King goes all limp-wristed

Is there any premium fantasy back who hasn’t got injured and/or suffered a form slump this year? The latest bad news is that Jake King has what the Tigers told SEN was a “crack in the wrist” with which he is “expected” to play in round 8, after rumours on both One-Eyed Richmond and Punt Road End suggested that the nuggety backman would be out for four to six weeks. Suggestions have been made that King sustained the injury when he pounded the turf in frustration after being beaten in a contest by Stephen Milne in the second quarter of last Saturday night’s game, with Milne going on to bag seven majors.

Despite the Richmond denials, this is poor news for King owners, if only for their sanity. The frustrating thing is that you’ll probably have to hang on training and selection news right up until 2.10pm on Saturday week, as this is the sort of 2007 Nigel Lappin-style injury that could lead to multiple late withdrawals, a la Des Headland in the last few weeks before he got shut down for the season. A lot of coaches bought King last week in exchange for Joel Bowden, and it would be doubly painful if King does miss games and Bowden then takes his spot.

Yep, I’m a glass-half-empty kind of bloke when it comes to fantasy defenders this year…