- Jake King wasn’t a fan of ex-Richmond coach Terry Wallace
- King bluntly told Wallace he was delivering mixed messages
- Tension threatened to escalate in the 2009 AFL season
Former Richmond star Jake King has recalled how his Tigers teammates had to stop him assaulting then-coach Terry Wallace during the 2009 AFL season.
Morale was at an all-time low at Punt Road, with Wallace losing the support of the playing group.
King – who is a cult hero with Richmond fans – was on the outer, with Wallace refusing to pick the combative half forward flank in his senior team, despite their on-field woes.
‘I was going to f*****g kill him,’ King said on the Footy & Friends podcast.
King went onto explain the veteran coach felt midfielder Andrew Raines plus defenders Jordan McMahon and Alex Rance were more valuable players than him.
So when the trio were either eventually injured or dropped, King assumed he would again be in the mix for selection after he was a standout for Coburg at VFL level.
He was wrong.
‘I said to him [Wallace] “Well, can I have a game now?” And he goes, “No”,’ King stated.
Former Richmond star Jake King has recalled how his Tigers teammates had to stop him bashing then-coach Terry Wallace during the 2009 AFL season
King – who is a cult hero with Richmond fans – was on the outer at the time, with Wallace refusing to pick the combative half forward flank in his senior team
Terry Wallace coached Richmond between 2005 and 2009 in what was a tenure to forget
‘I said, “Why?” and he goes, “Mate, I just don’t think you’re good enough to play in this team…. and you won’t be playing in it whilst I’m coaching”.’
King happened to be at the club one night doing a boxing session when he ran into then-Tigers captain Chris Newman.
The skipper revealed he had been asked by the board to encourage Wallace to quit – but King felt the decision should be left with the coach himself.
In the subsequent meeting, King was asked for his feedback – and boldly told Wallace he was a ‘f****ng s**t coach’ who promised the world, but delivered mixed messages to the players.
Remarkably, Wallace thanked King for his honesty – but then leaked the conversation to the media.
All of a sudden King was hounded by reporters and photographers who camped outside his home and made him public enemy number one.
‘I actually went to grab him [Wallace], I was going to f*****g kill him, and then [teammates] Chris Newman and Kane Johnson grabbed me and said, “Don’t, don’t!”,’ King said.
‘[Ex-football boss] Craig Cameron’s then come in — the boys actually grabbed me because I was fuming.’
Richmond moved Wallace on after he chalked up 500 career games as a player and coach – and King went on to play another 74 AFL games under new boss Damien Hardwick until he retired in 2014.
