Ben King (born 7 July 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). His twin brother, Max King, also plays football professionally for St Kilda.
| Ben King | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 King playing for Gold Coast in May 2019. | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Benjamin King | ||
| Nickname(s) | Kingy[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 July 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| Original team(s) | Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 6, 2018 national draft | ||
| Height | 202 cm (6 ft 8 in) | ||
| Weight | 96 kg (212 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Full-forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Gold Coast | ||
| Number | 34 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2019– | Gold Coast | 85 (165) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 12, 2024. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
editKing was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He and his identical twin brother Max began playing Australian rules football for the East Sandringham Football Club in the South Metro Junior Football League.[2] The twins worked their way through the junior ranks before both being selected to represent the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup while also attending Haileybury.[3] Through their time at Haileybury the twins were closely mentored by three time Coleman Medal winner Matthew Lloyd.[4]
Ben's draft stocks rose in his final year of junior football when his twin brother's ACL injury[5] allowed him to play as the key forward for the Victoria Metro team at the U18 National Championships. He was subsequently named the All-Australian full forward for his performances during the championships.[6] His junior football came to an end in mid-September 2018 when Sandringham fell to Dandenong in the TAC Cup preliminary final.[7] In November 2018, he was drafted by Gold Coast with the sixth selection in the 2018 national draft.[8]
King earned an ATAR score of 96.35 upon graduation from high school.[9]
AFL career
editKing made his AFL debut for Gold Coast against Port Adelaide in the ninth round of the 2019 AFL season. In round 19 of the 2019 season, he earned a nomination for the 2019 AFL Rising Star after a four goal performance while playing on highly experienced Essendon defender Cale Hooker.[10] King rejected offers to return to Victoria in October 2019 by signing a two-year extension with the Suns.[11]
He suffered the same injury as his brother, a torn right ACL on the eve of the 2022 AFL season and missed the entire season.[12] It was initially feared that King could have played his final match for the Suns, given he was out of contract at the conclusion of the year. Despite lucrative offers circulating from several Victorian clubs, he eventually signed a two-year contract, showing his loyalty and commitment to the club and its future.
King returned to action in round 1 of the 2023 AFL season and after several quiet weeks he found form and put together two strong performances in round 6 & 7 that included 9 goals.[13] In May, he reaffirmed that he was settled on the Gold Coast and intends to remain with the Suns long-term.[14]
Statistics
edit- 'Statistics are correct to the end of round 13, 2023.[15]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2019 | Gold Coast | 34 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 65 | 134 | 99 | 48 | 10 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 7.1 | 3.4 | 0.7 |
| 2020[a] | Gold Coast | 34 | 17 | 25 | 20 | 88 | 33 | 121 | 48 | 7 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 7.1 | 2.8 | 0.4 |
| 2021 | Gold Coast | 34 | 22 | 47 | 22 | 112 | 47 | 159 | 81 | 16 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 8.4 | 4.3 | 0.8 |
| 2022 | Gold Coast | 34 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | Gold Coast | 34 | 12 | 30 | 11 | 70 | 28 | 98 | 38 | 8 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 8.1 | 3.1 | 0.6 |
| Career | 65 | 119 | 65 | 349 | 149 | 498 | 210 | 42 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 5.3 | 2.3 | 7.6 | 3.2 | 0.6 | ||
- ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
edit- ^ "Weird footy nicknames: So why do they call Gov 'Brackets'?". AFL.com. 17 May 2019.
- ^ McEvoy, Simon (12 November 2018). "2018 AFL draft: Twins Ben and Max King looking forward to the 'next chapter'".
- ^ "King twins unfazed about being split through the AFL draft". 29 July 2018.
- ^ Balmer, Matt (30 October 2018). "AFL Draft 2018: Identical twin brothers Max and Ben King share incredibly tight bond".
- ^ Twomey, Callum (23 April 2018). "Scans confirm ACL for No.1 pick contender".
- ^ Twomey, Callum (19 November 2018). "Tomorrow's Heroes: Tall's versatility a big selling point".
- ^ Bunn, Sam (15 September 2018). "Gallant Dragons Eliminated by Dandenong".
- ^ Cleary, Mitch (22 November 2018). "King move sees pick six finally finish the longest journey".
- ^ Laughton, Max (18 December 2018). "The AFL draftees who nailed Year 12 VCE studies while also getting drafted in 2018".
- ^ Collins, Ben. "King of the kids: Big Sun the latest Rising Star". Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Balmer, Matt (14 October 2019). "Gold Coast lock down young gun - and more players are on the way". Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ^ "Gold Coast King hit: Scans confirm ACL tear for star forward".
- ^ "Firing Sun King dismisses AFL trade rumours".
- ^ "If you come for the King, you're going to miss: Sun wants to stay".
- ^ "Ben King". afltables.com. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
External links
edit- Ben King's profile on the official website of the Gold Coast Football Club
- Ben King's playing statistics from AFL Tables