George King: Sides have become too structured over my decade on the field

GEORGE King hopes rugby league does not fall victim to the ‘robots’ – skill is as important as structure.

The Hull KR prop marks 10 years as a professional this year and has seen the sport evolve.

And the main change he has noticed is more often it is the fittest team who comes out on top rather than the one that can break opponents with magic.

Clubs becoming too structured is also a trend that has developed.

King, who suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday's win at Huddersfield, said: “It’s like a war of attrition now. When I started, I felt it was the team that had more skill or was better in certain areas that won.

“Now it’s a lot more attritional, a lot more on the strength and conditioning side - teams without that fitness will drop away, those with it will push through.

“And when I was younger, I was always taught to play what I see. I always felt I could express myself a little more than now.

“The game’s very structured and I see kids come in who are already structure-oriented and don’t tend to play what they see.

“We always encourage it here to find the balance but at others it’s more set in stone – you get to this part of the field to do this.

“Sometimes it can deteriorate that aspect of that player being good over being just a robot. You’ve got to have that balance.”