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Home / Sport

Why did Manly have gherkins on the sideline?

Herald online
14 Apr, 2016 07:56 PM2 mins to read

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A jar of gherkins sit on the sideline during the Sea Eagles defeat to the Eels.

A jar of gherkins sit on the sideline during the Sea Eagles defeat to the Eels.

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Players? Check. Strapping tape? Check. Powerade? Check. Gherkins? Check.

Go ahead, pick the odd one out.

When Manly planned what they'd need on the sideline at Brookvale Oval when they took on the Eels, they'd clearly thought not just outside the box but outside the shopping centre the box came from.

Five minutes into the second half of their 22-10 loss to Parramatta, a Channel 9 camera panned to a table on the Manly bench, and in amongst the bottles of energy drinks and cups was a jar of gherkins.

potted by commentator Ray Warren who initially asked, "Is that some sort of peptide?", it was later revealed the pickles had a very specific purpose.

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It wasn't, as Phil Gould suggested, for the forwards to eat so that the opposite pack would be put off by their bad breath in a scrum. No, according to Brad Fittler, gherkin juice is the perfect anti-cramping medicine.

Sport science and strength and conditioning researcher at the University of Queensland Vince Kelly tweeted that Fittler's explanation was bang on.

We've come a long way from half-time oranges.

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"Hey, hey. What's this? Are they gherkins?" - Rabs. 😂 #NRLManlyEels #9NRLFootyShow pic.twitter.com/DO4vI7rzZw

— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) April 14, 2016

Well that's the weirdest product placement ever.. #GherkinGate #NRLManlyEels

— Marko (@AusLoafer) April 14, 2016

@FOXNRLLive #NRLManlyEels gherkins on the sideline are to help with muscle cramp. Good sport science

— Vince Kelly (@VinceKellySport) April 14, 2016

Gherkin juice? Anti cramping supplement now used in Rugby League. Ah the evolution of sport science. What's next? #NRLManlyEels

— Daniel Watson Hayes™ (@dwatsonhayes) April 14, 2016

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