THE MUCH-HYPED King twins could co-exist as nightmarish, 200cm-plus forward targets if they end up at the same AFL club next week in a "fairytale" scenario.
Sandringham Dragons talent manager Ryan O'Connor saw enough from Max and Ben King – separately and together – to suggest that prospect is a reality.
The potential of them spearheading an AFL club's attack has emerged, or at least heightened, since Max sustained an ACL rupture playing for Haileybury College in April.
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Ben was considered a key defender and spent the pre-season training for that role, but booted 11 goals the day Max went down and was a prolific goalkicker in his brother's absence this year.
In a draft bereft of ruck talent, O'Connor said the Kings could even be the second coming of Dean Cox or Jeff White if they were used in that way, such is their athleticism.
"In round two (of the TAC Cup under-18 competition), when Max kicked his 8.5, we ended the game with Max and Ben forward together," O'Connor told AFL.com.au.
"We thought that might create a few headaches for any opposition defence, so maybe that's the way to go, but I really like Ben's work down back as well as up forward.
"Up until (Max's season-ending knee injury), he didn't have those opportunities to be the main focal point, because they'd probably shared that.
"To be able to cope with your brother going down with a major injury and to kick 11 goals shows a real strength of mind."
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Gold Coast is best positioned to draft the inseparable 18-year-olds to the same team, as one of just two clubs with multiple top-10 picks and the only one with three.
They are certain to be selected in that range and could both be off the board by the Suns' No.6 pick, which follows the club's choices at two and three.
Port Adelaide has the fifth and 10th selections in the draft, while Carlton is contemplating, however seriously, the prospect of trading its No.1 pick for two in the top 10.
St Kilda's No.4 selection, which has been linked to Max King, is also being raised as a possible trade chip ahead of the first-ever draft enabling clubs to trade picks on the night.
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"It's a hard one. Do clubs trade and go for the twins together or do you separate them and they blossom in different clubs by themselves?" O'Connor said.
"I think both boys could do either. They're very tight, so it'd be great to see them together and there's a little bit of that fairytale about it.
"They're very smart, driven young men who can do as their schoolmates did, Charlie Constable and Andy Brayshaw, and go to their own AFL clubs and make a good fist of their first year of senior footy."
However, O'Connor cautioned against unrealistic expectations on the teenagers making an instant impact against men at the elite level.
The most recent key forwards taken in the top 10 were Josh Schache (pick two), Sam Weideman (nine) and Harry McKay (10) in 2015.
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None of them had a smooth journey in their first three seasons, with Weideman beginning to emerge only late in 2018, Schache onto his second club and McKay spending more time in the VFL until this year.
"They haven't played senior footy yet and they've played in a competition that doesn't have zoning," O'Connor said of the Kings.
"They're both amazing athletes who mark the ball a lot on the lead and run people off their legs, so they're going to have to get used to being handled physically.
"I'm sure they're up to that challenge, but it's going to be a really interesting couple of years for all of us sitting back watching to see how they handle that.
"They say big fellas take time and they really do. We need to be patient with them (but) they may jump up and surprise us – they have a habit of doing that."
