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Before the current trend of mature aged recruits, David King was 22-years-old when he made his debut for North, plucked from Port Melbourne in the 1993 National Draft.
Considering King only played 43 senior games for Port Melbourne in four years, it was quite a gamble taken by the club’s recruiting staff.
Damian Drum was coach of Port in King’s last season, but had left to join Sydney as an assistant coach. As he told Jake Niall in 1996, he had persuaded the Swans to draft his former team member.
However North’s pick 46 was three before Sydney’s and King went on to become a vital part of the best team in the 1990’s.
An attacking half-back and wingman, he instantly became a best 22 player and kept that mantle for more than a decade. Throughout his career, he never played less than 19 games in a year.
[RELATED: Every selection ever by North Melbourne at a National Draft]
A two-time All-Australian and two-time premiership player, King also represented Australia twice in the International Rules Series and was named an emergency in North’s Team of the Century. All from a player considered the 46th best in his draft class.
Considering King was recently re-ranked as the fifth best player from the 1993 draft by the Herald Sun and North also selected Adam Simpson with pick 14 in the same draft, it was a memorable off-season that helped set the club up for the most successful era in its history.
David King
Pick: #46, 1993 National Draft
Games: 241
Goals: 145
Pick before King: Trent Bartlett, Brisbane (81 games)
Pick after King: Chris Palmer, Hawthorn (0 games)
North at the 1993 National Draft
| Pick | Player | Recruited from | Games for North |
| 14 | Adam Simpson | Northern U18, VIC | 306 |
| 31 | Mark Stevens | Gippsland U18, VIC | 21 |
| 46 | David King | Port Melbourne, VIC | 241 |
| 60 | Troy Polak | Perth, WA | 0 |
| 63 | Gareth John | Sydney, NSW | 1 |
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