St Kilda and Max King are reportedly looking at extending their partnership beyond his current deal which expires at the end of 2026 despite ongoing trade calls amid a disappointing season to date.
Following a third goalless outing in the loss to Port Adelaide on Sunday, the football world has gunned for King and his lack of impact in games throughout 2024, urging the Saints to explore a move.
Coming off an interrupted pre-season and multiple shoulder reconstructions, the 23-year-old has failed to return to the heights of the 2022 season, where he slotted 52 goals in 22 games.
So far in 2024, King has kicked 19 goals in a dozen starts and sits under two goals a game across his 83-match career.
However, AFL Media's Cal Twomey reported that both parties are keen to commit to one another on a long-term extension.
St Kilda has been in discussions with Max King on a contract extension that would make him one of the longest signed players in the game.
Story 👉 https://t.co/sP8bd0WpdP pic.twitter.com/uwE5Drppmf
— Callum Twomey (@CalTwomey) July 1, 2024
At the completion of King's current contract, he'd enter free-agency status which usually results in multi-year deals to high-end talent.
Brisbane's Hugh McCluggage recently extended his time at the Lions for seven years at the same juncture of his career, as did Essendon's Andrew McGrath (six years), Sydney duo Will Hayward (five) and Ollie Florent (five) and Hawthorn utility Blake Hardwick (five).
Getting ahead of rivals attempting to pry King out of Moorabbin would allow the Saints to structure the contract as they see fit and plan their salary cap long into the future.
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Speaking on AFL.com.au's Access All Areas, Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd - who coached the King twins at Haileybury College, suggested that it could be a win-win if Max were to explore his options.
"I think it'd be a great chat for both St Kilda and Max to have at the end of the year, whether they think it'd be best for him to part company with them," Lloyd said.
"I'd say he's irreplaceable because who are they going to replace him with? But I think from Max's point of view, he'd have to consider whether he should move on and tries to leave St Kilda. They might not let him go, but it certainly should be a consideration for him.
"He's been frustrated because he hasn't achieved what he would have liked out of the game so far as a 24-year-old."
Of course, STK is going to try to keep King — they’re addicted to mediocrity; they’re addicted to the injured and out of form.
King, while a very good player, has never really lived up to the hype we were promised.
Meanwhile, STK loves to hire the injured, out of form and medicocre – while letting good players go (players who flourish at other clubs). Remember Dan Hannebery? They threw money at him and got a total of 12 games over 3 seasons. He never really rose to that star power we were promised either. But the Saints invited him and others to their “island of misfit toys” while good players got traded away.
But this isn’t the players’ problem. It starts with the head office and the coaches. They consistently hire recycled mediocre coaches.
Alan Richardson lost more games than he won (43W/82L);
Brett Ratten had a 50/50 record before he was selected as caretaker coach; he had aa 50/50 record as that caretaker coach; he had a 50/50 record (34W/34L) as head coach. What did STK do?? They gave him an extension mid-season which they cancelled abruptly later. (I’m sure that cost them a pretty penny.)
Then they hired back Ross Lyon. A man who and unceremoniously walked out on them several years early (Lyon’s departure to Freemantle was such a surprise that even his agent didn’t know about it.) Lyon’s last few years at Freemantle were an unmitigated disaster. Why did STK think that he would suddenly propel them back to a flag? I think last year, getting into the top 8 was a fluke. Here we are this year near the bottom of the ladder. Lyon is coaching like footy was still being played like it was in the past. The game has changed. Unfortunately, neither he nor the head office have caught on to that fact.