Max King was still licking his wounds in the dressing sheds after Melbourne’s loss to St George Illawarra last weekend when coach Craig Bellamy walked up to warn of what was lying in wait.
King had been placed on report for a hip drop tackle on Dragons forward Blake Lawrie during the game, prompting hefty criticism from some of the game’s most prominent figures.
Among them was Fox League commentator and former Penrith star Greg Alexander, who suggested King had an intention to injure when he dragged Lawrie to ground. King, who had celebrated his 50th first grade game that day in front of his family, was taken aback.
“I have seen the tackle a thousand times and I understand it is not good,” King told Weekend Read. “I am thankful there is no serious injury there. He (Lawrie) came back on the field. I had a word to him in the scrum and said, ‘that tackle went wrong, I apologise’.
“Again, after the game I went to make sure he was OK. It wasn’t until I was in the sheds that Bellsa (Bellamy) grabbed me and said there has been some pretty big comments about it being intentional.
“I have been the monster of the town. It is not me to go into a tackle and think I am going to snap this guy’s leg in half. That is not my character and I have the judiciary record to show it.
“That is what helped with the external noise. When people were saying it was intentional … I know I just got it wrong and I stuffed up.
“I know that is not me.”
King comes from rugby league stock. His father David played first grade for the Gold Coast Seagulls. His grandfather Johnny was a seven-time premiership winner with St George and widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers in the game’s history.
King has grown up around rugby league and he has immense respect for the game and its values.
“My pops is a St George old boy,” King said. “My mum and dad were pumped to be there (on Sunday). It was good to play the 50th and to see them after the game. They know my character.
“They know I am not a grub and I haven’t gone in to hurt the guy, which I guess has helped me.”
So what went through his head? Going into every tackle, (I am) thinking I am going to try to dominate this tackle,” he said.
“Obviously Blake is a pretty strong bloke. I went up top initially …. and we were pretty close to the try line. I thought I have to get this bloke on his back to give the boys time to regroup.
“I tried to grab his legs together. I have dropped my hips and got it wrong.”
King was suspended for three games by the NRL judiciary on Wednesday night for the tackle on Lawrie. He was sent straight to the judiciary without a grading, unprecedented for a hip drop.
Like King, Storm officials acknowledge that he deserved a sanction. At the same time, they were privately disappointed with the gravity of the charge given King’s tackle was adjudged to be twice as bad as anything else in recent years.
If the Storm win against Parramatta this weekend, his season will be over given Melbourne will at best have another two games. It could end up costing him a grand final.
“We will cross that bridge when it comes,” King said. “I want the boys to get up this weekend. Like I said, I know it wasn’t intentional. Whether the bloke is personally still filthy with me, I sincerely went up to him after the game and during the game to personally apologise.”
Roberts on outer
South Sydney are in the throes of attempting to extend the contract of Latrell Mitchell for at least another two years and the squeeze is on for salary cap space and positions in the backline.
The Rabbitohs have a surfeit of outside backs and something will have to give, particularly if teenage sensation Joseph Suaalii agrees to a new deal with the Rabbitohs.
Weekend Read has heard whispers over the future of James Roberts, who has missed much of the season with a pectoral tear.
Coincidentally, Roberts and Suaalii have been working alongside each other with sprint coach Roger Fabri, whose clientele include rugby league royalty.
Fabri posted a picture on social media this week of Roberts stretching out, with the message: “Wait till @jamesroberts01 catches fire then you will have to call 000.”
The NSW centre has had a tumultuous time at Souths. On his day, he is one of the most dangerous players in the NRL. Yet off-field issues have hampered him at times — earlier this year he entered a facility to undergo treatment to assist and support his health.
He returned to the field but his season came to a premature end when he tore his pectoral muscle against Newcastle. Since then, the Rabbitohs’ depth has been strengthened by the emergence of Jaxson Paulo and the displays of Corey Allan.
Something has to give.
Bird may not fly
Incoming Broncos coach Kevin Walters is in the process of evaluating his squad for next season but there has already been speculation over the likes of Jack Bird and Joe Ofahengaue.
Bird is about to enter the final year of a contract worth close to $1m. He is coming off successive knee reconstructions and word on the street is that the Broncos will let him go if another club comes to the party.
The Broncos, so it goes, would be happy to foot part of the bill. Walters, however, insists that Bird remains part of his plans and his value has no doubt increased for Brisbane given centre Kotoni Staggs will miss part of next season after undergoing a knee reconstruction of his own. Bird would appear to have a future under Walters.
“He is a premiership winner,” Walters said. “You can’t buy that experience. He is the only one (on the roster) along with Ben Te’o. So those two are the only ones in the current squad that have premierships and that is invaluable experience.
“I certainly am (keen to keep him around). Again, I don’t know about the roster and I have to get other people’s opinions on it.
“He has been riddled with injuries here he hasn’t had the opportunity to show the Broncos people who good he is.”
As for Ofahengaue, he has been mooted as a target for incoming St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin. Walters was less effusive about the forward, who he knows well through his previous stint at the Broncos and his time coaching Queensland.
“I have worked with Joe at State of Origin level and back at the Broncos for a few years,” Walters said.
“He is another one who hasn’t performed to his expectations this year. We need to find out why, where his head is at and make a decision from there.”
On ice, then wrist in ice
Corey Allan and Kalyn Ponga have known each other for years. They were once touch football teammates and played against each other in the under 20s competition.
They don’t speak that often these days but they will cross paths on Sunday at ANZ Stadium as Allan’s South Sydney open the finals against Ponga’s Newcastle.
Weekend Read asked Allan for a story about spending time with Ponga and he came up with a belter.
“We went ice skating together,” Allan said. “We were hanging out and we were like, let’s do it. I fell over. I actually fractured my wrist. I didn’t realise I fractured it until a couple of weeks later.
“I played a couple of games with it.”
For that, his father Mark accepts some responsibility. Corey was complaining about a sore wrist but Mark, in typical father fashion, told his son to harden up.
“He said, ‘dad I can’t do a push up’,” Mark recalled.
“I said, ‘don’t be an idiot, have a spoonful of cement and away you go, players play injured all the time and you are going to have to deal with it’.
“He gets back and the wife is at me, ‘he is with the Broncos, you have to get him down there’. They rang me the next day and said you have to bring him back, he has to go for scans immediately.
“Within a few days he was in a hospital having an operation.
“Father of the year.”
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