Coach Stephen Kearney says getting his players to pile on the beef is one of the enormous challenges facing the Warriors in their “trailblazing” NRL quarantine.
The Kiwi-based players awoke to their first full day of team isolation in Tamworth on Monday, a new way of life for two weeks after their trans-Tasman flight.
Understanding all of their biosecurity protocols was on the agenda for day one followed by a return to the training paddock on Tuesday, where Kearney says his under-done players will confront the harsh realities of New Zealand’s strict lockdown process.
With the players having been confined to home for six weeks, many without sufficient weight-training resources, they presented in a slimmed-down state at Auckland Airport.
Kearney said bulking up, and quickly, will be a priority before the May 28 competition resumption.
“Looking at a lot of them, they probably haven’t been doing the bigger weights so I can see the muscle mass has dropped,” Kearney said.
“It’s really important over the next three weeks there’s enough time to get them up to speed.
“It’ll mean a lot of hard work but I’m sure they’ll be ready for it.”
Kearney said basic skills will also have dipped, with players having been unable to train with teammates or simply pass a ball with anyone outside their family bubble.
He said they had adopted juggling routines for hand-eye co-ordination.
The NRL’s training protocols mean no more than nine Warriors players and one trainer or coach will have access to their Scully Park traning facility at any one time.
Kearney understood that restriction would last at least a week and would force the coaching team to improvise.
“Our mindset, which I’ve been really proud of from the outset, is to go with the flow,” he said.
“As a footy group we have some really good minds here who will make it work for us.”
Kearney said there was no chance of anyone in the 50-strong Warriors group taking short cuts with any of the protocols.
He pointed to the sacrifice they’d made in leaving their families for an indefinite period and asked the players to consider what’s at stake for the NRL’s resumption.
“I will be giving them a reminder, if you look around the world, we’re the only professional sports competition that’s going to get up and running to start with,” Kearney said.
“There’s a bit of trailblazing on our part and also there’s a huge responsibility.
“We can’t stuff it up.”