Canterbury Bulldogs head coach Cameron Ciraldo believes Max King should be in the State of Origin discussion after a fantastic start to the year.
The blue and white picked up their sixth win of the season on Friday afternoon without loss after holding the South Sydney Rabbitohs scoreless.
In what was a one-sided contest from start to finish, the Bulldogs stormed out of the gates and had almost 70 per cent of the ball through the opening half hour of the contest.
The opening stint saw Max King lead the way for the Bulldogs, hitting triple figures for run metres early in the game and scoring his first try in years.
Ciraldo said King has been reliable for three years, but has gone to a new level this year and should be in the conversation for State of Origin selection when Laurie Daley comes to pick his Blues team in a little over a month.
"Max, I think he has been one of our most consistent for a long time now. His first try in 2000 days, it's a great day for him and we just love him," Ciraldo said during his post-match press conference.
"We could probably leave him out there for 80 minutes if we had to. We want to get fresh guys on there at different times and change the momentum of the game, but Max is so reliable. He has been for three years and I think this year he has taken it up a notch.
"If he keeps going like that, he is going to be in those Origin conversations, or he certainly deserves to be."
The Bulldogs were forced to defend their tryline with 12 players during the closing minutes of the game, but managed to hold South Sydney scoreless, marking the first time in club history they have held back-to-back opposition to nil.
Ciraldo said it proved how strong the club is to hold another opposition to zero.
"It's awesome [holding Souths scoreless]. It just shows what can be achieved when you get a group of people who are willing to work hard and work together. The guys are certainly doing that at the moment led by our leaders," Ciraldo said.
"I just thought the end of the game, to be down to 12 men and defend the tryline for 10 minutes when the game was over, I thought that shows what this team is all about. I'm just so proud of them."
The game, played in front of a record-breaking crowd of over 65,000, was also one which Ciraldo said was something his group could cherish.
"It was very special. Today was a really important day for our club," Ciraldo said.
"Obviously, the amount of people that came out to watch us, to get 65,000 and break that record is something we will always get to remember.
"There was also some special stuff happening throughout the day. We had a big supporter contingent there when we left the hotel and it's moments like that we will cherish when it's all over and at the end of the season.
"It just shows how strong our club is, how many people have worked hard to get that sort of support and the fans that have come out and supported the boys on the back of their hard work - I'm just proud to be a Bulldog today."
Six wins and a bye means the Bulldogs unequalled at the top of the table, with a trip north to play the Brisbane Broncos next on their agenda.
