Young Melbourne ruckman Mitch King is hopeful his AFL debut is not too far away.
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The Wodonga and Murray Bushrangers export was on the Border on Tuesday with teammate Jack Watts meeting fans at Lavington Square.
Melbourne is currently without its top two big men in Max Gawn and Jake Spencer, with King making a successful recovery from knee surgery which sidelined him all last year.
King has played the last five rounds in the VFL with Casey Scorpions, but was only one week back when Spencer broke down in round five, which opened the door for Cameron Pedersen to take the ruck mantle.
“All my mates were sort of into me about it, but the week Jake Spencer hurt himself was the first week I had played back in the VFL still on limited game time,” King said.
“There was a glimmer of hope in the back of my mind (I would debut), but it was never really going to be the case.
“It’s nice to know that it’s not too far away, hopefully.”
King has been able to get some good continuity into his game after his second knee reconstruction following round one of the VFL last season, having already missed most of his time bottom age year with the Murray Bushrangers back in 2014.
“The knee is going fantastic after a bit of a slow year last year not being able to play much footy.
“At the moment I’m just trying to play some consistent footy and stay out on the field.
“It’s not really up to me, I’ve just got to put my best foot forward and if the coach wants to pick me, I’m more than happy to take the spot.
“Gawny (Gawn) and Jake Spencer have been fantastic with me, they’ve both actually done knees in the past as well, so they’ve been great to look to throughout the year and learn some tips and tricks along the way.
“They’ve been fantastic mentors for me and my development.”
Watts was also full of praise for the way King has handled his return to football.
“He’s starting to put some consistent footy together at VFL level.
“It’s pretty important for a young guy coming off an injury to get some continuity in his game.”
“It would be great to get him out there and have another big boy to shoulder the load a bit.”
Watts also reflected on Demons’ star forward Jesse Hogan’s progress after his shock cancer diagnosis and the possibility of him returning ahead of schedule, which has really inspired the playing group.
“I was speaking to him last (Monday) night and he was pretty optimistic, so whether that (his return) is straight after the bye or another week or two, but I think he’s pretty keen to get back out there and play footy and do what he loves.”