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Nicholas Quinlan • May 10th, 2025 2:39 pm
Dermott Brereton thinks that St Kilda’s Max King should make the move to the backline when he returns, citing concerns with his body to play as a forward.
Max King was drafted with pick four in the 2018 draft with St Kilda believing that they had found the heir apparent to Nick Riewoldt. This was only further signified when King was given the #12 jersey, which Riewoldt made famous in his time at the Saints.
King has shown glimpses of what he can do at the AFL level, managing to average 1.92 goals a game. But he has been cruelled with injuries, making it hard to build up a string of performances.
In his seven-year career, King has missed 34% of all the games that he could have played, which included missing the entire 2019 season due to injuries to his knee and ankle.
King has not played a game this season due a compilation of knee issues, with his last match being in Round 17 last season.
Brereton thinks that with these injury concerns, King could provide some assistance to St Kilda’s defence.
“I don’t think his body is going to stand up to league football coming out of the goal square,” Brereton stated on SEN's Crunch Time.
“He’s quick, fast, and if you give him straight lines to play in, I think he will elongate his career, and I think he can be something exceptional down back.
“I know you’re paying him key forward wages, and to reiterate the conversation we had, I have the belief that there is a typical size that you get to as a key forward and beyond that, you’re in danger.
“(Sam) Darcy, Paul Salmon, King; those types of uber tall guys by definition. Now they can outstretch people and take marks, and that’s awesome, 6’7 or 8 and above.
“But by very definition, they play with their backs to their own goal, lead up and thereafter, they have to do a U-turn to try and get back to goals.
“And I just think those uber tall guys, the stress that they place on their knee joints, ankle joints and all of the other related areas, I think is too great at league football for somebody who is 6'10.”
St Kilda will take on West Coast at Optus Stadium next Sunday to finish Round 10.
King is expected to make a return sometime after Round 13 at this stage.
