Melbourne NRL prop Max King has enlisted rugby league royalty to help him train during the coronavirus shutdown.
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Max didn’t need to look far, with his grandfather Johnny King, a seven-time premiership winner with St George, calling the shots.
King’s father David, also played front-row for the Gold Coast Seagulls between 1991 and 1992 while his great grandfather Cec played for South Sydney back in 1945-1946.
King, 22, returned home to Newcastle when the competition went on hold and is awaiting the green light to get back to Melbourne.
But in the meantime Johnny, who played 15 Tests for Australia, is making sure he keeps fit.
A brilliant winger, King senior was included in rugby league’s top 100 players. He scored a try in each of the Dragons’ premierships from 1960-65.
“I needed a training buddy as there are a couple of skill drills on our training program so you need someone with you so I’ve been training with my pop and my old man,” King said.
“I reckon I’ve been getting more criticism off them then I do off the Storm coaches.
“They’re a bit old school with everything.”
King, who joined the Storm mid-season from the Gold Coast last year, said Johnny had dug out his 1960s training plan to work on his running.
We go back in the scrap-books and there’s one where he beat a horse over 70 yards,” King said.
“He’s got his program from what St George were doing in 1960 and it’s crazy. “They were doing four 800s (yards) in two minutes and 10 seconds, and then four 400s under a minute.
“Whenever I train with him he implements a drill and it’s probably the toughest drill of the session.
“There’s some things in there that are ageless - hard work is hard work.” He’s hoping it transfers to some more speed in his game when he gets back in Storm colours.
King is looking to build on his 46 NRL game career although he realises Johnny’s record may be out of reach.
And his Nan lets him know it.
“When we got to the preliminary final last year she was in my ear saying ‘remember if you win the grand final, you’ve got six more to go before you’ve got bragging rights’ and I was saying ‘thanks Nan’.”
