After overcoming a career-threatening Achilles tendon injury nearly five years ago, Max King will play the biggest match of his career on Wednesday night as he runs out onto the field in the NSW Blues jersey.
The only debutant named by Laurie Daley for the Blues, King's remarkable rise is one of the feel-good stories in rugby league.
In one of the more surprising selections over the past few years, no one expected the Canterbury Bulldogs front-rower would be selected, with most predicted teams in the lead-up to the match not including his name in the squad and rather the likes of Terrell May and Haumole Olakau'atu.
"You look in the media, and who picks Max King in their team? I don't think I saw one team with Max King in it," King said in the lead-up to Game 1 of the 2025 State of Origin series.
At 28 years of age, King admitted that there were thoughts that a potential Origin debut may have surpassed him, and he was recently thinking about switching his allegiance to England - this would have ruled him out of the State of Origin arena, just like Victor Radley.
"It was always a dream of mine to play Origin, but I'm 28. It's not super old, but I've never been anywhere close in my career," King said.
"I do see myself as a pub footballer that's just battling away and doing his best.
"I always felt like God had a calling for me to play NRL, not because I'm a good footballer, but because it was His purpose and His plan."
A consistent performer for the Bulldogs over the past two seasons, King has not only been reliable in the middle of the park but has also taken his game to new heights under Cameron Ciraldo's guidance.
After talking about his reaction when he was selected and the reactions of his family and close friends, King thanks Ciraldo and Bulldogs GM of Football Phil Gould for gifting him a lifeline at the Belmore-based club.
"It was a dark time. I was out for two years. I was off contract. I had no club," King added.
"I played 50 games of NRL at a mediocre level (and) 20 minutes off the bench. Now I've had a permanent injury that I can't recover from.
"I was struggling to manage that God would do all that but leave me here still. I felt like it was just a big test for my faith as well.
"I didn't know what I was doing. It was Gus [Phil Gould] reaching out and giving me that lifeline. Everything comes off the back of that."
