It should come as no surprise, Kiwis star Martin Taupau is the biggest lifter at Manly. Photo / Twitter.
It should come as no surprise, Kiwis star Martin Taupau is the biggest lifter at Manly. Photo / Twitter.
In the realm of professional sport, performance is key.
But before athletes put up big performances on the field, a foundation is often laid in the gym and on the training grounds.
College recruiters in the United States place a heavy emphasis on an athlete's ability to perform well, withmeasurements of vertical leaps, broad jumps and speed over 40 yards just the tip of the iceberg.
It is a world that is fairly unknown to Australian sport.
While Australian sports teams definitely conduct these types of tests with their athletes, you rarely read about it.
Thomas Leuluai is the strongest back at the club, bench pressing twice his body weight.
Leuluai tips the scales at 86 kilos which gives him a bench press of 172 kilos.
In the forwards, Jacob Lillyman box squats 2.4 times his body weight. Lillyman weighs in at 106kgs.
In terms of conditioning, winger Jonathan Wright tops the outside backs. He completed their 1.2 kilometre shuttle run in four minutes and 30 seconds.
Brisbane Broncos
The Broncos test their players using a league-specific beep test of sorts called anaerobic intermittent testing.
Darius Boyd and Andrew McCullough are top performers in this.
Broncos performance director Jeremy Hickmans said the highest result he has ever seen is an athlete reaching level 21, a record shared by Boyd and McCullough.
"The test we do is fairly specific to the sport," Hickmans told foxsports.com.au.
"These two have been pushing each other all year so it's no surprise they produce the performances they do on the field each week."
During pre-season, the spotlight was on forward David Hala in the weights room.
The former Bronco weighs in at 120kg and regularly bench presses 200 kilos.
Manly Sea Eagles
Kiwis forward Martin Taupau, owner of arguably the biggest shoulders in the game. Photo / Getty Images
It should come as no surprise, Kiwis star Martin Taupau is the biggest lifter at the club.
Taupau easily performs 260kg deadlifts during the season, and can get up to 310kg in the offseason.
These huge numbers shouldn't shock anyone who has seen Taupau in the sheds before a game, as he keeps a pair of 20kg dumbbells handy to warm his shoulders up pre-match.
When it comes to speed, New Zealander Jordan Rapana is the fastest over 10 metres.
The Raiders only test speed over short distances with an emphasis on speed off the mark and acceleration.
Rapana clocked in at 1.55 seconds, followed closely by Jack Wighton and Blake Austin at 1.59 and 1.6 seconds respectively.
In the weights room Paul Vaughan is king of the club, boasting a one rep max power clean of 135kg and a back squat of 220 kilos.
Head of physical performance Nigel Ashley-Jones told foxsports.com.au that the Raiders cycle their training in a bid to keep strength throughout the season.
"We make every day a test day and don't stop to test," he said.
"You're pretty much under the pump throughout every session. We try and keep the blokes at the levels they finished the pre-season on throughout the season, which is a massive challenge but that's the way it is."
Melbourne Storm
Marika Koroibete's elite speed makes him tough to catch. Photo / Getty Images
The title of Melbourne's fastest over 40 metres goes to flying Fijian winger Marika Koroibete, but the man who comes in second may surprise you.
32-year-old playmaker Cooper Cronk is the second fastest in the team.
The Storm did not disclose any details around times recorded.
"We have a good trainer," said Koroibete. "He gives us a good technique so I'm faster. I worked on my speed more and got a bit extra on it."
Newcastle Knights
Newcastle always starts the preseason with a classic beep test.
This year outside back Jake Mamo had the best result at 14.7 (Level 14, Shuttle 7).
Head of physical development Colin Sanctuary said: "A high level of aerobic ability is key for a player like Jake Mamo, who plays a mixture of positions in the outside backs, particularly, for example, when he is at fullback."
North Queensland did not disclose any specific details but divulged that wing Tatau Moga tops the team in weighted chin-ups, while Ray Thompson and Kyle Laybutt are among the strongest pound-for-pound athletes.
Thompson and Josh Chudleigh lead the way on aerobic fitness, and Johnathan Thurston and Rory Kostjasyn have the lowest skinfolds.
Penrith Panthers
Wing Josh Mansour is the best Panther when is comes to deadlifts.
The NSW representative can do 270 kilos for one rep.
"He's totally anaerobic - fast twitch muscle fibres," Penrith strenght and conditioning coach David Boyle said.
Before the 90kg playmaker went down with a season ending shoulder injury, he could bench press almost double his body weight.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The Rabbitohs did not provide any information.
St. George Illawarra Dragons
This season, young centre Euan Aitken and hooker Mitch Rein have been standouts in the Yo-Yo test.
The Yo-Yo is similar to the beep test but carries a different structure and is a good way for the Dragons to measure the fitness levels of their players.
Tigers fullback and NSW representative James Tedesco is thought as one of the fastest in the game over 40 metres.
A trainer, who has worked with Tedesco at rep level but asked not be identified, told foxsports.com.au that the 23-year-old can run 40 metres in 4.8 seconds.
