After more than two years on the sidelines battling a devastating string of injuries, star St Kilda Football Club spearhead Max King is just one final training session away from making his long-awaited return to senior Australian Football League (AFL) action. Head coach Ross Lyon confirmed Friday that the 204cm, 102kg key forward is set to take the field against North Melbourne this Sunday, barring any unexpected physical setbacks from his final pre-match training run.
King’s multi-year injury nightmare has included successive problems with his knee, calf, and most recently a hamstring injury that cut short a comeback attempt through the lower-tier Victorian Football League (VFL) earlier this season, when he suffered the setback against Carlton’s reserve side. But Lyon said King has put in the hard yards to earn a senior recall this weekend, noting that the forward has fully returned to the match fitness and running volumes he recorded in 2023, and is entering the coming contest in far better physical and mental condition than he was during his earlier VFL comeback attempt.
“As long as he gets through training, he’s done an enormous amount of work. Every time he stepped up his preparation, he built a bigger and stronger base, which has set him up for a sharper return,” Lyon told reporters Friday. “He’s certainly back to 2023 volumes and running numbers and he looks strong and fit, so we expect him to get through tomorrow and play. It’s not going to be easy, we get that, but he’s just in such better physical and mental shape this time around.”
Lyon explained that the club’s decision to fast-track King’s senior return comes down to a calculated risk-reward analysis: the Saints fielded the AFL’s shortest average team last week, and King’s imposing frame will add critical size and forward presence against North Melbourne. “We’re really respecting the level, we understand what Aidan Corr and Charlie Comben bring to North Melbourne, they’re a very good side, so we’re certainly not being flippant about this call,” Lyon said. “We just see the risk versus reward, and we just think he really helps us. Max is 204 centimetres and 102 kilos, he’s going to help, he’s a big man.”
While King’s return is all but confirmed barring injury, Lyon has backed off his earlier optimistic timeline for star ruckman Tom De Koning, who suffered a rib injury in a match against the Western Bulldogs last month. Lyon said he overestimated how close De Koning was to a return ahead of last week’s clash, and the big man is now unlikely to feature Sunday, though he retains an outside chance of a last-minute comeback.
The coach also fired back at recent comments from Geelong star Bailey Smith this week, after St Kilda defeated by a Smith-inspired Geelong last Thursday night at GMHBA Stadium. Smith had 35 disposals, kicked one goal, and ran riot in the first three quarters before the Saints assigned defensive midfielder Marcus Windhager to tag him, holding him to just 10 disposals in the final term. After the match, Smith argued Windhager was wasted in a tagging role, a comment Lyon dismissed Friday as self-interested and impulsive.
“Well it’s interesting, (Windhager) has been playing halfback, I think he’s had two tagging jobs all year,” Lyon said. “Bailey was running rampant with no one on him, then Windy put him to sleep, so there’s probably … the horse trying the hardest in the race is self-interest, right? Bailey often talks without thinking, doesn’t he? At least he’s not sending emojis out on texts this time.”