© Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOSBen King (c) celebrates kicking a personal-best five goals in the Suns' win against Sydney.
He's just had a career-best day out but Gold Coast are in no rush for young forward Ben King to realise his undoubted potential.
The 202cm, 20-year-old kicked five goals as the Suns bounced back from last week's humiliating loss to the Western Bulldogs to post a 40-point win over Sydney at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.
That haul means King has kicked 60 goals in 37 games, including 18 in just six matches this year.
He's already well on track to better the 25-goal season he had in 2020 as he matures into a crucial part of the Suns' long-term plans.
King is following a similar career trajectory to former Gold Coast spearhead Tom Lynch, who kicked 57 goals in his first 37 AFL matches before becoming one of the most damaging tall forwards in the competition.
Suns coach Stuart Dew says his young forward is exactly where he wants him to be in his career progression.
"He's 60 goals from 30-odd games and in comparison Tom Lynch and Josh Kennedy, they're in the 20s and 30s in the same amount of time," Dew said.
"He's in his third year and is working hard on his game, and we think that he's in a really good spot and we don't want to rush, try and have everything going with him.
"We want to be really planned with his development."