West Coast players fondly call him ‘The King’, and the Eagles are banking on Jack Darling to reign supreme in Saturday night’s AFL semi-final against Collingwood at the MCG.

At just 20 years of age, Darling has already proven he’s not afraid of the big stage, with the spearhead developing a knack of producing the goods when West Coast need it the most.

In last year’s three-point semi-final win over Carlton, Darling booted two crucial goals in the final quarter and produced a scintillating chase down to ensure West Coast progressed.

And in last week’s 96-point elimination final trouncing of North Melbourne, Darling kicked three goals in the opening term to help set the tone of the match.

The fledgling star is shaping up to once again play a key role as West Coast attempt to notch their first win over Collingwood at the MCG since 1995.

Darling’s regular visits to West Coast’s physios over the past two years earned him the mantle of ‘The King’, with his teammates joking that he always gets extra special treatment.

The 191cm forward is the first to admit Josh Kennedy is still the No.1 man in West Coast’s forward line, but the Eagles will need both of them to fire if they are to have a good chance of upsetting Collingwood on enemy territory.

Darling has booted 51 goals from 23 games this year, and West Coast veteran Daniel Kerr said he had been amazed by how quickly the 46-gamer had established himself as an AFL force.

“It’s hard to believe he’s only in his second year of football,” Kerr said of Darling, who was a bargain draft pick at No.26 in 2010.

“The way he goes about it, his mental attitude and his physical characteristics as well – how strong he is – you’d think he’d been in the system for seven or eight years.

“If he keeps improving the way he is at the minute, we could have a pretty special player on our hands.”

Eagles coach John Worsfold said Darling had played a vital role in West Coast’s resurgence since their 2010 wooden spoon campaign.

“Height, strength, size, pace, endurance; he’s got a good blend,” Worsfold said.

“If he came as a raw, scrawny, physically immature player, he may not have played straight up.

“But the fact is that physically he was a mature body and was ready to cope with the demands in that regard of AFL footy.”

Goalsneak Josh Hill said he loved Darling’s on-field character.

“He’s just a kicking machine. He loves to run and carry,” Hill said.

“He loves his back rolls and cartwheels. He’s a bit of a ninja. He claims he’s a black belt. I think he’s all talk.”