Ben King (footballer)

Ben King (born 7 July 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). His twin brother, Max King, also plays football professionally for St Kilda.

Ben King
King playing for Gold Coast in May 2019.
Personal information
Full name	Benjamin King
Nickname(s)	Kingy[1]
Date of birth	(2000-07-07) 7 July 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s)	Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 6, 2018 national draft
Height	202 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Weight	96 kg (212 lb)
Position(s)	Full-forward
Club information
Current club	Gold Coast
Number	34
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2019–	Gold Coast	95 (184)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
2× 22under22 team: (2020, 2021) 4× Gold Coast leading goalkicker: 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 AFL Rising Star nominee: 2019
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

King was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He and his identical twin brother Max began playing Australian rules football for the East Sandringham Football Club in the South Metro Junior Football League.^[2] The twins worked their way through the junior ranks before both being selected to represent the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup while also attending Haileybury.^[3] Through their time at Haileybury the twins were closely mentored by three time Coleman Medal winner Matthew Lloyd.^[4]

Ben's draft stocks rose in his final year of junior football when his twin brother's ACL injury^[5] allowed him to play as the key forward for the Victoria Metro team at the U18 National Championships. He was subsequently named the All-Australian full forward for his performances during the championships.^[6] His junior football came to an end in mid-September 2018 when Sandringham fell to Dandenong in the TAC Cup preliminary final.^[7] In November 2018, he was drafted by Gold Coast with the sixth selection in the 2018 national draft.^[8]

King earned an ATAR score of 96.35 upon graduation from high school.^[9]

AFL career

King made his AFL debut for Gold Coast against Port Adelaide in the ninth round of the 2019 AFL season. In round 19 of the 2019 season, he earned a nomination for the 2019 AFL Rising Star after a four goal performance while playing on highly experienced Essendon defender Cale Hooker.^[10] King rejected offers to return to Victoria in October 2019 by signing a two-year extension with the Suns.^[11]

He suffered the same injury as his brother, a torn right ACL on the eve of the 2022 AFL season and missed the entire season.^[12] It was initially feared that King could have played his final match for the Suns, given he was out of contract at the conclusion of the year. Despite lucrative offers circulating from several Victorian clubs, he eventually signed a two-year contract, showing his loyalty and commitment to the club and its future.

King returned to action in round 1 of the 2023 AFL season and after several quiet weeks he found form and put together two strong performances in round 6 & 7 that included 9 goals.^[13] In May, he reaffirmed that he was settled on the Gold Coast and intends to remain with the Suns long-term.^[14]

Statistics

'Statistics are correct to the end of 2024.^[15]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2019	Gold Coast	34	14	17	9	65	134	99	48	10	1.2	0.6	4.6	2.4	7.1	3.4	0.7	0
2020[a]	Gold Coast	34	17	25	20	88	33	121	48	7	1.5	1.2	5.2	2.0	7.1	2.8	0.4	1
2021	Gold Coast	34	22	47	22	112	47	159	81	16	2.2	1.2	5.9	2.5	8.4	4.3	0.8	3
2022	Gold Coast	34	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	–
2023	Gold Coast	34	20	40	21	112	46	158	67	9	2.0	1.1	5.6	2.3	7.9	3.4	0.5	7
2024	Gold Coast	34	22	55	26	141	35	176	98	13	2.5	1.2	6.4	1.6	8.0	4.5	0.6	0
Career			95	184	101	532	202	734	351	56	1.9	1.1	5.6	2.1	7.7	3.7	0.6	11

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. "Weird footy nicknames: So why do they call Gov 'Brackets'?". AFL.com. 17 May 2019.
2. McEvoy, Simon (12 November 2018). "2018 AFL draft: Twins Ben and Max King looking forward to the 'next chapter'".
3. "King twins unfazed about being split through the AFL draft". 29 July 2018.
4. Balmer, Matt (30 October 2018). "AFL Draft 2018: Identical twin brothers Max and Ben King share incredibly tight bond".
5. Twomey, Callum (23 April 2018). "Scans confirm ACL for No.1 pick contender".
6. Twomey, Callum (19 November 2018). "Tomorrow's Heroes: Tall's versatility a big selling point".
7. Bunn, Sam (15 September 2018). "Gallant Dragons Eliminated by Dandenong".
8. Cleary, Mitch (22 November 2018). "King move sees pick six finally finish the longest journey".
9. Laughton, Max (18 December 2018). "The AFL draftees who nailed Year 12 VCE studies while also getting drafted in 2018".
10. Collins, Ben. "King of the kids: Big Sun the latest Rising Star". Retrieved 30 July 2019.
11. Balmer, Matt (14 October 2019). "Gold Coast lock down young gun - and more players are on the way". Retrieved 14 October 2019.
12. "Gold Coast King hit: Scans confirm ACL tear for star forward".
13. "Firing Sun King dismisses AFL trade rumours".
14. "If you come for the King, you're going to miss: Sun wants to stay".
15. "Ben King". afltables.com. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

External links

• Ben King's profile on the official website of the Gold Coast Football Club
• Ben King's playing statistics from AFL Tables