St Kilda coach Brett Ratten revealed Max King has put on as much as five kilograms of muscle during the pre-season and is looking “nice and strong” ahead of his third year in the AFL system.
After a 2019 campaign which was largely spent recovering from an ACL injury he sustained in his draft year, King played all bar one of St Kilda’s matches in 2020 – including both of their finals.
Kicking 22 goals last season, King showed why he is regarded as a future star of the competition, but he was soundly beaten by more experienced opponents in some matches.
Ratten said King learnt plenty from last season and after a big pre-season putting on extra weight, he was now in a better position to compete with some of the best defenders in the competition this year.
“Like anyone in the competition, it was his first full season for a long time,” he said on Sportsday.
“For him, it was (his first full season) for virtually three years and his development and playing most games was good. Whether he performed at the elite level or he got through some games, he learnt a lot about AFL football.
"He pre-season has been very good, he’s a big man and big presence in our forward line – he’s probably put on four or five kilograms which is great.
“It’s something he’s worked on and he looks nice and strong. He has to keep chipping away at his game, but he’s got enormous talent.
“He knows the best full backs will be coming for him and he’s only a young man still, but I think even with the games he got beaten in he learnt a lot moving forward.
“We speak about the education you get from playing against a Harris Andrews or Steven May and what you do next time.
“I think he learnt a lot about himself and the competition next year.”
St Kilda take on West Coast on February 19 in their first AAMI Community Series game, before opening their 2021 season against GWS in Sydney on March 21.