Max King has been voted into the AFL Players’ Association 22Under22 side for the second straight season.

The 21-year-old key forward, listed in the forward pocket alongside Melbourne's Kysaiah Pickett, was one of 10 players to be named in the line-up for consecutive years.

The 22Under22 aims to recognise the best players aged 22 and under throughout the course of the season, with supporters voting on the make-up of the final side.

King bagged his maiden goalkicking honours in 2021 with 38 majors – 22 of which came following the bye – and led the Saints for contested marks (48) and marks inside-50 (54).

Today’s nomination comes as well-deserved recognition after the young spearhead, who was placed under the microscope in the early stages of the year following a lean patch in front of goal.

The best of Max King
  • 00:59

    RD22 | Towering King doing just about everything

    Max King is imposing himself on the contest early with three strong marks to go alongside his assists and goal

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  • 00:57

    RD21 | Snappy King shows another side to his game

    Max King sneaks through a cracking snap to extend the Saints' lead

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  • 00:47

    RD20 | Return of the King

    Max King picks up where he left off last week, notching two early goals after some strong marks on the lead

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  • 00:50

    RD19 | Taking the game on leads to exciting team goal

    Zak Jones and Dan Butler show their speed taking the game on, leading to a Max King mark and goal.

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  • 02:48

    RD19 | King reigns supreme in marvellous marking display

    Max King produces the best game of his career with a frightening six-goal performance that included a host of stellar marks

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  • 00:48

    RD19 | Max King's super speccy shows he's the real deal

    The confidence of Max King continues to rise with another stunning mark before goal number five

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  • 00:54

    RD19 | King catching fire, climbing higher

    Max King hauls in two terrific grabs and finishes off his work with some lovely set shots

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  • 00:51

    RD18 | Max King soccers one off the ground before the siren

    With only 15 seconds to go in the third quarter, Max King takes his opportunity to contribute to the Saints fight back

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  • 01:23

    RD15 | King snaps truly

    Max King has started the game on fire for the Saints, kicking two goals and setting up another to do his confidence the world of good

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  • 00:28

    RD13 | King makes late bid for Euros with soccer finish

    Max King has silenced his doubters early with this second goal a late audition for the Euros

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  • 00:37

    RD12 | Max makes his statement on the siren

    Max King proves his talent with an absolute clanger in the dying seconds of the first term

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  • 00:28

    RD9 | King finally converts thanks to Butler's efforts

    Max King finally gets the Saints first goal almost halfway through the second quarter

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  • 01:00

    RD4 | Goals to the Max

    Relive Max King's career high 5 goals against West Coast in Round 4

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  • 00:34

    RD4 | King turns the tides with air and ground efforts

    St Kilda forward Max King roves his own contest to get his Saints on the board

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King bounced back with towering displays post-bye, lighting up the Gabba with a three-goal quarter against Brisbane before a coming-of-age masterclass in the west a fortnight later with six goals and eight contested marks against the Eagles. Additionally, seven of his last eight games yielded multiple majors.

King becomes the first Saint in the men’s competition to be voted into the AFL Players’ Association twice in a row since Jade Gresham (2018, 2019), while Georgia Patrikios achieved the same feat in the women’s competition this season.

Saints voted into the 22Under22

AFL
2016: Tim Membrey
2017: Jack Billings
2018: Jade Gresham
2019: Jade Gresham
2020: Hunter Clark, Nick Coffield, Max King
2021: Max King

AFLW
2020: Caitlin Greiser, Georgia Patrikios
2021: Georgia Patrikios

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