David King

Career: 1994-2004
Games: 241
Goals: 145
Brownlow Medal: 60 career votes
Guernsey Numbers: 34
Height: 186cm
Weight: 85kg
DOB: 7 March 1972 (Debut: 22y 26d, last game: 32y 174d

When he was drafted by North he hardly seemed a fashionable recruit. At 22 he was old for a new player and came from the relatively barren VFA. Recruiters were sceptical about him because he had not been an elite junior. In fact he had not even been a regular senior player at Port Melbourne in 1992 after coming from Assumption College.

He had the image of being a niggly in-your-face backman- a man who liked to let the opposition know that he was around. King said it was fortunate that he had not been drafted at 18 as he had not been strong enough at the time. He was fast and hard at the ball. In 1994 he played most of the season in the firsts and progressed from there. His coach Denis Pagan reckoned he came on in leaps and bounds in 1996 when he shifted from the wing to defence.

Before he joined North he had played plenty of football on the half-back line and had the capacity to run 20-30 metres out of defence then fire a 60 metre torpedo. A 1996 premiership player he was a Victorian rep for the first time in 1997and then played in the Roos’ 1999 premiership side. All-Australian in 1996 and 1999, King’s dash and enthusiasm were vital ingredients for the Roos over many seasons.

King finished ninth in the clubs best and fairest in 2002 and despite some dips in form during 2003 he fought back and ran seventh in the best and fairest. He played every game in 2004, but his form fluctuated late in the in the year and he was often used off the bench. Although he probably could have squeezed out another season he came to a consensus with the club that he would retire.

VFL/AFL: 10472nd player to appear
North Melbourne: 832nd player to appear

Quotes on King:
“I think it’s something that’s going to die out of the game with the new rules being brought in. But all the boys all reckon that makes the game more sterile. If the fans can have a laugh and the players can have a laugh, well it can’t do much harm.” – David King on sledging and his reputation as one of the main sledgers in the AFL.

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