LUKE BURT, who will play his 200th first grade game today, insists he is not a gladiator, yet Parramatta's stats suggest Burt should not put himself down by saying he's ''only a winger''.
The Eels resident sports scientist Anita Sirotic has calculated that since Burt made his top grade debut against St George Illawarra in 1999 as a 17-year-old schoolboy, he has run the equivalent of the distance from Sydney to Cairns.
She has also estimated that Burt, 28, averages 15 runs into the opposition's defensive line each match.
He hits the line at 20km/h and the force of each tackle is likened to someone being hit by a small car travelling at 8km/h. Burt - compared by Eels trainer Craig Catterick to a coathanger with a jumper hanging off it when he made his top grade debut weighing only 71 kilograms - credited his turn of speed for helping him to survive in a brutal game.
''I was light and I was nice and quick,'' said Burt, who now weighs 88kg.
''They could only just get behind me, but I would never have made it if I didn't have speed on my side.
''I look at blokes like Nathan Hindmarsh and Nathan Cayless who I've played alongside throughout my career. I can't comment on what that is like to play in the middle, but it must be a tough job to defend the whole game.
''As I say, I stand on the wing and admire.''
This week Burt prepared for his milestone match as he had for the previous 199, by enduring wrestling sessions, a drills session, weights, boxing and running. He also underwent recovery and massage sessions.
However, he said one of the biggest challenges for all NRL players is what the fans never see - toughening up mentally.
''It is a mentally demanding sport,'' he said. ''When I was younger I wasn't really mentally with it.
''It took a few years to get used to what's required [to play first grade].
''I also doubted myself as a first grader in that first season. I'd ask myself if I belonged. There were always little doubts.
''The day I realised I would not be getting picked if I wasn't performing is what snapped me out of that.''
While league is becoming faster and taking a tougher toll on players' bodies, Burt said he expected the 200-game milestone would become a common event.
''I reckon we'll see a few players reach it,'' he said.
''A lot of players are being picked for first grade at a younger age; Jarryd Hayne was 17, for instance.
''It's really just a matter of them staying injury free.
Burt has started to prepare for life after football by studying health and movement at university.
He said at the end of the course he would be able to do a diploma of education and that would allow to enter teaching, but that ''in an ideal world'' he would work for Parramatta.
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