Steven King (footballer)
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For other people named Steven King, see Stephen King (disambiguation).
| Steven King | ||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||
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| Full name | Steven King | |||||||
| Date of Birth | 22 November 1978 | |||||||
| Place of Birth | Shepparton, Victoria | |||||||
| Recruited from | Murray Bushrangers (TAC Cup) | |||||||
| Draft | Unknown Geelong |
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| Height/Weight | 202cm / 105kg | |||||||
| Position | Ruckman | |||||||
| Club information | ||||||||
| Current club |  St Kilda |
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| Number | 2 | |||||||
| Playing Career1 | ||||||||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | ||||||
| 1996-2007 2008- |
Geelong St Kilda |
193 (75) 8 (3) |
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| ¹ Club statistics to end of Round 10, 2008 season | ||||||||
² Representative statistics to end of {{{repstatsend}}}
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Steven King (born November 22, 1978) is an Australian rules footballer.
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[edit] Career
Debuting as a 17-year old with the Geelong Cats in 1996, King is a gifted ruckman. He won All-Australian selection and won the Carji Greeves Medal in 2000 and again in 2002. He was captain of the club between 2003 and 2006.
In 2005, King was hit by numerous injuries and was criticised midway through the year in media outlets like the Herald Sun for his poor performances which his injuries caused. The aforementioned report in the Herald Sun newspaper brought to light the fact that the 202cm ruckman from Shepparton had not taken a contested mark up until that point of the season, which was inexcusable for a player of his stature.
A moment of controversy occurred in King's career in the 2005 Elimination Final, when he accidentally kicked Melbourne's Jeff White in the head. Both men were contesting a boundary throw in, and it was knocked to the ground. King was the man in front, and when the ball bounced up to head height, he took a mighty swing at it with his right foot. He missed the ball completely, but connected with White's face, giving him injuries which have been described as "equivalent to those of a car accident victim," requiring White to have several plates and screws inserted.
Media commentators and fans were largely divided about whether or not King should have faced the tribunal for kicking, historically the most heavily penalised infringement whether accidental or intentional. Eventually, the Match Review Panel decided that he had no case to answer, and he was free to play in the semi-final against Sydney the following week. Somewhat ironically, a hamstring injury in the third quarter of that game coincided with a Sydney comeback, and eventually victory.
King fell out of favour in 2007, playing only a handful of AFL games and was dropped to the Victorian Football League in favour of Brad Ottens and Mark Blake. In Round 18, playing in the AFL when Ottens was rested, he took a mark over goal umpire Michael Hammond – an awkward half-speckie/half-collision which sent the umpire crashing to the ground; for the second time in his career, despite the AFL's generally strict application of the rule prohibiting contact with field umpires, King avoided tribunal action, with the Match Review Panel deeming that the goal umpire had contributed to the clash, due to the fact that he moved towards the ball as it began to fall.
King continued to perform strongly in the VFL, and played in the Cats' 2007 VFL premiership against Coburg on September 23. Following weak finals performances by Mark Blake, King received a recall to the senior team for the AFL Grand Final, despite Blake having played more games during the season. King then participated in the Cats' 2007 AFL premiership win against Port Adelaide on September 29, giving him his second premiership medallion within seven days.
Following Mark Blake re-signing as the #2 ruckman, King was offered a one year contract on reduced pay, which he declined. Lacking space in their salary cap, Geelong asked King to retire[1], but eventually traded him, along with Charlie Gardiner, to St Kilda for a sixth round selection in the 2007 national draft (nominally #90; not used).
King won his 3rd premiership in 5 games when St Kilda won the NAB Cup, the AFL pre season competition.
[edit] Personal life
King is engaged to long time girlfriend and former Price Is Right model, Danielle Atkin.
[edit] Statistics
- Statistics are correct as of end of Round 9, 2008 season
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Goals | Behinds | Kicks | Marks | Handballs | Disposals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Geelong | 1 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 81 | 38 | 55 | 136 |
| 1997 | Geelong | 1 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 202 | 94 | 91 | 293 |
| 1998 | Geelong | 1 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 89 | 60 | 47 | 136 |
| 1999 | Geelong | 1 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 134 | 63 | 60 | 194 |
| 2000 | Geelong | 1 | 23 | 12 | 10 | 252 | 82 | 120 | 372 |
| 2001 | Geelong | 1 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 161 | 76 | 81 | 242 |
| 2002 | Geelong | 1 | 22 | 14 | 9 | 237 | 100 | 135 | 372 |
| 2003 | Geelong | 1 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 95 | 49 | 80 | 175 |
| 2004 | Geelong | 1 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 126 | 55 | 67 | 193 |
| 2005 | Geelong | 1 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 140 | 69 | 85 | 225 |
| 2006 | Geelong | 1 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 116 | 67 | 97 | 213 |
| 2007 | Geelong | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 40 | 58 |
| 2008 | St. Kilda | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 20 | 35 | 76 |
| Totals | 200 | 78 | 54 | 1688 | 788 | 989 | 2677 | ||
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
[edit] External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ben Graham |
Captain of Geelong 2002-2006 |
Succeeded by Tom Harley |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Ben Graham |
Geelong Best and Fairest Winner 2000 |
Succeeded by Brenton Sanderson |
| Preceded by Brenton Sanderson |
Geelong Best and Fairest Winner 2002 |
Succeeded by Matthew Scarlett |
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