NRL fat boys : Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:35 pm  

Been watching a lot of NRL games on the channel we dare not name.

What has surprised me is how many of the props in particular are carrying a layer of blubber which seems to go totally against the SL ethos.

Me I'm all for it as I think it helps the big lads soak up the impacts and of course makes them even bigger and their momentumn even harder to stop. Yet any player in SL or at BV who seems to carry even an ounce of fat is ridiculed. I for one recall the days when props did carry a pound or two yet managed to finish not just a stanza, not just a game but a whole season. Some of them were even quite pacy or smart or both where as today your average SL Prop reminds me of the robotic muscle men of NRL 1990's vintage.

Is this yet another case of the NRL thinking out of the box and thus remaining ahead of us.

Re: NRL fat boys : Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:10 pm  

Jordan Abdull and Paul McShane carry an extra pound or two.

Re: NRL fat boys : Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:01 pm  

Wollo-Wollo-Wollo-Wayoo wrote:

Jordan Abdull and Paul McShane carry an extra pound or two.

True but they are not props they are just chubsters. TBH I do think it's only really props and S/R's who should carry a bit of weight but I may be wrong.

Re: NRL fat boys : Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:21 pm  

A little bit of timber isn't bad, but look at Liam Higgins and Jarrad Hickey.

Re: NRL fat boys : Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:06 pm  

Dave Taylor?

I think generally players both side of the hemisphere getting bigger in height and weight.

I used to play half back at amateur level and was average height and weight for that position of around 5'9" and 13st. Now more and more are taller and heavier.

Re: NRL fat boys : Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:37 pm  

I've noticed exactly the same. When I've watched Canberra especially their Props carry some extra weight, like Shannon Boyd & Junior Paulo.

Look at Fifita he's one of the biggest Props around & carries a bit of lumber as well.

Like you say, for some it helps their bodies with the crash band wallop nature of being a Prop and just because they haven't got a low body fat percentage doesn't mean they haven't got just as much muscle development as the ripped players. Plus those extra pounds just makes them a much more harder prospect for opposition teams to deal with. Like you say I'm all for seeing the big lads, as long as it doesn't effect their cardio.

Re: NRL fat boys : Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:00 am  

Shifty Cat wrote:

I've noticed exactly the same. When I've watched Canberra especially their Props carry some extra weight, like Shannon Boyd & Junior Paulo.

Look at Fifita he's one of the biggest Props around & carries a bit of lumber as well.

Like you say, for some it helps their bodies with the crash band wallop nature of being a Prop and just because they haven't got a low body fat percentage doesn't mean they haven't got just as much muscle development as the ripped players. Plus those extra pounds just makes them a much more harder prospect for opposition teams to deal with. Like you say I'm all for seeing the big lads, as long as it doesn't effect their cardio.

Yep it was the raiders and warriors in particular. What stunned me was despite being chubbyish they could really motor and did good minutes and hard yards. Clearly there is some science in this and proves you can be chubby and fit whilst you can be skinny and unfit.

I hope that if know nothings like me can spot this then hopefully to staff at our club also can and will look into it. England in particular could easily carry an extra stone and would be effective with it ditto Hirst and Kirmond.

I sometimes wonder whether this toned look is more about player vanity than actually being the best shape to play the game. For me only your Wingers and FB should look lean and toned the rest can be any shape so long as it works.

Re: NRL fat boys : Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:04 pm  

David Solomona was always on the chubby side but it didn't hinder him