No more fighting but I can still sledge * Jon Ralph
* Herald Sun
* July 16, 2010 A MAN'S got to know his limitations, as Harry Callahan stated so famously in Magnum Force.
For four turbulent seasons Jake King's glaring shortcomings have been on show for all to see, and twice they have nearly cost him his career.
If King wasn't punching on with an opponent, he was attempting the impossible with foot skills he freely admits are liable to let him down.
"We all know I haven't got the best skills in the world," he conceded with a laugh.
This week the rugged, straight-shooting 26-year-old will run on to the MCG against North Melbourne for his 50th game of AFL football.
That is an achievement in itself. But for King, the bigger celebration is that he has been able to curve his natural instincts and hone his strengths enough to play a key role in Richmond's recent fightback.
Suspended for a NAB Cup practice match stoush with Travis Cloke, then barely sighted until Round 9, King has returned to play a role in the run of five wins from six games.
And the motivation to control his fiery streak has come from the most unlikely of sources.
"You have to find that point where you can be competitive and aggressive, but you just can't be stupid. I have had to work really hard on pushing the boundaries as best I can without going over the line," King said this week.
"Everyone knows there are times when I struggle to keep it on the right side. If I want to play footy, it's something I have to do.
"The coach tells me about it pretty much every week. It's got to the stage where he has now handed the reins over to his lovely partner Mrs Hardwick (wife Danielle).
"Every time I misbehave, I have to deal with her. She will let me know during the week. There is not much you can say back to her.
"She comes over and says what she has to say, and you cop it and walk away."
Recruited from the Diamond Valley league via Coburg, the fiery temperament that first saw King prosper quickly became a liability.
The first career crisis was averted when the sacking of Terry Wallace saw King reinstated in the seniors.
But a Round 20 suspension last year for striking Alan Didak was quickly followed by the pre-season incident with Cloke, then another VFL suspension.
When King languished in the VFL upon his return, he again thought his AFL career might be over.
"The start of the season was tough because I pretty much got myself out of the team for being an idiot in the NAB Cup," he said.
"Then I went back to the reserves and got suspended again. Then I thought, 'This is it, there is no more'. It is actually the boys around me who help.
''I am allowed to use words, but if the boys see me unhappy or if something has bobbed up, they are straight over to me to put me back in my place.
"They aren't nice, they just call it like it is, and I put my hand up and stop overstepping the line."
Next week Richmond will again face Collingwood, but King is confident he will stay focused, despite his previous clashes with Cloke and Didak.
Richmond was irate that Cloke was seen to have "dobbed" on King after their March altercation, but King has moved on.
"It was a little bit (frustrating), but it was my own stupidity. I have got myself to blame. When I screw up, I am happy to admit I have screwed up," he said.
"If I was in his shoes, I wouldn't be happy when someone laid hands on me."
If King has been labelled of something of a turnover merchant, he has learnt to minimise his weaknesses, too. So much so that Hardwick has been able to use him as a midfield tagger, lock-down player in defence, and defensive forward.
"My skills aren't elite, but they are acceptable," King said.
"(Midfield coach) Wayne Campbell has worked a hell of a lot with me over the off-season and it's just doing the hard things to get the ball and give it to the blokes who use it outstandingly.
''Now a lot of my clangers are with free kicks. The game is changing a lot, so the next thing is to pull them back a bit."
King knows Richmond fans love him and opposition fans can't stand him. His teammates tell him about the vitriol from rival supporters when they sit in the stands. He is fine with that.
"If I go through my footy career with Richmond people loving me and everyone disliking me, I have done my job," he said.
King's only concern is for his family, who are there watching him every week.
"My family cop a bit of crap. Everyone seems to have an opinion about me," he said.
"A lot of people don't realise my family is so close and they get to see and hear everything. I just feel sorry for them.
''My little brother is only 16 and he hears everything and he loves his football, so I get more upset for him. But they have been beside me all the way, so I couldn't thank them any more."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/no/story-e6frf9jf-1225892414983
