The 25-year-old hooker, who has racked up 81 tries in 112 appearances, will be back from a broken arm for the start of the 2026/27 campaign.
And following a mixed season which saw Rams finish seventh in National One, he admitted it was a no-brainer to embark on a third year as skipper.
He explained: “I want to get this club to The Championship – it’s always been the goal and while we’ve been close, it’s not happened yet.
“Rams took a chance on me when I was an 18-year-old playing at Newbury, and after this season, the group and I owe it to the club to be more competitive next year.
“We’ve got a great group of lads who are sticking around and it’s an amazing place to be.
“We’ll learn from this season. It’s not been our best and there’s a sense of frustration among the lads because we know we’re more than capable.
“We left a few results out there and that’s tough to take.
“It’s about coming together as a group – players will come in, others will leave – and to the latter, I want to thank them for all their efforts.
“Our challenge now is finding the little bit extra to get to where we want to.”
‘An honour to continue the journey’
He continued: “I’ve had an extraordinary time at the club.
“I’m 25 now and seeing lads like Hodgy (Ollie Hodgson) come through – he’s going to be a real talent – Harry Bicknell, Paddy Jackson, it’s a credit to the club.
“I’m honoured to be able to continue the journey, one which has been emotional coming so close so many times, but we learn from it.
“I said to the group after the final game, it’s not been our best season, but we’re young, growing as players and we have to put our big boy hats on and move forward.
“We’ve got young guys who need to back themselves.
“And it’s also great we have the likes of (James) Baker and Ant (Marris) coming back, along with plenty of others.”
With his sights set high, Max highlighted the efforts of recent champions Chinnor and Richmond as a template for what he wants to achieve.
The former finished 11th in 2022/23 before going onto take the title, the Londoners rising from sixth to claim silverware two season ago.
‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’
The captain said: “Credit to Chinnor, they rebuilt and are now a top-half Champ side.
“If we can get it right after this year, it would definitely make it sweeter.
“Seb showed us a few photos of people like Michael Jordan, whose college basketball team said he wasn’t good enough.
“And he went on to be the greatest there’s ever been.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and we’ve got to keep fighting, work harder than ever and always look to improve.”
Rams lost a wealth of experience ahead of the past campaign with the iconic Robbie Stapley, Tom Vooght and James McRae all retiring, Dan Swain, Nile Dacres and Ollie Cole moving to Australia and centurion Drew Humberstone to Devon.
With 202 caps, Stevie Bryant also called it a day at Level Three.
The previous summer further class acts in the form of Ben Henderson, Sean McDonnell-Roberts, Henry Bird and Jak Rossiter also departed.
‘Guys are stepping up’
And with a new-look side taking shape, Max reflected on the transitional period, and the excitement of evolution.
He said: “I want to thank those guys who helped me through my first season.
“Looking back, you can’t underestimate just how much experience, but also ability, they had.
“They were absolutely brilliant for the club.
“This season it’s been a huge help to have the likes of Ed (Hoadley), but also new guys like Willo (Bicknell), Fergus Dick and other boys put their hands up.
“Axel (Kalling-Smith) has captained his country, and it’s up to us to really lead this group onwards.
“Ben Atkins is a great leader who goes from the front on the pitch, Hodgy’s a strong character.
“There was one time when we’re in the 22 and I want to take a quick tap, and he rips the ball out my hands – but it was absolutely the right thing to do.”
He added: “There’s plenty of talent in this squad already.
“We’ve got a good core who have been around the club for a few seasons, and hopefully with some strengthening, we can be very competitive next year.”
‘Support we get is unbelievable – we want to reward them’
Despite a mid-table finish, Rams once again had an average attendance of more than 800, placing them among the top three in the division.
And Max praised the fans for their unrelenting backing.
He ended: “The support we get is unbelievable. Last season at Richmond, they’re onto win the title at home on a Friday night and we had more supporters than they did.
“It’s astonishing and shows what the club is all about – we call it the Ramily for a reason.
“We all appreciate them so much. They spend their money and time to come and watch us, and they never let us down.
“It’s great and we’ll be doing everything we can to reward them next season.”
