When Tim Glasby arrived at the nib Newcastle Knights he was bringing experience, leadership and mentorship.
He’s a rep player and premiership winner.
What he provides on the field is just as important as what he’s brought away from it.
And one player making the most of Glasby’s arrival is Josh King.
The 23-year-old has been picking the veterans brain since he arrived for pre-season training.
“I think Timmy Glasby is getting pretty sick of me to be honest,” King told the Our Town Our Team podcast.
“I try and get around him as much as I can and even Klem (David Klemmer) and Jimmy (James Gavet). They have so much experience that you can only get from playing.
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“This year has been a pretty big stepping stone for me. Last year I had a down year and this year I feel so much more confident in my ability. When I run out onto the field it all makes sense to me.
“Last year, I could play Cup and I was fun and I’d come up to the NRL and it was all a bit of a blur. I wasn’t really up to the speed. Sometimes I didn’t know where I needed to be, where this year I’m a lot more clam and I know my role.
“The techniques and the confidence players like that have instilled in me.
“He’s got a lot of knowledge and techniques that if you’d told me just change this around a few years ago, I would’ve said ‘I don’t know about that’.
“He’s helped me in attack and the way I carry the ball.”
Sitting on 46 first grade games, King is appreciative for all he has and all he’s achieved.
That’s why he often stops to smell the roses.
The novelty of playing first grade for the Knights still hasn’t worn off.
“Still to this day, I think about the fact that I’m playing NRL,” he said.
“The small number of people who are able to do that and still blows me away. Sometimes you can take it for granted … sometimes I have to sit back and go ‘I’m living my dream’.
“You can get caught up in life sometimes.”
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Appreciating the good times is something King hasn’t always done.
By his own admission, last season was a difficult year and one where he struggled to find consistency.
That’s changed this season.
The Singleton Greyhounds junior is more confident than ever and conscience of continuing the upward trajectory.
“I don’t want to go back to that place where I was last year,” he declared.
“There was a number of factors.
“Everyone is different and finds their feet at different times. For me it’s taken a few more games to understand and know my role. I’m a pretty passionate person and I put a lot of my emotion into rugby league. Even though that’s a good thing, I think sometimes t can take over and you can get too frustrated.
“I’ve had to find things outside of football I enjoy doing and passionate about so it’s not the be all and end all.
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“I’d make a mistake and go inside my own head. It’s a vicious cycle.
“There’s three things I think about now before going into a rugby league game and that’s being calm, confident and happy. I know I can play football. I don’t need to stress. When I’m in a clear mind, being intense doesn’t work for me. I get too tense.
“Now when I go out calm and cool and enjoying football, I see the game a lot more smoothly.”
