| King while playing for Warrington in 2008 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew King | |||||
| Born | August 22, 1980 Casino, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | |||||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) [1] | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Centre, Wing | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2003–07 | Melbourne Storm | 91 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 242 |
| 2008–11 | Warrington Wolves | 105 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 264 |
| 2012 | South Sydney | |||||
| Total | 196 | 126 | 1 | 0 | 506 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2004–05 | Country NSW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005–07 | New South Wales | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2005–07 | Australia | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2011 | Exiles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| As of 17 August 2008 | ||||||
| Source: NRL Stats and Rugby League Project | ||||||
Matt King (born 22 August 1980) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for English Super League club, Warrington Wolves. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative three-quarter back, he previously played in the National Rugby League for the Melbourne Storm, with whom he won the 2007 NRL Grand Final. Following his move to England, King won the 2009 and 2010 Challenge Cups with Warrington and was also named in the 2010 Super League Dream Team. King agreed to join South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL on a 3-year contract, at the end of the 2011 Super League season.
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King began playing rugby league at the age of seven for his local club side the Casino Cougars in northern New South Wales. When Matt was eleven he moved to Wauchope where he played Junior League for the Wauchope Blues in the under-11 and under-12 teams before moving back to Casino. When back in Casino, King joined the Lismore Marist Brothers Rams who went on to win the Group 1 A-Grade Premiership. In 2000, he was signed by the North Sydney Bears where he worked his way through the grades at the club playing in both Jersey Flegg and reserve grade. King suffered a serious shoulder injury in 2002 while playing off the bench for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks' reserve grade side and then quit rugby league because of a claimed disinterest.
After hanging up his boots at the age of 22, King took up several odd jobs such as working as a bar man and even a garbage collector[2] before deciding to give rugby league another go in 2003, signing with the Melbourne Storm's feeder club, Brisbane Norths on the insistence of former North Sydney teammate Matt Orford who was now at the Storm.
After moving to the Storm's feeder club in Brisbane, King played for nearly a year before being selected to make his debut in the National Rugby League at the age of 23 against the St George Illawarra Dragons at WIN Stadium in round 24 of the 2003 season, impressing on his debut without scoring. King went on to make another two appearances for the club in the regular season that year, scoring his first try in round 26 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
The 2004 NRL season saw King develop further as a player at the Storm, he cemented his place in the squad and was vital in the Melbourne side's attack, becoming a potent offensive weapon with his agility, pace, strength and ability to find the try line. At the conclusion of the 2004 club season, King finished with a total of fifteen tries and had developed into one of the up and coming centres in rugby league. This was recognised with his selection in the annual City vs Country match for the Country side.
2005 became the season where King would stamp his mark on rugby league, beginning the season by scoring seven tries in the first seven games of the season including a set of doubles against Brisbane and Canberra and yet again impressing City vs Country selectors enough to be again selected in the annual clash. After further impressive performances King was called up for his first major representative honour, being selected for the New South Wales State of Origin side for all three games in 2005. In the decider he became the 9th player (and 4th New south Welshman) to score a hat-trick in state of Origin.
King finished the 2005 season at Melbourne with fourteen tries, and coupled with his three for New South Wales, earned a spot in the Australian international side for the 2005 tour of Great Britain. He played in every game on tour and was again selected out of position on the wing, yet played well enough to earn praise from the Great Britain and Ireland international winger Brian Carney who stated King was "the best winger in the world".[3]
The following year in 2006 started off slowly for King, but as the year progressed he worked his way into form again. He was once again selected in the New South Wales side again for the annual State of Origin series, which NSW lost 2–1 to Queensland. After his side's 15–8 loss to the Brisbane Broncos in the 2006 NRL grand final, in which he starred by scoring a try, he cost his club $5,000 after publicly criticising match referee Paul Simpkins.[4]
After being consistently linked with a move to the European Super League during the early half of 2007, Matt King finally announced on 10 July 2007, that he had signed a four year deal with the Warrington Wolves.[5] The deal is worth approximately A$600,000 a year, making King one of the highest paid players in rugby league.
In September 2007, he finally realised his dream of playing in a premiership. The Storm won convincingly over Manly-Warringah, 34–8, and King scored an inspiring try in his last game in the NRL. Overcome with emotions, King admitted when interviewed that he had been crying shortly after the victory and that this was "the best feeling ever".[6] Melbourne was subsequently stripped of this premiership due to salary cap breaches.
King started playing in England with the Warrington Wolves for the 2008 Super League season. In the semi-final of the 2009 Challenge Cup against Wigan Warriors, King scored a hat-trick of tries to help Warrington book a place in the Wembley final for the first time in nearly 20 years.[7] He played in the Challenge cup when the Wolves defeated the Giants on 29 August, 25–16[8] ironically the same day his previous club, Storm, played their last game at Olympic Park Stadium.[9]
On 28 November 2008, King married his long time girlfriend, Kirsten Deane in Richmond who he had met while living and playing in Melbourne. His bridal party included former teammates, Ian Donnelly, Dallas Johnson and Cooper Cronk, while guests included, Craig Bellamy, Billy Slater and Matt Geyer.[10]
King played for Warrington in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos.[11]
Matt King was selected for the Exiles squad for the Rugby League International Origin Match against England at Headingley on 10 June 2011.[12]
On 29th June 2011 King announced that he would leave the Warrington Wolves at the end of the 2011 Super League season to join up with departing Wigan Warriors coach, Michael Maguire at Russell Crowe's NRL team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[13]
King is set to join South Sydney Rabbitohs from 2012 onwards, he has signed a 3 year contract at the NRL club, joining former Storm team-mates Greg Inglis who signed from 2011 onwards and current vice-captain, Michael Crocker who signed from 2009 onwards.
"For a winger to have the impact he did in a game was incredible, his input to the team's performance was significant, especially in the second game. He had such an important bearing on the result. I knew he was a good player but I didn't know he was that good." (New South Wales coach Ricky Stuart, commenting on King's performances after the 2005 State of Origin.)[14]
"I haven't had the rise of a normal first-grader so I really appreciate where I am at the moment and it's something I don't take for granted." (King comments on his unusual rise to fame and quick success.)[14]
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