away from home was hard, I’m such a family-orientated person, so that was hard.’’

“My mum has been my biggest support through my whole experience, I would honestly not be here without her. And my sister as well has been awesome.’’

The following year, under a new coaching regime, Tassie players were required to live and train in Melbourne, with King initially living with teammate and fellow Tasmanian Nicole Bresnehan. King says having support from the club made the interstate move much easier – she is “very close” with her teammates and is surprised by how quickly Melbourne has come to feel like home.

“Looking back, I did do a lot growing up,’’ says King, who is contracted to play with the Kangaroos until at least the end of 2026.

“Sometimes it’s important to get out of your comfort zone, it really helped shape who I am today. Sometimes it’s scary to take that opportunity, but you won’t know until you try. I’m so glad I did, honestly I love Melbourne now, it feels like a second home to me. Although I do appreciate going back to Tassie, because it’s got that nice, slow-pace feel.’’

King is thankful for the close friendships she has formed through football.

“We’re one big family,’’ she says of her North Melbourne teammates.

“We spend so much time with each other, we don’t feel like teammates, we definitely feel more like family for sure. Some girls I’ve known for a long time and I have really developed strong relationships with them. I couldn’t speak more highly of our team – you couldn’t get a better bunch of girls.’’

King’s days involve a mix of football training and study, as she’s about to finish the second year of a four-year physiotherapy degree at La Trobe University – although she does like to squeeze in a bit of op-shopping in her free time and also enjoys catching up with her sister, who is studying medicine in Melbourne. King tries to return to Tassie regularly, especially over summer, when she enjoys time at the family shack at Stieglitz on Tasmania’s East Coast.

King admits the part-time physiotherapy studies have “taken me a little bit longer than if I was doing it full-time, because of the demands of football” but says the real-world experience she’s received, seeing therapists in action as she receives treatment or witnesses her teammates receiving treatment, has been invaluable.

Melissa Haberfield, North Melbourne’s AFLW physiotherapist, is also one of King’s lecturers at La Trobe University.

“I’m loving it,’’ King says of her chosen degree.

“Growing up I always loved sport, I studied health science and sport science at school, and I always liked helping people, so physiotherapy was something I was always really interested in. It works really well with playing sport, you see injuries day in and day out.’’

King eventually hopes to use her qualifications and life experience to work in an advocacy role, in a bid to help achieve better health outcomes for Indigenous Australians – and minority groups more broadly – and says perhaps she’ll return to university for more study in future, to complete a master’s degree in public health.

A proud Jawoyn woman, King says one of the great things about football is that it has allowed her to speak publicly on issues that are important to her and have some amazing experiences that she otherwise would not have had.

Earlier this year, King spent some time in Wadeye in the Northern Territory, one of Australia’s largest remote Indigenous communities, as she was involved in running a football carnival there with teammates Zoe Savarirayan and Lulu Pullar.

The community, which has between 2500-3000 residents, is about six hours south-west of Darwin by road.

Savarirayan’s uncle, Shane Radbone – a former Essendon footballer – is heavily involved as a volunteer running footy carnivals in Indigenous communities, and when King was approached to help with the carnival in the AFLW off-season, she jumped at the opportunity.

“It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done,’’ she enthuses.

“I could see myself working somewhere like that when I’m older. It was something that was really special to me. I am really grateful that (through football) I have been given an opportunity to explore things that I’m really passionate about.’’

With Round 1 of the AFLW season quickly approaching – in which the Roos will take on the reigning premiers – King has her mind set firmly on winning the “first piece of silverware for North Melbourne Football Club’’ after being “shattered” by last season’s grand final loss.

King says she’s enjoyed a promising pre-season, and the already-strong team – which has been bolstered by some “great new players” – has been busy refining its game plan to be even more successful this season.

“Obviously we’ve had a lot of time to reflect on last year’s result,’’ King says. “Making a grand final, that in itself is a pretty cool achievement. It was just amazing, that whole week leading up to the grand final ... just being part of the first ever grand final (for North Melbourne) was such an amazing experience, I took a lot from that.’’

“But we were shattered (by the loss).

“For now we just need to focus on each week, and what we get out of each (training) session. It’s a long year and you can’t get too caught up on result and what could be … you’ve just got to stay present and focus on each round.’’

King is also excited to see the growth of women’s football “not only in Tassie, but everywhere” and is looking forward to being part of the continued success of the AFLW and the pathways it provides.

“I went down for a community camp in Tassie a couple of weekends ago,’’ King says.

“And just seeing the clinics, and how many girls are attending from young ages – grassroots footy is the core for (growth in) football. Numbers are improving and that will ultimately improve the quality of the AFLW – it’s really exciting to see young girls coming through at such a young age … we’ve got so much talent down there and it’s great seeing how many Tasmanians are picked for the AFL and the AFLW as well.

“I was so lucky, looking back, that women’s football in Tasmania had started to kick off right as I started coming through the ranks.’’

And while she’d definitely love to win that coveted first premiership this year, ultimately King is happy to be surrounded by good people, playing a sport she loves.

“For me, I’m playing my best footy when I’m enjoying it,’’ she says.

“So I try not to put too many goals, as such, on it. If I had to think of one, it’s probably winning a premiership. But when I’m enjoying footy, that’s when I play my best footy … everything else just flows on from there.” •

The AFLW season starts on Friday, August 30. North Melbourne play Brisbane Lions, on Sunday, September 1, at 3.05pm, in Queensland.