I've been thinking in light of interviews given by him and about him recently whether the drastic upturn in form & performance from Matt King is related to suddenly not being the biggest name signing at the club? He seems to be a guy who shuns the limelight & pressure put upon him as being the highest profile signing for Warrington or SL in recent years (as was put about when he joined), and maybe now the arrival of Myler/Atkins/Solomona, the form of Morley/Carvell/Monas and the coaching style of Tony Smith have all contributed to him no longer being a big fish in a little pond, rather a big fish in a big pond where he is free to focus on his job?

He seems to be a completely different player. His running is much more balanced all of a sudden and every time he gets the ball he makes ground. I think it may be down to the fact that TS has given him a much looser role, he's turning up on both wings, appearing at left and right centre and is also covering as a second fullback on occasions.

He seems alot more confident in himself this season.

I'm liking your contributions today MP. Good points re King. He looks so happy at present (easy when you're playing like that of course). As somebody said, it's cos his hair is long again.

The turnaround, to me, seems to coincide with the appointment of Smith (with a lag of a few weeks) with Harlequins away being the low point. I think Smith is using him slightly differently so he has more space when he receives the ball such that he can take on the line at pace. Before that he was receiving the ball almost under a tackle. In light of this his confidence has soared and he is playing exceptionally well at the moment.

Don't want to go OT but thats what seems to be happening alot with Atkins.

Atkins had a good game last weekend. His problem so far is that most of the positive play has been down the right hand side. As the pitches get firmer he will be able to use his pace a lot more.

It has to be said that Matt King has been awesome in the last 2 games. Long may it continue!

With Monaghan's form towards the end of last season as well as the signings of Myler, Atkins and Solomona it probably is a huge weight off his shoulders.

Maybe the expectation of a former Test, Origin and Premiership winner was thrust upon him too quickly for him to settle in the early part of his Wire career.

And also shows where Tony Smith differs from our coaches of the past. He can identify individual strengths in players, and also motivate and raise confidence levels.

In the past (with the exception of Briers and Gleeson) we've always seemed to operate players 'generically' and not get the best from them. Now we're seeing King with space, and Monaghan at his most comfortable position. And it's also the reason I expect to see Myler pop up all over the field and score for fun.

you say that and yes i know he gave the knuckle shuffle (not the bird as widely reported) but he didn't actually play that bad that day. He's never been a poor player for the Wire just that he hasn't lived up to the expensive price tag and expectations. This year though he seems to be enjoying his rugby and is bursting tackles for fun.

Plus he should never cut his hair, he is the Sampson of the rugby world

I think the club signing players for a position that maybe isn't their best may have something to do with it. And they have to look at how players are brought into the club and settled in as it appears to be a continual problem over the last five years.

With regards to King he stopped feeling sorry for himself and has looked to be more involved; he didn't quite happen for him the first couple of games this season but he continually looked for work and that determination has paid dividends as he is now reaping the rewards. The same will happen with Atkins, I would be more concerned if he was shying away from ball carries in the difficult areas of the field but he definitely isn't and the tries will flow for him as they are now doing for King!

Yeah I agree - I went to the game and he was by no means a weak link. I meant the "low point" in which he let his mounting frustrations boil over and after that we saw a steady improvement which has continued into this season.

i almost started this thread after the giants game, the difference between now and 2008 version is bizarre(though it could be argued he could be looking for a contract extension ) and, i'm sorry for going off topic here but you can't get away from it, out of the 4 signings from 08, hicks was good from the off, monas started coming into his own last year and now king....its not a coincidence that the focus on Landerson's contribution to the team is happening more and more, and thats not being critical, its observing value for money in action, and he's on his second contract now with us is he not?

I thought Louis Anderson was excellent against Huddersfield. If he played like that every week, we'd not complain. All his big hits came off and he played in a more structured way.