Dolphins centre Valynce Te Whare has been ordered to go through a torrid off-season training campaign to get his weight under control.
The young gun burst onto the NRL scene last season to become a cult hero with the fans following his two-try debut in an upset win over Cronulla in Magic Round and went on to play 12 matches for the new club.
But he was often exposed in defence due to his lack of fitness and lateral movement by fitter and faster opponents.
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett has enlisted the services of his former Broncos trainer, Mark Burgess, to put Te Whare through extra sessions, according to a Courier-Mail report.
The New Zealand-born 23-year-old tipped the scales at 125kg heading into the pre-season and heading into the final year of his contract with the Dolphins, he needs to shape up or the club will ship him out.
“I’ve sent Val away to get fitter – that’s the situation,” Bennett told the Courier-Mail. “He came back to pre-season way too heavy and too unfit to play NRL at that body weight.
“He is doing no ball-work with us at the moment, our priority is to get him fit, so I’ve asked ‘Chopper’ Burgess to help out.”
Burgess, a former boxing champion who has also acted as security for ex-Queensland Premier Peter Beattie and former US president Bill Clinton, has been putting Te Whare through boxing and hill run sessions twice a day for the past couple of weeks.
With the arrival of Herbie Farnworth and Jake Averillo in 2024, Te Whare faces pressure to retain an NRL berth with the likes of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Jamayne Isaako, Jack Bostock and Euain Aitken also in the mix for spots out wide.
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Few pints of Boddingtons and hit the chippie on the way home
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
That's exactly it. How much nutrition guidance is actually being given?
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
Only when the coach feels like a shiner.
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
It's Polynesian mums spoiling their little boys, especially when they've been away on the big island playing that funny rugby.
Don
Roar Rookie
I think a pre season last year, most of the year in the NRL, plus whatever "work ons" and plans were issued after the season review, all would have told him he can't smash the KFC buckets like a scaffolding business on cheap Tuesday.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Maybe he should just eat off the bone rather than eating the bones too.
Jetka
Roar Rookie
I guess there is always the Queensland Reds if fitness isn’t his thing
Tony
Roar Guru
Wow....must have been some big buckets
Stewy76
Roar Rookie
Well, while we are asking the obvious.. I wonder if any of the players in the NRLW would be given instructions to lose a few Kgs.. There.. I said it..
Bill
Roar Rookie
Konrad Hurrell managed to play out a whole career starting the season in "fat camp". Maybe the UK will be a better fit for Val also if the challenge to get fit is too much.
Don
Roar Rookie
He came out of a couple of years in NZ Rugby to the Dolphins. Redcliffe would have given him grief last year over his weight. He's not a tall guy, maybe 6' so if he's @ 125kg then he'd be looking like a Rugby tight head prop. Unless the Dolphins see a few injuries to their centres / utility backs, this bloke will be playing Q Cup anyway. There's a lot of "he's yours" in his defensive effort. Even if he drops weight and gets to 105kg, there's a question about whether his impact is only because 115-120kg and still with good speed, in a 10 minute spell, is why he breaks tackles. We've seen these others of types get fit, lose weight, and they lose impact. George Rose, Sam Kasiano.
Nat
Roar Guru
He is a kid, thrown guts first into stardom. He doesn't know what professional is yet. It's how he reacts to this that will define him.
Phil
Roar Rookie
It would be a shame to see Val fall by the wayside because of his weight. It's all up to him to get himself into shape and stay in shape for the sake of his career. He does have talent but needs the application to go with it.
Dutski
Roar Guru
4kg In one weekend???? I feel a bit better about myself reading that.
langparker
Roar Rookie
Should have done this last year so he understood what’s required of an NRL player. You only had to watch the dolphins later season games to see that the good opposition coaches worked him out pretty quickly. Struggled to recover from an effort play, caught out in defence regularly, lacked positional sense etc etc. When he got up a head of steam he was hard to stop but those runs were not often enough. Never looked anything other than a reasonably effective lower grader coming up to the elite level and struggling when put under the pump. Even if he drops 10kg, I can’t see him figuring in the dolphins top team unless they’re ravaged by injuries.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
This bloke's no chance. It's still November and he's on the fitness plan. Either Christmas lunch/dinner is going to be very sad for him or he's going to lose all the gains he's made.
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
Not to mention pork bones and puha.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
TWAS, horse >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> water. Can't hold their hands. If I'm running that Club this is a huge red flag, very difficult to turn around. The bloke is supposed to be a professional athlete. He'll make his choices and the Club will make theirs.
andrew
Roar Rookie
Not to mention dessert.
andrew
Roar Rookie
Reading on Fox sports Tony that Te Whare gained 4 kg in one weekend. That's an awful lot of nuggets in one sitting.