NEW ENGLAND forward Max King believes his faith in God will help him to ‘stay grounded’ during this year’s World Cup.
The 29-year-old Canterbury Bulldogs powerhouse will embark on his first World Cup, having earned an England call-up for the first time.
As a stranger to the England set-up, King, who was born in Huddersfield whilst dad David played for the Giants, before settling in Australia as a youngster, admitted that he felt like a ‘little kid’ when he met up with the rest of the camp at Sydney airport.
But, with a Bible in tow, the front-rower, who can also slot in at loose forward, has more than embedded himself into Brian McDermott’s set-up.
“I like to think I bring my faith into everything,” he explained.
“My relationship with God and my religion has grounded me as there are a lot of highs and lows.
“The first thing I packed was my Bible. I’m sure there will be more highs and lows on camp and I wanted it to keep me grounded.”
King says he has been welcomed into the England group with open arms.
“I reckon 95 percent I haven’t met before,” he admitted. “Some I have faced before in the NRL, but even those blokes I hadn’t had a conversation with.
“It’s definitely a new group and that can be daunting. That can take a few weeks to gel but I feel like the boys have welcomed me with open arms.
“I think that’s the England culture to be honest. I asked my dad what the difference was between the NRL and Super League and he said it was the English culture and the mateship of having your back.
“He said that he’s got mates from footy in Australia but the blokes in England were mates for the rest of his life and he still speaks to them today.
“That inspired me and that’s what happened in camp. I can’t fault them, we’ve had some bonding sessions and the boys are full of laughs so I feel right at home.
“There are a lot of big dudes, I felt like a little kid walking round and I hadn’t felt like that in a while
“We had a bit of a wrestle session and just that English hard nut strength you’re like ‘wow’, it’s a different breed.”
King, one of ten NRL stars included in McDermott’s squad, is also determined to prove Australians wrong about the quality of Super League.
“Living here in Australia, (Australians undermining Super League) is definitely a thing.
“A lot of the international teams are NRL dominated and that’s something that the media latches on to about England’s chances.
“I’m really excited to prove that opinion wrong. I do watch Super League when I can and I can recognise the physicality in the sport over there.”
