Suns supremely confident of landing King's signature

Superstar forward Ben King has a number of admirers across the AFL, however according to teammate Touk Miller, the Suns are confident in landing his signature for the long term.

Approaching the end of his current deal, King is expected to house a number of calls throughout the season as he weighs up the future of his footballing career.

As reported in the Herald Sun on Tuesday, the Suns are preparing a mega deal for the star forward worth around $1.4 million over seven or more years as they look to nail down their key pillar for the foreseeable future.

However, with a draw towards home, the Victorian talent is sure to look around before committing to any potential deals.

Speaking on SEN Breakfast, teammate and vice-captain Miller has no doubts that King will remain a Sun beyond 2026.

“Absolutely (I’m confident that he will sign on),” Miller said.

“I think first and foremost, it’s about dealing with this year, and what’s to play out for us.

“The signature will get done at some point, but I think from our perspective, we’ve got 'Kingy' for this year and we know what he can deliver.

“His last few years, he has been building into something really special, and we’re really excited to see what he’s got for us.

“Now that he’s got a few more boys down in his forward line that could kick a few more goals around him and potentially take some other key defenders, I think it’s going to be a really special year.

“First and foremost, it’s about what he’s going to deliver for us this year and what that looks like. I’m sure the stuff in the background will get done when it needs to get done.”

While King may dominate headlines over the course of the upcoming season, last year’s trade period had all eyes on Bailey Humphrey.

The Victorian talent appeared incredibly keen to force a move back home, enjoying public meetings with several Vic-based clubs over the course of the off-season.

With the Suns confirming that Humphrey was not on the table, captain Noah Anderson confirmed that there is no bad blood whatsoever between Humphrey and his teammates, with the pair owning wrongdoings to ensure a smooth entry into 2026.

“I was a little bit surprised,” Anderson told SEN Breakfast.

“We love Bailey, and that was – as a first-year captain – something I hadn’t experienced yet, dealing with a player that there was a bit of speculation about.

“Since that, we’ve caught up a few times and spoken through it and owned up to our own mistakes and where out short falls were.

“He owned that he didn’t handle it the best on his front, and as a club and as a leadership group we thought we could have done a little bit better as well.

“He came back before pre-season started and was doing sessions with us. He had other stuff away from footy that was bringing him back to Victoria, so as a footy club and as teammates we understood.

“There’s never any hard feelings there, we understand that this is a business, and he has a life outside of footy. We are continuing to make sure that we’re supporting him the best that we can.

“He’s still so young, so he’s working through that for the first time and we just have to be there to support him. Hopefully, we will keep him around for a lot longer.”

With the likes of Christian Petracca and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan joining the Suns ahead of this season, the Suns are eyeing off a best ever finish as they look to better their 2025 finals debut.