WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - MAX KING

[Moonshadow 16,624]

Does that mean he has sticky fingers like yourself Moon?

That's quite..... er, zzzzzzzzzz....... um, an observati........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZ..........

[Machsy 2,858]

Magnet was playing very well in the VFL and despite the seniors playing badly he never seemed to get a fair go.

Not by any other team either... indicating exactly where the smart ones rate his ability.

[autocol 448]

Barrett and Denham seem to think we've given up a brownlow medalist in Kelly

Clearly Damien Barrett just parrots whatever he heard in the hallways. The guy has no critical thinking or analysis skills at all. I couldn't give a toss what he or Denham think, frankly. They're simply not experts in player development (and if they were, they'd be employed at clubs, not media organisations).

Further to that, until about 6 weeks out from the draft, Aish was the consensus number two pick, all over the industry. Had you listened to Barrett then, he'd have told you Aish is a guaranteed future brownlow medallist and Melbourne were crazy to give him up.

As someone with a fair degree of education in the field of statistics and future-intelligence decision making, let me make an assessment as to the likelihood that Damien Barrett is any better than a groundhog at identifying future football talent... ZERO. Like, actually zero. If you were to keep a record of his statements for the next five years, and compare the results with that of a totally random selection of draftees, his predictions will prove to be of ZERO additional value over outright guessing. I guarantee it. Daniel Kahneman (the father of cognitive bias research and nobel prize winner in economics for his work in business psychology) would laugh in his face.

With regards to Max King, he sounds good, and he's exactly where a 200cm, 89kg 18 year old should be... on the rookie list.

[rjay 24,201]

Barrett and Denham seem to think we've given up a brownlow medalist in Kelly and I guess there is inherent risk in any strategy. Time will tell but my bet would be that Tyson will be one of the top 5 mids in the comp by 2015.

Yeah, Kelly will be a good player at worst a good ordinary player.

and the rest of my quote 'autocol' which give little credence to what Barrett and Denham say. I rate Tyson higher.

[Arrow 1,257]

Don't hold much hope for the rookie draft generally, and years gone by where these superstars fell through, just won't be as likely with the amount of money in development. However, Max looks like he could become a player. Not saying he will, and not saying I expect him too, but gee he looks good marking the ball for a big fella. He chases loose balls in a Brodie Grundy esque style, which I think we'll need to look out for in the next few years. Ruck Rover could be a literal term.

Anyway, not expecting much early on, but can't wait to watch his development and see if he turns out like what I can envisage. A very good honest ruckman, who is comfortable inside forward 50.

[Redleg 38,618]

Don't hold much hope for the rookie draft generally, and years gone by where these superstars fell through, just won't be as likely with the amount of money in development. However, Max looks like he could become a player. Not saying he will, and not saying I expect him too, but gee he looks good marking the ball for a big fella. He chases loose balls in a Brodie Grundy esque style, which I think we'll need to look out for in the next few years. Ruck Rover could be a literal term.

Anyway, not expecting much early on, but can't wait to watch his development and see if he turns out like what I can envisage. A very good honest ruckman, who is comfortable inside forward 50.

I also have a good feeling about this boy. Reading his background, he has had it hard with enormous travel and seems like a kid who is prepared to give it everything to succeed.

[Machsy 2,858]

Reminiscent of the effort Tom McDonald went to for training at the Rebels.

Same with Jetta in juniors, I believe.

Such a work ethic should hold King in good stead.

[monoccular 16,688]

the name "Max King" sounds like a brand of whey powder you buy from those health shops...

Really surprised that the Bummers didn't go for him then, or maybe they are being a bit cautions right now. :-)

[Vanilla Gorilla 204]

A very good honest ruckman, who is comfortable inside forward 50.

I think most people have missed the fact that he is a self-described KPF first-and-foremost, who pinch-hits in the ruck.

Will be interesting to see whether he is developed predominantly as a forward or as a ruck. My pick is the latter.

[Demonsterative 2,382]

I think most people have missed the fact that he is a self-described KPF first-and-foremost, who pinch-hits in the ruck. Will be interesting to see whether he is developed predominantly as a forward or as a ruck. My pick is the latter.

The club has been talking about him developing as a KPB.

[Jumping Jack Clennett 1,663]

I thought his debut on Friday was full of promise.

I'm surprised at the lack of comment here on DEMONLAND.

A quick mover, but needs to put on 15kg.

[Bedraggled Dee 336]

For a young skinny kid he did extremely well. I was pretty happy with his game and effort. He needs a couple of preseasons before we can see his potential on game day but I recon he sohwed enough to suggest he may make it.

[rpfc 27,692]

I thought his debut on Friday was full of promise.

I'm surprised at the lack of comment here on DEMONLAND.

A quick mover, but needs to put on 15kg.

Apologies.

Well done, Max.

See you in 2018.

Regards

rp

[dazzledavey36 49,826]

Pumped this kid up when we got drafted and Friday night he impressed me again. His follow up work was great to watch and his pretty agile and athletic. Needs 10 kilos and hopefully become a good ruckman for this football club.

[DeeSpencer 23,689]

It was the raw tools that impressed me. 200cm these days is only just ruck size as giants start to spread through the league but King looks tall and long enough to be able to ruck. And he's already the best skilled ruck on our list. The snap for goal and the lead and kick on the half forward flank showed that. But he jumped and got his hand on the ball and his showed a natural inclination to ruck I believe.

There's a lot of water to go under the bridge and Clark and Fitzpatrick are both interesting prospects that don't have definitive futures really. Clark when he comes back could be kept out of the ruck or he could even be a full time ruck there's a lot up in the air. And Fitzy could kick on over the next couple of years to be a gun key forward/second ruck or a tall floating forward or nothing. Same for the futures of Jamar, Spencer and Gawn, they are all a bit unknown. But King looked to me like a prospect who I'd like to see wear the red and blue again a lot. I'm glad we have him.

Pretty much all rucks do little before 21 and aren't at their best until 24 at least but most of the good ones were on AFL lists and developing their bodies and games from 18 or 19. Plus given a shot to show what they can do at different times. That's what I like about King. He's got a heap to learn and I expect he'll be found at even at VFL senior level at times but just one NAB challenge game should give him and the club a lot of belief.

[Bang Na Demon 132]

Extremely impressed by the King and very excited for his future

A beautiful, fluent kick and despite being an undersized 18yo, looked more likely than Spencer in ruck contests. The agility he showed in the goal he kicked was eye opening for a guy his size

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Very good skills for a big man and that goal he kicked was first-class.

[DeeSpencer 23,689]

Pumped this kid up when we got drafted and Friday night he impressed me again. His follow up work was great to watch and his pretty agile and athletic. Needs 10 kilos and hopefully become a good ruckman for this football club.

Another positive about him is as you said he needs 10kg or maybe a little more but something around that mark, and he needs a heap of fitness as witnessed by his big power munt in preseason, but he's not a super skinny kid who will need years to get even close to an AFL body. He's got a decent frame already and can be built up over a few preseasons at a steady rate. I think one reasons young rucks struggle is that if every off season they have to bulk up so much that when they start playing they have to get used to changing body composition a bit. And that can also result in injuries.

[george_on_the_outer 7,108]

Agree with all the comments to date.

For me the most promising thing about him is that he kicks the ball properly, can mark above his head, and instinctively knows where to run...i.e. he is a natural footballer.

We don't have to teach him these skills. Which unfortunately are lacking with our current crop of rucks, and have been trying to teach for up to 5 years in some cases.

[rjay 24,201]

Extremely impressed by the King and very excited for his future

A beautiful, fluent kick and despite being an undersized 18yo, looked more likely than Spencer in ruck contests. The agility he showed in the goal he kicked was eye opening for a guy his size

Looks like he could have a future but really he got killed in the ruck contests particularly at centre bounces where even Vickery (who is not a ruckmans ....) got the better of him.

There's a lot to work with though.

[Dee Dee 1,064]

When young Max was picked in the squad for Friday night I felt a little concerned for the lad, as if we were throwing him to the wolves.

But gee he went well, and what impressed me most of all was his very positive attitude. He's a rather skinny 18 year old, but he fitted in to the team beautifully. And when he kicked that goal his team mates were delighted. He's a good user of the ball, so In maybe 2 or 3 years we could have a really formidable ruck/forward on our hands.

[KingDingAling 3,683]

Very impressive debut by the kid.

Looked to have good skills for a big man, nice balance and a good leap.

Obviously has a big future, but we'll also need to be patienct - he does look very light on.

Come 2016, our two Max's will be a very good ruck duo.

Edited February 17, 2014 by KingDingAling