Geelong have unveiled 2007 premiership ruckman Steven King as their latest coaching addition, with the 44-year-old joining the Cats from the Gold Coast Suns.
King departs the Suns after taking on the caretaker role during the latter half of the 2023 season in the wake of senior coach Stuart Dew's sacking, with King's time at Carrara coming to an end after two seasons as an assistant.
The former Geelong and St Kilda ruckman amassed a two-win and five-loss record across the final seven rounds of the home and away season in what was his first stint in a senior coaching role.
A past captain and two-time best and fairest winner with the Cats, King will make his return to Kardinia Park this off-season, bringing with him over a decade of coaching experience following past roles with the Saints and Western Bulldogs.
โWe're excited to add Steven to our coaching staff. He returns to the Club with a strong coaching resume and we're happy he sees his next coaching opportunity with the Club," King's former teammate and current Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie said in a club statement.
โSteven is passionate about developing players and his knowledge and experience will further benefit our playing group.
โWe're looking forward to seeing the impact Steven can have on our Football department and welcome him and his family back to Geelong.โ
King played a total of 193 games in the blue and white hoops before heading to Moorabbin ahead of the 2008 season, with the 202cm ruckman leaving the Cats with a premiership medal and best and fairest titles from the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
The Shepparton product would also captain Geelong for four seasons during his time club and would end his career in 2010 after 47 games with St Kilda.
King moved into coaching with the Saints after hanging up the boots and joined the Western Bulldogs in 2011, where he would spend a decade in the coaches box as an assistant.
After moving to Queensland at the end of 2021, King joined the Suns and would spend a pair of seasons working under Dew.
โSteven has had a large impact on our club in two years, especially in the back half of this year where he took on the role of Interim Coach to close out the season,โ Suns football boss Wayne Campbell said of King's departure.
โWe respect his decision to return to Victoria with his family and wish them all the best for the future.โ
King's arrival at Kardinia Park follows Adelaide assistant James Rahilly's move to the Cats for 2024.
Geelong has also bid farewell to assistant Shaun Grigg, who has ventured to Gold Coast at the conclusion of the 2023 season to work under new senior coach Damien Hardwick.
