Ben King’s two goals in the three-point loss to the Saints, which was secured via a free-kick goal from Max King which the AFL has subsequently admitted should not have been awarded, gave Ben King 11 games in a row as a multiple goal-kicker.

This surpassed the SUNS’ previous best of 10 in a row to the credit of Tom Lynch in 2016.

King, goalless against Adelaide in Round 1, has now kicked 2-3-4-2-3-3-3-4-3-4-2 since then and with 10 games to play in the home-and-away season he has a 2024 total of 38 goals.

This sees him maintain equal top spot on the Coleman Medal leaderboard with Carlton’s Charlie Curnow, who kicked two goals against Essendon on Sunday.

King is chasing his best season of 47 goals in 2021, and Lynch’s 2016 club record of 66.

The other big statistical highlight on Saturday night came from Sam Flanders.

Flanders had a career-best 42 possessions against the Saints to better his previous best of 37 against Geelong in Darwin in Round 10.

The dynamic SUNS #3 is the seventh player in club history to have 40 possessions in a game, following Gary Ablett (14 times), Aaron Hall (twice), Dion Prestia, Brandon Ellis, Brayden Fiorini and Noah Anderson (one each).

Statistically, Ablett owns the SUNS’ top seven individual games, headed by his club record 53 possessions against Collingwood at the MCG in 2012, which is equal second-best all-time since the AFL started keeping statistics in 1965.

Only Ablett has had more possessions in a game for the SUNS than Flanders, whose 42 equalled the personal-bests of Anderson against Geelong in Darwin and Prestia’s 42 in 2013.

Tom Mitchell holds the AFL record at 54, set when playing for Hawthorn in 2018, while Ablett shares second spot with Greg Williams, who had 53 possessions in a game playing with Sydney in 1989.

Mitchell has three of just 10 games of 50-plus in AFL history, having posted an even 50 in 2017 and 2018. Others in the 50-Plus Club have been Collingwood’s Barry Price (52 in 1971), Adelaide’s Scott Thompson (51 in 2011), Brisbane’s Lachie Neale (51 in 2019), Collingwood’s John Greening (50 in 1971) and Collingwood’s Tony Shaw (50 in 1991).

Joel Jeffrey also had a personal-best possession haul against St.Kilda with 28, topping his previous best of 21, while Bodhi Uwland’s 23 upped his best of 20.

And Ben Ainsworth became the 10^th player in SUNS history to top 2000 possessions after Brayden Fiorini (Round 4) and Alex Sexton (Round 9) did likewise earlier in the season.