Toby King: It'll be like a second debut

It was shock for fans last year when Warrington's Toby King was loaned out to one of their most fierce rivals, the Wigan Warriors. But it was even more a shock to King himself, as he would fast become an integral part of a Warriors side that would go on to experience Grand Final glory.

King starred in a Warriors team who were crowned Betfred Super League Champions of 2023, following a famous win over Catalans Dragons at Old Trafford, in which he featured, as well as clinching the League Leaders' Shield in an emphatic fashion.

It was third time lucky for the 27-year-old centre, who had previously played in two Grand Final defeats with Warrington, where they had lost out to Wigan in both finals.

And upon reflection, King has openly stated that he is "forever grateful" to Wigan Warriors and has "huge amounts of respect" for the side that took him in when times were tough.

"I still pinch myself," King said. "I'm thankful to Wigan for believing in me and taking me in.

"The 2023 season was magnificent. I didn't ever expect it to go as well as it did, and I loved every minute of it."

Return of the King ?

Welcome back, @TobyKing96 ? pic.twitter.com/zBuhAfntZ3
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) December 19, 2023

Back in Warrington colours for 2024, King is aiming to restore the faith of the Warrington fans and is ready to be a key player for the Club he has been with for almost ten years.

During the off-season, King describes how he was welcomed back at Warrington with open arms, but this was not without his own personal worries of how people might react to his return:

"At first, I thought how will they take to me?" admitted King. "But I feel like I've fitted straight back in.

"It's like coming back to a new club and I'm loving it. Everything's changed and there's so many new faces. It's exciting, and there's more energy and positivity and smiles on our faces."

"Everyone loves coming into training."

And new Head Coach Sam Burgess has Toby King firmly in his vision, as he works towards changing the Wolves' fortunes in 2024.

"Sam's said to me straight that's he's loved having me here."

"Sam [Burgess] and the coaching staff are doing a fantastic job in how they want us to play this year. He's created this environment and knows what he wants his team to look like."

And the Wolves number 3 is eager to be a part of this, hoping to bring the winning mentality and vital experience he learned whilst out on loan.

In his 28 appearances for Wigan last year, King was amongst players at the top of the stats, becoming the Warriors' top metre maker behind Abbas Miski and topping the Super League charts with the most offloads - an impressive 45 in total. 

Hoping to have another remarkable season, King is determined make his mark in the Warrington side once more:

"I've grown up a bit and I think I'm more mature. Hopefully I can be strong and powerful for the backline, take in lots of carries, be good in defence and inspire the team to victories.

"I know it might be a bit of a hostile environment coming back from Wigan, but I completely understand that. But I want to prove to the fans that I'm back here to win, compete and make them proud and that I can be one of their own again."

On Warrington's ambitions and goals for the upcoming season, King recognises the high expectations that are being placed on Sam Burgess' squad, but is well aware of what is needed to stay grounded:

"I always think with goals it's easy to say the easy stuff - we can say that we want to win the Grand Final, the Challenge Cup Final and the League Leaders' Shield. But it's the week to week that leads up to it.

"They'll be other teams saying the same thing in pre-season. We're strong-minded people at the Club and we'll will start out by focusing on what we're doing on the field and we will take it from there."

Looking ahead to the upcoming campaign, King is looking forward to various things when he takes to the field with the Wolves this year:

"I'm most excited for the first game back, as it'll be like a second debut. Catalans away will be my first time back in Warrington colours.

"I also love playing with my brother George King - that's always a good fixture. We went to battle in two semi-finals last year when I was at Wigan.

"He beat me in the Challenge Cup semi-final and then we beat him in the semi-finals of the Play-Offs. It's one all at the minute."

As we countdown to the highly-anticipated Betfred Super League season, which starts next Thursday, King also commented on the highly competitive nature of the top tier heading in 2024 - something which he personally prefers:

"You can go to any away ground and not know what to expect. Every single game is more and more competitive. It's much more exciting, as you don't know who's going to win.

"There's more teams in mix the competing, and the league is getting better and better."

Switching his focus firmly back to Warrington, King made the following statement that should certainly reassure the Warrington Faithful:

"We'll give it our all this year. We want to build a team that this town can be proud of and hopefully they'll see a team that is trying for the badge."