HE IS second in the Coleman Medal race and the Suns' spearhead but Ben King is still building.

The Gold Coast key forward chats with Cal Twomey in Cal's Q&A this week about Damien Hardwick's stern message last week, the Suns' finals hopes, finding his own identity, chasing Charlie Curnow, 'Burleigh Ben' and life with twin Max.  

'Grow the f*** up'. How was that received on Saturday within the playing group?

It was received really well. It was definitely something we needed to hear if we're to take the next step that we want to. I think all the boys are on board with what 'Dimma' was saying after that game and after our season in general. It was very well needed and very well received and no doubt we'll respond to it as well. 

What's been the work done this week to back it up?

We've watched footage of what it looks like when we're not getting it right in games and then a few tough conversations and demanding more of each other for the rest of the year. We've been able to train and put some things into practice so it was good. 

Why do you think there's been such a distinct difference between on the road form and form at home?

Personally, I don't read into the away games in any way. The games we've won we haven't won because we've been at home – we've won because we've played our style of football and we've cracked in over four quarters. The games we haven't won we haven't done that, so that's as simple as I see it. Home or away I feel if we crack in and bring what we need to for four quarters then we can beat anyone. We just need to do it. 

Despite that, finals is still up for grabs. Where have you seen the growth this year under Damien Hardwick and what areas do you think are still to come?

That's the really exciting thing. In years gone by we've been having these chats and preparing for next year and how we're going to bounce back next year. But to have the opportunity to be able to rectify some stuff and still compete for the eight is exciting. 

It's been your most consistent and prolific year at AFL level with 43 goals so far. How do you see your game as evolving this season?

I've taken a step in the right direction in terms of consistency. I've had a lot of help during the week and have kept a really consistent routine that's allowed me to come into the weekend feeling good about what I can bring to each game. Last year I really wasn't happy with my consistency and I felt I'd play a good game and then play some really bad games as well. Consistency has been a big thing for me this year. I've still got a lot to improve on in that area as well. 

What's the routine look like?

It's nothing too far out of the ordinary, it's where my focus is coming into a couple of training sessions, it's when I watch my vision, when I write out my plan for each game and when I start to focus in on the weekend, meditate and feel as good as I can come first bounce. It's nothing too different but I think the consistency of my training has helped me.

What does the writing out of the game plan consist of?

It's watching who is going to match up on me, writing a few key takeaways of what they want and how I feel I'll expose them. But the bulk of it is focusing on my strengths and what I bring to the game and the closer I get to the game the more I lock in on my strengths knowing I've done the work on my opponent. 

You're second in the Coleman Medal race at the moment behind Charlie Curnow. Has it become an ambition to win it this year?

It'd be nice. But it's certainly not why I play football and what I'm thinking about week to week. That revolves around winning games and playing in my first final for this club. It's not taking much of my thoughts at the moment but it's always something to strive for at the same time. 

Is it natural to take a peek at how the other key forwards in the game have gone after their games?

I've tried not to … all those guys are great players and having great seasons as well, so good luck to them and I hope they have good years too. 

Last year you still kicked 40 goals in your first season back after your knee reconstruction, but it was a challenging year at stages. What was your assessment? 

It was tricky at times. As far as my confidence in my knee I felt fine, I wasn't thinking about my knee in games, but what I didn't anticipate was slipping back into feeling comfortable on the football field having never missing a chunk of football like that since I was five or six years old. I felt like my pre-season was decent and my training was decent but there's nothing quite like a game on an opponent. It took me a bit of time at the start of the year to feel myself out there and play to my strengths and then even when I was able to have good games I wasn't able to capitalise in big patches. It was discouraging at times feeling like I wasn't playing to my capacity and to the capacity I knew I had. I was trying to keep level in that year and not be affected by too much.

Did it affect you?

Yeah, I definitely had my moments. It was just frustrating knowing I wasn't playing to the best of my ability. Come the end of the year it was good to reflect on that and that I don't really want to have a year like that again. It will probably hold me in good stead in the future. 

This year's trajectory everyone saw coming. 47 goals in 2021 and then you go down with the knee ahead of the 2022 season. What was that like mentally for you when you thought the next gear of your career was about to emerge?

At times it was hard, but I still felt very lucky through the whole process. My job was coming in and going to the gym, staying fit and watching football. I had a decent perspective about it all so I wasn't too down in the dumps for a lot of it but I definitely had my moments. Watching us play in games where we were getting beaten was hard and even some of the really good wins where I found myself pumped for the whole game and then I'd get to the end and go 'Jeez, I wasn't really involved in that, that would have been awesome to be a part of'. 

You've become this team's spearhead, which is what they originally drafted you to be. What does that title mean to you?

I feel like it's a privilege. I don't think it's as rigid as that, we've got a lot of scoring threats, but it's a privilege to be a key forward. There's not heaps of them in the League and in each team so I feel lucky that I can play that position. 

How has Dimma's impact been on you? 

He's narrowed our focuses and almost simplified the game in a way in terms of what we need to bring to play well and play our roles, which I think everyone has enjoyed. He's worked with some great key forwards in his time as a coach so any little bits that he's seen in their game he's been good at sharing with us keys. He talks about 'Lynchy' (Tom Lynch) sometimes, a bit of Jack Riewoldt stuff, but he's been really good. 

Who are the key forwards you look at around the competition and even grew up idolising?

There's a lot who I've watched over the years and tried to take bits from. At the moment the guys who I look to and watch their vision includes both Curnow and (Harry) McKay and how they work together. They both have different strengths but are really dynamic with their movement and they launch at the ball really well which gives me a good crack at marking it. Nick Larkey's movement is really good as well, he's got sharp feet and can always find space on tough opponents. He's one I watch a fair bit of as well. Jesse Hogan is another – he'd be one of the smartest key forwards and his footwork, body work and timing are all things I watch. 

You've kicked 43.14 this year and kick at 66 per cent accuracy across your career. What goes into a good set shot routine?

I don't feel like I've mastered it, but I try not to think about it which is probably a good thing. Generally, when I get to the top of my mark the more simple my routine is, the better my chances are of kicking well. I've probably had the same routine for a few years now and it's very simple – I have a couple of cues but I try not to think as much as possible. 

Did you always want to be a forward? A lot of your draft age games were spent as a key defender. 

I really enjoyed playing back. I was back at the start so I didn't have much exposure to playing forward until a bit later. I just loved playing footy and I loved playing back at the time. When I was swung forward in under-16s, 17s and 18s I definitely got a taste for it and I could see an improvement in my forward craft. That was pretty rewarding growing that side of it. 

Do you and Max swap notes about different key defenders you're going to play each week?

We have done in the past. More so I'll look to see if a defender has played on Max, then how has he done it? We've got similar strengths in that way so what have they tried to take away from Max so how am I going to stop them taking that away from me? No doubt he would do the same if I'd just played a defender and he was about to come up against them, and also the defender would probably watch both of us and try to draw a bit from that as well. In terms of talking about it, we just leave each other to it for most of it. We back that we're doing the work separately and that we'll be fine. 

He has had a tough few weeks at the Saints. How have you seen the discussion around him recently and have you spoken to him about that?

I've been checking in on him. It's been hard not to see, as much as I don't read into much of that stuff really. It comes with being a key forward and Max is a very talented player and a high-profile player down there in Melbourne so it comes with the territory a bit that you'll get scrutiny. I also think as a key forward you're going to have patches where you're the man and you absolutely dominate and then you'll have patches where it might dry up again and it becomes a bit tougher. It's probably a fair bit about not riding the rollercoaster and not getting too high or too low. All I can do is check in on him and I've got no doubt he will be the player that he can be. 

Has it been interesting to forge your own path from him since coming to the Suns, having been forever linked being twins?

We're still best mates. It's been cool to see our identities form a bit separately at different clubs. Coming through we kind of had one identity – same teams, same group of mates and we did everything together. It's been good for our independence and our football to have different paths and be able to share stuff from two different experiences in footy.  

That divergence came the night before the draft when Gold Coast visited your house and told you they'd be drafting you with pick No.6. What do you recall of that? 

It was a crazy night. I remember it well. I had my last exam for school on the Monday and the draft was Thursday. In between then I wasn't really sure on where I was going to land and Gold Coast came over and said 'We're picking you', which was an interesting time for my family. We're a really close family and they were pumped for me and excited that I was about to live out my dream, but they were also battling with their 18-year-old leaving home and not knowing if he'll come back. I look back on that time really fondly and it was really exciting with lots of new experiences. It no doubt took some adjustment from mum and dad in letting me go.

How is Burleigh Ben different to Brighton Ben? 

Very different. I still love Melbourne but I probably miss the people there more than the place itself. I feel really lucky to be able to live up here and be really settled in up here. 

Talk about your change in that time since 2018, what about the club's? Personnel aside, how do you see the difference? 

When I first came up here the results weren't there and we really struggled to win games. But in terms of the culture and people here we were all really close and loved hanging out and coming into the club. From that point, it's similar in that we love coming in and we're really close. From a football standpoint we've grown in confidence in what we can achieve and all those young guys who have hung around are starting to develop and play good footy. 

How good can Jed Walter be?

He could be anything, Jed. He's got all the traits in terms of his power, his physicality, his speed and then his forward craft is really good as well. I'm really confident he can be a gun key forward into the future. We're really excited. 

We've heard it before but does the lure of being the first team at Gold Coast to find success still drive every day? 

It's probably not spoken about every day but no doubt it's in the back of everyone's mind but that's what we're working towards. To be the first to bring a flag to the coast would be really special. It would make all our hard work worth it and those grim years early on would make sense and be worth it.