St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has clashed with journalists during a tense post-match media conference as he staunchly defended the club’s decision to select Max King.
King returned to AFL action for the first time in 757 days, but failed to complete the match after succumbing to hamstring tightness in the third quarter.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Ross Lyon fires up Max King questions
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As Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera dragged the Saints to a vital 31-point win with another Marvel Stadium masterclass, the fallout to the match centred on King.
The 26-year-old will undergo scans, but wasn’t spotted again — even in the team song — after being taken to the rooms.
King earned just two possessions, including missing a difficult shot on goal in the second term.
“He tightened up in his hammy. The update I had is they’ll investigate and have a scan. I haven’t spoken to him,” Lyon said post-match.
It was King’s first AFL game since June 30, 2024, having battled knee injuries as well as soft-tissue concerns.
He had two games at VFL level earlier in the year but suffered a hamstring injury in one of those, pushing back his comeback past the two-year mark.
The Saints coach was then quizzed about whether it was the right call to bring King straight into the AFL, rather than the VFL.
Lyon declared King had trained strongly in a four-week block to justify playing him on limited minutes against the Kangaroos.
“I don’t even know what the outcome is, so how can it be an error before there’s an outcome,” Lyon responded to repeated questions about King.
“But we stand by our decision to play (him). We have high-performance experts … we have conditioning, we’re really quite confident.
“Of course we stand by it, hindsight’s 20-20, isn’t it?
“You can’t be timid souls sitting in the sidelines.
“We’re in the arena making decisions. We’ve done it before, we did it in 2023 and played him.”
Lyon was then asked about King’s welfare after he skipped the team song, which was news to the coach.
“It’s about resilience and coming again,” Lyon said.
“He’s run down an AFL race, feels good, had a start, get a feel for how hard it is, and rehab a potential soft tissue injury.”
Lyon then laughed when asked for further detail on King’s injury, saying he had already answered it.
“This is really specific, this is the exact conversation: He had a tight hamstring, and he’ll be having a scan tomorrow — and I will be updated tomorrow. I’m giving you everything I’ve got,” he said bluntly.
The journalist and Lyon then went back and forth.
Journalist: “We just want to get as much details as we can”
Lyon: “I’ve told you four times. What haven’t I told you?”
Journalist: “There’s nothing, but that’s why we keep asking,”
Lyon: “How many times have I answered that question?
Journalist: “Yeah it’s fine you’ve answered it, we’re just doing out job.”
Lyon: “I don’t understand why you’re raising your voice and why I’m getting pushed back?
Journalist: “It’s more that you are questioning why we keep asking questions.”
Lyon: “I feel like I’ve answered directly, with no shying away from the question. I don’t know how I’m becoming the bad guy.”
The Saints coach was all smiles during tense exchange, explaining that there is “no act” from him.
“He’s getting the scan tomorrow. I haven’t seen Max King, I was coaching, he wasn’t in the rooms, he wasn’t in the song,” he said.
“When we get the results, we’ll update it. There’s no angst.
“In hindsight … We’ve got to stand by the decision because we made it.”
St Kilda (9-10) finish the round placed 10th, in a wildcard spot ahead of the final month of the season.
— With AAP
