A two-time premiership player, the passion David King still holds for North Melbourne Football Club is obvious and, often, unbridled.
After almost 250 games, King was a key member of the North side which dominated football in the late 1990’s.
With three grand finals and three top four finishes in the first six years of his career, King is a player turned pundit who knows what success looks like and knows what it takes to win at the highest level.
After the turn of the century, however, the club made finals in just one of his final four years at the club, as it looked to gear up for another tilt at the pinnacle, with young players like Brady Rawlings, Drew Petrie and Daniel Wells coming through the ranks.
While he never finished lower than 13th in his storied career, North had showed signs of bottoming out and retooling during his later period at the club, much like it is now.
2021’s bottom-placed finish may be difficult to look at, but King says he views this past season as a successful one.
“I was looking for a year of growth, and it takes a brave club to say we’re going to rebuild, we’re going back to ground zero and let’s see what comes from there,” he said during the Syd Barker Medal.
“For me personally, I’ve watched how (Tarryn) Thomas, (Tom) Powell, (Luke) Davies-Uniacke, Cam Zurhaar, Nick Larkey and these types really grow and blossom into that next level of player already.
“Jack (Ziebell) has led the way really admirably, and that next wave of leaders have done the hard yards.
“It tough at this phase of AFL football, so if you’re looking for two to three years’ time, you really love what you say this year.”
Like all fans of the club, King is well aware of what Ben Cunnington means to everyone associated with North Melbourne.
While his playing career never crossed paths with the current number 10, King played with some of the hardest and best midfielders to ever pull on the royal blue and white stripes including Anthony Stevens, Anthony Rock and Peter Bell.
He says Cunnington’s name should be there will the all-time greats of the club.
“I don’t even think he (Cunnington) understands what he means to this football club and this group,” King said.
“He’s one that should probably be thrown into the team of the century. His consistency is unparalleled across the competition.”
