Josh King (rugby league)
{{Short description|Australian rugby league footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name = Josh King
|image = Josh King.jpg
|imagesize = 285
|caption =
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1995|12|2}}
|birth_place = Maitland, New South Wales, Australia
|height = {{convert|187|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|105|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
|position = {{rlp|LK|PR}}
|club1 = {{nowrap|Newcastle Knights}}
|year1start = 2016
|year1end = 21
|appearances1 = 78
|tries1 = 2
|goals1 = 0
|fieldgoals1 = 0
|points1 = 8
|club2 = Melbourne Storm
|year2start = 2022
|year2end = present
|appearances2 = 84
|tries2 = 9
|goals2 = 0
|fieldgoals2 = 0
|points2 = 36
| teamA = {{nowrap|NSW Residents}}
| yearAstart = 2017
| yearAend =
| appearancesA = 1
| triesA = 0
| goalsA = 0
| fieldgoalsA = 0
| pointsA = 0
|teamB = {{nowrap|Prime Minister's XIII}}
|yearBstart = 2022
|yearBend =
|appearancesB = 1
|triesB = 0
|goalsB = 0
|fieldgoalsB = 0
|pointsB = 0
|retired =
| updated = 25 April 2025
}}
Joshua King (born 2 December 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a {{rlp|pr}} or {{rlp|lk}} forward for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League.
King previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Background
King was born in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. He was educated at Singleton High School.
King played his junior rugby league for the Singleton Greyhounds as well as junior representatives for the Newcastle Knights.
Playing career
=Early career=
In 2014 and 2015, King played for the Newcastle Knights' NRL Under-20s team,{{cite web|url=https://nycdatabase.org/players/k/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616154528/http://nycdatabase.org/players/k/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=16 June 2015|title=K|publisher=Nyc Database|date=|access-date=2016-04-16}} before graduating to their NSW Cup team late in 2015.{{cite web|author=NRL|url=http://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2015/06/23/vb_nsw_cup_teams_rd_.html|title=VB NSW Cup Teams Rd 16|publisher=NSWRL|date=|access-date=2016-04-16}}
=Newcastle Knights – 2016–2021=
In round 7 of the 2016 NRL season, King made his NRL debut for Newcastle against the Brisbane Broncos.{{cite web|author=NRL|url=http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2016/04/16/late_mail_broncos_v_.html|title=LATE MAIL: Broncos v Knights - Knights|publisher=Newcastleknights.com.au|date=|access-date=2016-04-16}} King juggled his playing and training commitments with an apprenticeship as an electrician, working in a coal mine near Singleton. He would complete his apprenticeship during his time at the Knights.
On 28 July, he extended his contract with Newcastle until the end of 2018.{{cite web|author=NewcastleKnights.com.au|url=http://www.zerotackle.com/king-extends-tenure-with-knights-23048/#cmgt3PZ5ou8PRyiw.97|title=King extends tenure with Knights|publisher=Zero Tackle|date=|access-date=2016-07-28}}{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/newcastles-moneyball-forward-plan-manly-eye-gold-coast-flyer--nrl-market-watch/news-story/40d45c2cbbff23617d6ac38c0fb8652e|title=Home | Live Scores & Latest News|work=Fox Sports|date=|access-date=2016-06-29}} He finished his debut season with 12 appearances as the club finished last on the table and claimed the Wooden Spoon.{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/MTUtMTY3Ny00LS0tLS0tMjI3MTYtLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0t|title=Custom Match List - Rugby League Project|first=Shawn Dollin and Andrew|last=Ferguson|website=www.rugbyleagueproject.org|access-date=30 March 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/au/other-sports/list/the-worst-teams-in-nrl-history-newcastle-knights-rugby-league-wooden-spoon-parramatta-eels-salary-cap-semi-radradra-kieran-foran/1k2c6o18od8431jen234fqd91u/4/|title=The worst teams in NRL history|website=Sporting News|access-date=7 January 2020|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211141048/https://www.sportingnews.com/au/other-sports/list/the-worst-teams-in-nrl-history-newcastle-knights-rugby-league-wooden-spoon-parramatta-eels-salary-cap-semi-radradra-kieran-foran/1k2c6o18od8431jen234fqd91u/4/|url-status=dead}}
In 2017, King was unable to break into the Knights' NRL side for the first 8 rounds, but went on to play 15 NRL matches for the season as the club finished bottom of the table for a third straight year.{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/MTUtMTY5Ni00LS0tLS0tMjI3MTYtLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0t|title=Custom Match List - Rugby League Project|first=Shawn Dollin and Andrew|last=Ferguson|website=www.rugbyleagueproject.org|access-date=30 March 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2017/12/12/knights-2017-by-the-numbers/|title=Knights: 2017 by the numbers|website=NRL}}
In March 2018, King re-signed with the Knights on a two-year contract until the end of 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2018/03/30/king-secures-contract-extension/|title=King secures contract extension|date=30 March 2018|publisher=|access-date=30 March 2018}}
King played 13 games for Newcastle in the 2019 NRL season as the club missed the finals finishing in 11th place on the table.{{cite web|url=https://nothingbutleague.com/2019/10/03/2019-season-review-newcastle-knights/|title=2019 SEASON REVIEW NEWCASTLE KNIGHT|website=Nothing But League|access-date=7 January 2020|archive-date=3 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203133211/https://nothingbutleague.com/2019/10/03/2019-season-review-newcastle-knights/|url-status=dead}}
In August, after playing over 70 games for the Knights, King signed a 2-year contract with the Melbourne Storm starting in 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news/2021/08/18/king-to-swap-knights-for-storm/|title=King to swap Knights for Storm|date=17 August 2021|website=Melbourne Storm}}
=Melbourne Storm – 2022–present=
In round 1 of the 2022 NRL season, King made his club debut for the Melbourne Storm against Wests Tigers which ended in a win at Bankwest Stadium. He had his club debut jersey (cap number 219) presented to him by former Melbourne Storm player Robbie Kearns. King would be the only Melbourne Storm player to play every game in 2022, celebrating his 100th NRL game in round 23. He also made his senior representative debut when he was selected for the Australian Prime Minister's XIII against the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister's XIII in September.{{cite web |title=Josh King: Season in Review |url=https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news/2022/09/20/josh-king-season-in-review/ |website=melbournestorm.com.au |access-date=21 September 2022 |date=20 September 2022}}
A hard-working forward,{{cite web |last1=Walter |first1=Brad |title=Old King Coal: Storm star's work ethic forged in Hunter Valley mine |url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2023/09/19/old-king-coal-storm-stars-nrl-career-forged-in-hunter-valley-mine/ |website=NRL.com |access-date=20 September 2023 |date=19 September 2023}} King transformed from a bench player playing limited minutes into an almost 80-minute player at Melbourne, missing only one match during the 2023 NRL season only when ordered to take a week off by coach Craig Bellamy. King would be acting captain for the Storm during their round 27 match against the Brisbane Broncos, playing his 50th match for the club during the 2023 NRL finals series.
King played in Melbourne's 2023 preliminary final loss against Penrith.{{cite web|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/au/rugby-league/news/nrl-2023-melbourne-storm-season-review/af9dab1e4f900cda437dc53f#:~:text=The%20expectations%20for%20the%20Storm,clubs%2C%20but%20not%20the%20Storm./|title=NRL 2023: Melbourne Storm season review|website=www.sportingnews.com}}
King played a total of 26 matches for Melbourne in the 2024 NRL season as the club were runaway minor premiers. King played in Melbourne's 2024 NRL Grand Final loss against Penrith.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-06/nrl-grand-final-2024-quick-hits-biting-bunker-penrith-panthers/104422068/|title=NRL grand final 2024 quick hits: Biting allegation, Panthers halves swansong and a controversial bunker decision|website=www.abc.net.au}}
= 2025 =
On 13 March, the Storm announced that King had extended his contract with the club for a further two years.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-13 |title=Josh King Extends Storm Contract |url=https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news/2025/03/13/josh-king-extends-storm-contract/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Melbourne Storm |language=en}}
Statistics
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Team !Games !Tries !Pts |
| 2016
| rowspan="6" |{{leagueicon|Newcastle|size=16}} Newcastle Knights |12 | | |
| 2017
|15 | | |
| 2018
|13 | | |
| 2019
|13 | | |
| 2020
|7 |1 |4 |
| 2021
|18 |1 |4 |
| 2022
| rowspan="4" |{{leagueicon|Melbourne|size=16}} Melbourne Storm |25 |1 |4 |
| 2023
|26 |3 |12 |
| 2024
|26 |3 |12 |
| 2025
|1 |1 |4 |
| |Totals
|156 |10 |40 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/teams/telstra-premiership/melbourne-storm/josh-king/ Melbourne Storm profile]
- [https://www.newcastleknights.com.au/teams/telstra-premiership/newcastle-knights/josh-king/ Newcastle Knights profile]
{{Melbourne Storm squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Josh}}
Category:Australian rugby league players
Category:Melbourne Storm players
Category:New South Wales Residents rugby league team players
Category:Newcastle Knights players
Category:Prime Minister's XIII players
Category:Rugby league players from Maitland, New South Wales