Injury-prone Max King’s return for Saints ‘imminent’; Cameron rates his own performance ‘borderline pathetic’

St Kilda lynch pin Max King, preparing for an “imminent” AFL return after more than two years out with injury, says he refused to go down the “rabbit hole” of wallowing in the pressure of being a highly-paid footballer who couldn’t play.

The 26-year-old, who has been hobbled by a succession of injury setbacks, suffered a hamstring strain in early May during a VFL match. But St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said 83-gamer King was on the cusp of a long-awaited comeback.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘imminent’, but someone did, so that sort-of lit it up,” Lyon said on Wednesday.

“He has made real ground … I’m going to have a meeting later in the week, probably Friday, with our high-performance team to get an exact feel on it.

“But it’s imminent.”

King, the twin of Gold Coast goal-kicking star Ben King, said he had developed strong resilience after two surgeries on his knee to repair a troublesome meniscus.

“Essentially, there was a meniscus that was a bit loose, an old tear that was clunking in the knee,” King said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.

“For whatever reason, there was a few other things that they thought they could be and you obviously don’t want it to be that.

“The first two surgeries were no good. You repair it, which you know is probably a 50:50 chance to work, but you take the punt because you want to keep it in.

“It doesn’t work, you take it out and you get on with it. Down the line, you have a bit of knee stuff when you’re older … it’s the risk that you take to play footy.”

King inked a six-year extension in 2024 that tied him to Moorabbin until the end of 2032. He earned between $1.4 million and $1.6 million last season but his deal averages out at about $1 million per season. But he says he refused to let the pressure of being a highly-paid player weigh him down.

“There are definitely times when you wrestle with ‘I’m on a big contract. I want to be playing the club back (and) playing’,” King said.

“But I don’t think that’s helpful to go down that rabbit-hole – I’m doing everything I can to get back as soon as I can to play good footy.

“That’s all I can do really. At some point, I’ve probably thought that, but it’s not a space I want to live in. I feel the support inside the club. And that’s what matters for me.

“I feel like if I can get myself right, and put together some good footy, that I think it will be worth it for the club. That’s just what I’m investing in.”

‘Borderline pathetic’: Jeremy Cameron rates his quiet Lions game

Peter Ryan

Geelong star Jeremy Cameron has not sugarcoated his most recent performance, describing his game against the Brisbane Lions last round as “borderline pathetic” as he looks to bounce back against his former club at Engie Stadium on Saturday.

The 33-year-old managed his first kick early in the final quarter and Cats coach Chris Scott admitted after the game that last year’s Coleman Medal winner was in a “bit of a down patch” amid questions about the effect his sore left arm, broken in last year’s grand final loss to the Lions, was having on his performance.

Speaking on his weekly AusAmericans podcast, Cameron told former Giants teammate Toby Greene that he doesn’t normally take his performances home with him, but he was angry with himself after the game last Thursday night.

“I was bloody pissed off driving back down the highway out to the farm after the game just with my personal game,” Cameron said.

“It was borderline pathetic and hats off to Darcy Gardiner who played a ripping game and just beat me on the night.”

It is the fourth time in Cameron’s past five matches against the Lions that he has managed fewer than 10 touches, and the second time in his past three matches against the back-to-back premiers that he has been held goalless.

Cameron said he was not playing on instinct, and it was making him slow to get into good positions to win the ball.

“I am reactive in a lot of ways and Darcy Gardiner was beating me to the football when it was just an obvious one on one,” Cameron said.

The key forward has appeared to favour the left arm this season; however, the Cats say he is fit enough to play and backed him to regain form.

The two-time Coleman medallist said he could draw on his experience to get in the right frame of mind to bounce back.

“Some of my worst games have been the ones I have got the most improvement from,” Cameron said.

He said their effort against the Lions had been frustrating, and it means the Cats head into a huge match against the Giants needing to win to keep their top-four chances alive, having lost four of their past five matches. They have struggled against the Giants recently, losing their past four matches.

On Wednesday, Scott remained steadfast on Cameron being able to play a crucial role in the Cats’ finals push.

“It’s obviously frustrating for him at the moment that he’s not feeling as good as he has at times in his career,” Scott said.

“But so he’s got some ideas on it, and we’ve thrown around some things this week that we think are worthy of consideration.

“This is something that’s been an issue for him for virtually all the year and if you probably look at it and say well, there have been ups and downs because there certainly have been ups.

“Maybe we focus a little bit more on the downs, but he’s saying he’s in good enough shape to finish out the year with more of those ups than downs.”

With AAP

Fraser’s lessons learnt in Carlton’s winning streak

Jon Pierik

Interim Carlton coach Josh Fraser says there is nothing specific he still needs to learn before he feels he is ready to permanently be a senior AFL coach, declaring his stint in charge has reaffirmed many of his beliefs.

Fraser, 44, has the surging Blues on a seven-game winning streak since replacing Michael Voss in May, but has resisted officially entering the race to be in charge next season and beyond, insisting he was not ready for such an all-encompassing role.

The former Collingwood ruckman said on Wednesday the Blues had yet to ask him whether he was keen to change his mind, as club chief Graham Wright sounds out prospective candidates from rival clubs.

Fraser has coached his own teams before, including in the VFL with Collingwood and the Blues, and with Gold Coast in the former NEAFL.

Asked on Wednesday what he still had to learn before he would feel ready for a senior role, Fraser replied: “There’s probably nothing specific that jumps out, other than staying really open-minded to learning.

“I think there’s probably things in this role that I haven’t been exposed to, but then any untried coach will be in the same position, so I’m getting a great opportunity to learn, develop with a playing group, and yeah, I’m enjoying it.”

Former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has said Fraser is only doing “30-40 per cent of the current job of an AFL coach”, for he has not had to worry about off-season issues, including staffing, planning and recruiting.

Fraser has turned the Blues into a far more attacking unit, and has the team’s most important players, including Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh, playing their best football of the season.

“I think it’s reaffirmed a lot of things that maybe through experience I’ve been able to gain in my time in coaching, and I’ve had the experience of coaching my own side,” Fraser said.

“So, it reaffirms some of those learnings as well. I think I’ve referenced the importance of conversations with players, and making sure that, you know, there’s great clarity and alignment with those conversations as well …It’s challenging a few of the beliefs I had, and yeah, I feel like it’s certainly helping me, that’s for sure.”

The Blues expect to be boosted by the return of Harry Dean (hand) for Saturday night’s clash against Hawthorn. Dean will likely be a replacement for Lewis Young (concussion). There is no date set for Jacob Weitering’s return (calf), after he recently had a setback.

High-performance boss leaves injury-hit Tigers

AAP

Richmond’s ongoing injury crisis has led to their high-performance boss leaving the club.

Joining the Tigers after the 2024 season, Ben Serpell has failed to turn around a crippling injury toll that has hampered their rebuild. Serpell will depart Richmond this week to take up “another opportunity”.

“The club is well-placed to manage through the balance of the season with our existing high-performance staff while we commence an extensive search for a replacement,” Richmond football boss Tim Livingstone said.

Richmond have fielded 39 different players this season, with 12 currently on the injury list.

Prized No.1 draft pick Sam Lalor has been restricted to just 18 games in almost two completed campaigns at Punt Rd. Lalor is currently sidelined with a partial Achilles tear and is pushing to be back for three or four games before the end of the season.

Fellow 2024 first-round pick Josh Smillie is yet to make his AFL debut as he battles ongoing quad issues, while highly rated defender Josh Gibcus has been cruelled by knee injuries that have restricted him to four games across three years.

Coach Adem Yze has battled with availability issues in all of his three seasons in charge, but refuses to use injuries as an excuse for winning just 10 of his 63 games as Tigers coach.

“It [injuries] affects it a little bit, but you lose a soldier and you replace the soldier,” he said after Saturday night’s two-point loss against Carlton.

“There’ll be some bumps along the road when that’s happening and it is a lot harder when you’ve got high talent or really important players like ‘Lynchy’ [veteran forward Tom Lynch] missing.

“But we want to play the same way. We expect to play the same way with the ball, and we want to be playing an attacking brand of footy that our Tiger Army really enjoy watching.”

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.