Jeremy Marshall-King choked back tears as he thought of his late father, Shane, while singing the New Zealand anthem before his Test debut against Lebanon at The Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.
It had been an emotional 24 hours for Marshall-King, with brother Benji paying tribute to him for his hard work and sacrifices to succeed and thoughts of his father swirling in his head.
“This was for him, I played for him,” Marshall-King told NRL.com after the Kiwis’ hard fought 28-12 win.
“I spoke to my dad about how it has always been a dream of mine to put that black jersey on, so for it to come true is pretty crazy.”
Marshall-King was in camp with the New Zealand team preparing for the World Nines in Sydney at the end of the 2019 season when his father, Shane King, died in a car crash.
The Dolphins-bound hooker decided to play in the World Nines tournament as a tribute to his father and he again played in his honour against the Cedars.
“He is always in my mind,” Marshall-King said. “I was emotional thinking about him when I was singing the national anthem. I know that he was there next to me, and he will always be next to me on my journey.”
While Benji played 31 Tests for New Zealand and is one of the biggest stars of the NRL era, Marshall-King was never sure he would get the chance to represent the Kiwis.
However, the 26-year-old won selection in Michael Maguire’s World Cup squad ahead of Kodi Nikorima, who got married last weekend, and he received a late call-up against Lebanon after Jahrome Hughes was ruled out.
“It is a good feeling to be able to put on that black jersey,” he said. “You always dream about it and for it to finally happen, I am just humbled and really grateful that I got the opportunity to do it. It is exciting.
“As soon as I found out I told my family and they were just super excited for me, and proud and happy that I get that opportunity to represent New Zealand.”
Among those most excited was Benji, who praised his brother for overcoming adversity to make it to the pinnacle of the game.
“He was just super proud of me that I have come so far,” Marshall-King said.
“It is definitely a blessing having him by my side, but he spoke about it yesterday and he said I didn’t have any help to get to where I was; it was all me and he knows all the hard work I have put in to get to where I am today.
“I have had a tough road to get to where I am today, and I spoke about it in my speech to the group.”
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Former Kiwis star, Thomas Leiluai, who has joined the New Zealand coaching staff, presented Marshall-King with his jersey before the Test against Lebanon.
“It was pretty emotional and there were a few tears as you would expect when you are representing your country and your family,” he said. “I was just super grateful that Madge gave me the opportunity to do it.”