Geelong assistant coach collapses at training, rushed to hospital

Geelong’s final training session has been hit with ‘confronting scenes’ as a coach collapsed before being rushed to hospital.

Geelong’s training session on Friday has been rocked by frightening scenes with assistant coach Steven King collapsing.

The 45-year-old was mid-conversation with Cats star forward Jeremy Cameron when he suddenly dropped to the ground.

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King was attended to by the club’s medical staff before he was taken to Epworth Hospital. Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary reported the incident left Cameron visibly shaken.

“Confronting scenes at GMHBA Stadium today - Cats assistant Steven King collapsing at the start of training with a medical episode and taken to hospital,” Cleary wrote on X.

A scheduled press conference with Cats coach Chris Scott was delayed as the training session was put on hold as players were taken from the track for around 20 minutes.

The club has since said they expect the former ruckman to be OK and he will remain under observation.

Steven King collapsed at Geelong’s training session. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“We’re just trying to stay calm and prioritise the right things which for us are to ensure we do everything we can to support Steven,“ Scott said at his weekly press conference.

“I don’t want to say too much that might not be accurate. I think it’s reasonable at the moment, even before we’ve had the chance to speak to Steven directly, for us to prioritise his health.

“It would be irresponsible for us to even consider him to be around over the next 24 hours or so.

“It is quite confronting. Our club, we’ve had similar sorts of episodes to this. Our experience is you’ve just got to deal with the situation as it presents.”

King is in charge of Geelong’s midfield after returning to the club ahead of the 2024 season following a stint with the Gold Coast Suns.

His time at the Suns saw him take over as intern head coach towards the end of last season.

King during his time with the Suns. (Photo by Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

He captained Geelong during his playing days and played in the club’s 2007 premiership victory in a decorated career.

King is one of the leading contenders to land the vacant role as the West Coast Eagles coach for next season.

He had returned to Melbourne on Thursday night after flying back from Western Australia following an interview.

The incident comes a little over 24 hours out from Geelong’s preliminary final showdown against Brisbane at the MCG.

The winner of that contest will book their place in the 2024 AFL Grand Final where they’ll take on the winner of Friday night’s first preliminary final between Sydney and Port Adelaide.

Geelong’s contest against Brisbane gets underway on Saturday from 5:15pm (AEST).

Originally published as Geelong assistant coach collapses at training, rushed to hospital