Max ready to be king of kids in under-20s
RISING star Max King will lead an inexperienced Titans pack into battle against Brisbane today when the southeast neighbours meet in an under20 battle at Tweed Heads.
King, who has spent the pre-season training with the NRL squad, is one of the few members of the Titans’ pack to have played in the National Youth Competition and his experience will come to the fore against the Broncos.
A runaway winner of Gold Coast’s under-20 player of the year last season, King recently had his Titans deal extended until the end of 2019.
He is likely to step up to at least Queensland Cup level this year to continue his trajectory towards an NRL career.
But his presence is a boon for the Titans under-20s, who will field an inexperienced pack against the Broncos in their Queensland Cup trial curtain-raiser.
“I’d say the plan will be him playing some Queensland Cup this year to get him in against men,’’ under-20s coach Ben Woolf said.
“He had a good year in the NYC last year … he might start out in the 20s and that will be good for him in relation to his leadership and helping those young guys out.
“I think with him being a longer-term prospect that he’ll play a bit of Queensland Cup and go to the next level before he’s ready for NRL.’’
The Titans have several members of their backline returning, including Tyronne Roberts-Davis, Phillip Sami, half A.J. Brimson and centre Daniel Brownbill.
The Titans play at Piggabeen Sports Complex at 4.45pm today ahead of Tweed’s trial against Souths Logan.