St Kilda sweats on Max King and Ed Sheeran appearing in opening round match against Collingwood; Gold Coast loses Matt Rowell for match against Geelong after State of Origin injury

Riewoldt, now a well-known commentator, said at Seven’s AFL season opener on Tuesday: “Obviously, I’ve got a really keen eye on Max. My heart has been aching for him for the last couple of years,” he said.

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“I’ve played my whole career with an injured knee, so I understand the struggle. I hope now is the time for him to start and he gets the continuity he needs, because without continuity it’s really hard to be the player you want to be. I hope he gets that this year.”

King had surgery in mid-2025 to repair medial ligament damage in his right knee, which has been an issue since late in the preseason. Saints re-signed King to a six-year contract in 2024, with the contract extended until 2032.

“I’m hopeful for him,” Riewoldt said.

King kicked a career-high 52 goals in 2022 and remains a central part of what the Saints hope will be a breakthrough winning team over the next five years.

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Riewoldt is a fan of the club’s bold recruiting spree.

“I like how aggressive they are. They’ve recruited, they’ve recruited. The only tool they have is to use the salary cap, which they have a lot of room for. So I like to be aggressive and go out there and reshape the market,” he said.

Riewoldt, a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, is confident De Koning will deliver after signing a massive eight-year, $12 million deal.

De Koning will face huge scrutiny if he finds himself in trouble, but Riewoldt says he will be helped by new rules of the game that encourage big men to start dribbling through the center again.

“What happens if he plays below expectations? I think any time a player plays below expectations, he comes under scrutiny, regardless of the wage he gets,” Riewoldt said.

“This one won’t be any different, but I think the changes to the rules will help him from a ruck perspective. People are probably sleeping on that a bit. He’s a ruck. It’s back to the days of Nic Nat [Naitanui]I think being able to be thrown on the back suits him very well.

“He’s still developing his game, but I’m excited about what he can do in the next 10 years.” [years].”

While the Saints, who have finished 12th in each of the last two seasons, are now expected to reach the final, Riewoldt said he had a long-term perspective.

“Passing mark? I’m reluctant to put a number because I think it’s going to be more in the next three years rather than what’s going to happen in the next 12 months in particular,” Riewoldt said.

“I think this will be more of an eye test—what do we see through a window?” [Mattaes] Phillipou, what do we see? [Max] King. “The newcomers are great, but I think a lot of that organic growth will come from the players they have there who should be stars.”

Suns become Origin’s final casualty

Andrew Wu

Brownlow medalist Matt Rowell will miss the start of the season due to a mount of injuries from State of Origin.

The Gold Coast star midfielder will undergo surgery later this week to repair the finger he suffered while representing Victoria against Western Australia.

The cost to clubs of Origin’s return has risen significantly since it was first considered on Saturday night, with Carlton’s Jacob Weitering the main concern.

Rowell, along with Greater Western Sydney defender Sam Taylor, will not feature in the first match of his club’s premiership season. Meanwhile, Adelaide new players Callum Ah Chee (hamstring) and Weitering (ribs) are also racing to get fit.

The Suns don’t yet know how long Rowell will be out but have already capped him for their opening round match against Geelong on March 6.

Suns physiotherapist Andrew Weller said: “Scans showed that a finger on Matt’s left hand was broken. After consulting with specialists this morning, it was decided that Matt would undergo surgery this week.”

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“A timeframe for his return to playing will be determined after the operation.”

Without Rowell, last year’s dazzling Brownlow winner, the Suns need to field a high-class midfield with prized recruit Christian Petracca and captain Touk Miller lining up to win extra time with the ball.

Victoria’s chairman of selectors, Garry Lyon, spoke glowingly of Rowell’s commitment to the Big V in the first Origin game since 1999.

“He’s almost my favourite,” Lyon said on SEN. “I think he broke his knuckle and he sat quietly behind the box and didn’t actually say anything to anyone, he was just looking at his hand.

“They had to say he couldn’t come back and he was too dirty.

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“You should see him training or at least watch him warm up before the game. He was in his Nick Riewoldt days, running everywhere, going crazy before the game started.”

The Giants expect Taylor to miss the opening rounds of the season with a serious hamstring strain. It is stated that his recovery will take longer than the six weeks stated for teammate Toby Bedford’s moderate hamstring strain.