George King has charm appeal for Warrington Wolves

Whenever the prop forward has played in the first team in 2017, The Wire have not lost.

The 22-year-old from Huddersfield missed the first six games through injury, was absent for the loss at Hull due to another niggle but has played a part in six wins and two draws.

Perhaps, if his record is anything to go by, it was a good job he received a last-minute call-up into the 17 for the Challenge Cup victory over Widnes Vikings a fortnight ago.

“That’s one record I’ve kept personal to me, I didn’t want to brag about that one,” he said after the details were put to him.

“It’s a funny one. I do think it’s a bit of luck, but very strange.

“I’ve been happy with my form in a few of the games. I know I can improve in a lot of areas, but I know I’ve been really good in some areas. So it’s just getting the balance now and really kicking on in this second half of the season.”

There is another unusual fact about King’s season so far too, surrounding his call-up to play in the cup game against Widnes at the last minute following Harvey Livett’s withdrawal in the kicking warm-up due to tearing his hamstring.

“It was tough to do, getting the late call, but it’s just one of those things that can get thrown up,” he said.

“I think for the last three times I’ve been 18th man I’ve been called up in the last minute so I’m used to it now.

“So when I’m 18th man, I know I’ve got to be ready because there’s a high chance I could still play.

“It was unlucky for Harvey because he’s had a really good season so far but unfortunately he pulled his hamstring kicking goals.”

King is in the 19-man squad to face Leeds Rhinos tonight, Friday, and pleased to be playing his part after being sidelined for the end of pre-season and early part of the 2017 campaign.

“I was injured at the start of the year. Against Rochdale I happened to pull my hamstring, so that put me out for about 10 weeks. I missed about four weeks of pre-season and six weeks of the season itself.

“I missed the training camp in Tenerife due to the birth of my daughter, though it didn’t happen then. My girlfriend happened to have her about a week later when all the lads got back. It was one of them, why take that risk.

“I’m really enjoying fatherhood. She’s starting to make all sorts of noises now and lots of smiles. She’s starting to recognise me a lot more, so it’s really nice and rewarding.

“We’ve just moved into a new house and all things are looking up.”

King accepts the players can see some light at the end of the tunnel after the bad start to the year, with their efforts in a sequence of only one loss from nine outings now seeing them reach the top eight for the first time this season but he believes the hard work is just starting.

“We’ve got to start performing. We’ve had a good run of results, but we were disappointed at the weekend against Wigan because we felt we dropped a point.

“We’ve got to bounce back and start climbing this middle part of the table.

“There’s not much between eighth and fourth so it’s about breaking the gap, stringing a few wins together and we could be in the four.

“But at this club we don’t strive for fourth, we strive to be the best of the best. If that means we have to scrape into the four this season to challenge for the semi finals and Grand Final then so be it.

“Before that, there’s some tough games ahead and we’ve got to start winning.

“Now we’ve got to work even harder. Most teams are full strength, any team can beat any team on the day. It’s about having good preparation that week, being smart, completing your sets, doing the little things right. If we do that, 90 times out of 100 we’re going to win.

“We’ve got another big challenge against Leeds Rhinos. They’ve had a couple of games where they’ve been hit and miss but overall they’ve been quite good if you compare to the season before.

“We know we’re going to come up against a really good Leeds team that’s got really good outside backs. They’re a good threat through their half backs as well.

“They’ve got years of experience in the forwards and a really good offload and off-the-cuff game.”

His younger brother Toby is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

“He’s doing all right,” said King.

“He’s got about six weeks left of his rehab before he’s back fit and firing again, so he should be ready for contention at the end of the year.

“He’s had a few injuries and it’s a bit frustrating for him. He was doing really well, knocking on cementing a starting spot. He’s a bit frustrated in that department, but his head’s in the right place at the moment so he’ll be back firing and stronger.

“We’re a good support to each other during injuries – when there’s not that bit of rivalry and tension while playing FIFA games on Xbox.

“We support each other where we can and tip each other where we can. He’s a good brother.”