- Geelong players and staff were stunned by the incident
- The Cats will play Brisbane in the preliminary final on Saturday
Geelong’s preparations for the AFL preliminary final against the Brisbane Lions have been thrown into disarray after assistant coach Steven King suffered a “medical episode” at training.
King, who is one of three final contenders for the West Coast head coaching job, was rushed to Epworth Hospital after the incident at GMHBA Stadium at around 11am on Friday.
The 45-year-old collapsed on the pitch while speaking to teammates and players and was quickly treated by medical staff.
He remained under observation in hospital on Friday and club officials are hopeful he will recover.
Coach Chris Scott said it was not a life-threatening situation.
Scott added that King is unlikely to be part of the coaching panel for the elimination clash with Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday.
Cats players were taken inside after the incident and a news conference with Scott was delayed.
Former Cats player turned Geelong assistant coach Steven King (pictured) collapsed during a training session at the club’s home stadium on Friday.
The 35-year-old was rushed to hospital and is not expected to be part of the coaching panel when Geelong take on Brisbane in Saturday’s preliminary final.
King made 193 appearances for Geelong from 1996 to 2007 before making 47 appearances for St Kilda from 2008 to 2010.
He scored a total of 83 goals, won the flag with the Cats in 2007 and was included in the All-Australian team in 2000.
King joined Geelong as an assistant last October after spending two seasons as part of the Gold Coast Suns’ coaching team, where he was interim coach for the final seven games of 2023 after Stuart Dew was sacked.
He also had coaching stints with the Saints in 2011, then spent a decade on the Western Bulldogs’ coaching panel and was part of the team’s flag triumph in 2016.
The former ruckman is one of three final candidates to replace Adam Simpson as Eagles head coach.
He told reporters he felt he was on the verge of realising his dream of managing an AFL team as he flew west for an interview.
“To be honest, I think it’s a lot of hard work that I’ve put in over the years, it’s something I’ve always aspired to do and I’m in a really fortunate position where it’s close to becoming a reality,” King said.
