St Kilda forward’s return cut short by hamstring tightness after 757-day absence
Updated ,first published
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon determined to face torment St Kilda spearhead Max King was ready to play on Sunday despite his first AFL match in 757 days ending early with a hamstring strain.
King’s latest defeat in a difficult period for the 26-year-old marred the Saints’ 31-point win over wild-card challenger North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium; This included a four-goal final quarter that turned a competitive contest into a comfortable victory.
Established superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera made the difference again, scoring three of her four goals after taking the lead in the third quarter as part of a 46-shot performance that took the game away from the Kangaroos.
Lyon did not speak to King before the post-match media conference but said the star striker would undergo scans on Monday to assess any possible damage. The coach supported the medical team’s decision to give King the green light after he suffered a hamstring strain during a VFL match in May.
“I don’t even know what the outcome is, so how can there be a mistake without a consequence?” Lyon said.
“But we stand by our decision to play him. We have high-performance specialists, [training] Load, we have conditioning. We are really confident.
“In four weeks [rehabilitation] had 50 percent more high-speed running volume in the block and 500 percent more very high-speed running (over 24 kilometers). [an hour]. Their biggest sessions were sessions that loaded 20 percent more games.
“So, in the context of this evidence, our conditioners thought: [he was ready]and game time was only 12 minutes per quarter; Two six-minute episodes. “A lot of thought, a lot of work went into it, and I’m happy to sit down with me and our team because we’re collaborating.”
King had just one kick – a long shot from the boundary in the second quarter – and one handball in limited playing time, but left the ground completely just 13 minutes into the third term. He soon went to the rooms and did not reappear before the Saints eliminated him.
King’s hamstring strain in May, in addition to knee and calf disruptions, disrupted a promising career that saw him sit out 83 games over two years.
Speaking to SEN post-match, St Kilda veteran Brad Hill was hopeful King had avoided another long break.
“Fingers crossed ’cause if so [serious]”It’s very sad,” Hill said, adding: “This has been a rough ride for him the last few years, so I’m hoping it’s nothing bad.”
King started each quarter on the bench and entered the game after seven minutes each time. North Melbourne defenders Charlie Comben and Aidan Corr took turns playing him, rarely giving him much space.
His most notable impact was a powerful clash with Cam Zurhaar that cost the big Saint a 50-metre penalty after the Kangaroo was rattled by a stop sign.
King’s nightmare period began with a season-ending posterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee during the two-point defeat to Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on June 30, 2024.
In October of the same year, he signed a six-year contract extension to tie him to the Saints until 2032, but has since endured repeated injury complications, including three surgeries on his right knee last year following a pre-season setback.
King’s trouble continued with a calf injury in February, before a hamstring strain in the second VFL match of the season in May further delayed his return.
He spent part of his final rehab block on the Gold Coast, allowing him to spend time with his twin Ben, and St Kilda opted to bring him straight into the senior team.
“It’s not ideal, right? But it’s about endurance and coming back,” Lyon said.
“Eventually you think: ‘God, I ran the AFL race, I feel good, I made a start, I felt how hard it was and [I will] Improve a potential soft tissue’. Who knows what it is? I don’t know.
Saints also lost Cooper Sharman (manager) and Rowan Marshall (back spasms) due to late withdrawals; the second after completing the warm-up.
Dashers Hill (34 disposals) and Darcy Wilson (28) were St Kilda’s other standouts, while ruckman Tom De Koning (19, seven clearances) shined on his return from broken ribs and a punctured lung.
They led by 16 points at quarter-time, benefiting from a series of wayward shots from North Melbourne, but the Roos took the lead early in the second half with the second of Jack Darling’s three goals.
But thanks to their 41-23 lead, the 10th-placed Saints took a 13-point lead at the final break before storming back for a crucial victory.
Kangaroos defender Charlie Comben went to hospital after coughing up blood from a violent collision late in the game, but manager Alastair Clarkson said club doctors were optimistic he had avoided serious trouble.
