Geelong assistant coach Steven King collapses during training session

There have been scary scenes at Geelong’s training session on Friday with assistant coach Steven King suffering a medical episode and collapsing.

King was mid-conversation with star forward Jeremy Cameron when he suddenly dropped to the ground.

The 45-year-old was quickly attended to by medical staff and paramedics took him to the Epworth Geelong Hospital in Waurn Ponds.

Cameron was visibly shaken by the incident and players were ushered from the field for 20 minutes or so.

7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary witnessed the incident, saying it was quite “confronting”.

After his media conference was delayed, senior coach Chris Scott later addressed the “upsetting” situation.

“We’re just trying to stay calm and prioritise the right things which for us are to ensure we do everything we can to support Steven,” Scott said.

“I don’t want to say too much that might not be accurate. I think it’s reasonable at the moment, even before we’ve had the chance to speak to Steven directly, for us to prioritise his health.

“It would be irresponsible for us to even consider him to be around over the next 24 hours or so.

“In these situations it does reinforce that there is the right thing that supersedes football. I suspect if he is feeling good, he will be disappointed to hear that news.

“Even if he isn’t feeling great, he’ll be disappointed because he is a competitor ... It’s upsetting (and) it has impacted the players.

“Even at this pointy end of the season, it reinforces to us what the right thing is over lesser priorities.”

Geelong said King is under observation and in a non-life-threatening condition, with the club confident he would be OK.

The Cats are preparing to be without the assistant coach for their preliminary final against Brisbane on Saturday afternoon at the MCG.

If they win, they will take on Sydney or Port Adelaide in the grand final next Saturday.

Scott said it was a stressful time of year and King was a “workaholic”.

“He’s a resilient character ... (I’m) confident he can bounce back ... The character I know, he’ll be fine,” Scott said.

On top of having a hand in the Cats’ finals preparations, King is one of the leading contenders to take on the vacant senior coaching position at West Coast.

The former Geelong captain had been in Western Australia to be interviewed by the Eagles panel, and flew back to Melbourne on Thursday night.

“Our thoughts are with Steven, his family and the Geelong Football Club,” West Coast said in a statement.

“Steven’s health is the priority, and we wish him a speedy recovery.”

Chris Scott spoke glowingly about King on Channel 7’s Talking Footy on Wednesday night.

He said King was definitely ready to step up to the senior coaching role at West Coast.

“He would be a big loss to us but I would be really proud of him (if he got the job),” Scott said.

“I think it would be a good choice if they went with him.”

Head here to watch Chris Scott on Talking Footy on 7plus

King was a star ruckman for Geelong from the mid-1990s to 2007.

He also had three years at St Kilda before finishing his AFL career at the end of 2010 with 240 games to his name.