Max King is back ... and he emerged unscathed.
That is the major takeaway from the St Kilda full-forward's return in the VFL on Sunday against Gold Coast.
The 25-year-old, so integral to the Saints' potential surge in the Ross Lyon Mark II era, hasn't played in the AFL since hurting a knee in Round 16, 2024. The fact he competed solidly and got through his first competitive hitout in 665 days is a massive positive.
King had only a handful of touches and kicked a behind in limited game time, but the stats are irrelevant.
He is too good to languish in the VFL for too long, so could be a chance to return this weekend. If not, you would think two runs in the VFL would be more than enough.
The Saints' win against West Coast was predictable given the Eagles' woes, with King's hitout far more significant for the long term.
He underwent surgery in 2024, then missed the entire 2025 season, before having another knee operation in December. King returned to training in January, but suffered a calf injury, which has kept him sidelined until now.
The Saints mulled whether to play King at AFL level without a VFL hit-out under his belt, but went the cautious route.
"Max has worked through a solid block of conditioning and contact training as he builds towards his return after missing a significant period of football," St Kilda's general manager of football, Lenny Hayes, said earlier in the week.
"Throughout what's been a challenging period, he's shown strong resilience and commitment to getting his body back to where it needs to be.
"We'll continue to lean on the advice of our high-performance team and won't take any unnecessary risks, but he's given himself every chance to be available this week."
