NRL: Game time keeps Ben fit

Warriors ever-present prop Ben Matulino. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Ask the Warriors about Ben Matulino clocking up 46 straight games in the NRL since the start of last season and genial banter turns to spooky silence.

"Whoa!" cried captain Simon Mannering, himself no stranger to uninterrupted playing stints. "They're a jinx, those stories. I seriously don't know if I want to partake in this one."

Mannering holds the record in the current squad with 92 games in a row which ended with a knee injury in late 2009. A good-natured man, he ends up offering a few thoughts but it's a topic laced with superstition. Mannering says the continuity jinx has gathered momentum over the years.

"I remember me and Lucky [Micheal Luck] were on the same amount of games in a row then someone did a story on it and Lucky got injured the next game. Wairangi [Koopu] was the same - he busted his shoulder.

"There's no real secret, it's just luck. There's nothing you can plan for - or avoid. Keep fit, that's my advice."

Regardless of records - and they are scarce around Warriors HQ for fear of igniting the curse- Matulino continues to make a successful transition to prop and looks set to again get an international call-up at year's end.

After round 10, coach Ivan Cleary said he wanted Matulino to start more matches to break the habit of warming the bench. He started in round 11 against South Sydney and has done so six times in the 11 matches since, prior to last night. However, the 22-year-old's average minutes have reduced to 40 a week from 43 last year as game time is predominantly shared between him, Sam Rapira, Jacob Lillyman and Russell Packer.

Earlier in the season Matulino said he preferred coming off the bench because it enabled him to relax more before a game. Cleary wanted him to make more of an effort to start and that has nowhappened.

While some spout scientific facts about rest and recovery, citing ice baths and recipes of Colonel Sanders-type complexity in their rehydration fluid, Matulino puts his good health down to a more unconventional secret.

"I've been caught up in a Playstation game by the name of Call of Duty: Black Ops. I spend a ridiculous amount of time playing that; it's an army-based game which I've grown to love. I spend a couple of hours each day playing people around the world.

"It's probably not the ideal way to keep the weight off but it takes my mind away from league and I look forward to it. It also keeps me off the drink and stops me going out ... so it has benefits."

Matulino is quick to endorse ice baths, too: "My form went down midway during the season when I wasn't taking them, so they do play a key role in recovery."

While he remains fit, Matulino expects to go through a rite of passage for most NRL players and have corrective surgery at some point soon.

"I feel sweet - but my left shoulder is a bit weak. I haven't knocked it or anything although once it goes I'll probably get an operation. It's been manageable the last two years so I'll keep going until it busts."

Matulino's stamina has not escaped one who knows better than most, stalwart lock Luck. "He's playing the most difficult position on the field. Front rowers get a bad rap for not being the smartest guys but there is no spot more physically demanding. They have to look after themselves the most after a game."

Warriors assistant coach Tony Iro introduced Matulino to under-20s level when he was team boss in 2008.

"He only played a handful of games before it became obvious he'd have to move up to first grade. He's a big man but courageous and resilient - which has led to NRL opposition respect. He's not one to moan about bumps and bruises ... I'll touch wood shortly."