IS IT any wonder Eric Grothe pulled the pin?
You would too if you had to endure what Parramatta players did this week. Take Monday for instance. Hill runs at Lake Gillawarna.
''To put it pretty simply, it's a variety of different courses and hills, which they are doing at an intensity of 10 out of 10,'' said Eels head torturer/trainer Hayden Knowles.
Sounds far-fetched? We draw your attention to the crumpled figure in the photo right. Yes, that is the tireless Nathan Hindmarsh down on all fours. Spent. The modern-day Mr Perpetual Motion stopped dead in his tracks.
No wonder Hindmarsh remarked: ''The boys don't get too much sleep on Sunday night thinking about that Monday morning [hills] session.''
That was only the beginning. The hill sprints were one of three sessions on Monday. Three more on Tuesday. But the real pain began on Wednesday when the Eels arrived for a three-day army camp at Holsworthy Barracks. Pushed. Deprived. Barely survived. We'd love to provide you some photos and insights into the torturefest but a cone of silence has descended.
What we do know is that the Eels were shown no mercy. This is what soldiers endure before they are shipped off to Afghanistan. When the Eels were eventually released into the free world on Friday morning they all piled on to the bus back to Parramatta Leagues. To a man, they all fell asleep about two minutes into the journey. Jarryd Hayne provided this glimpse into his recovery on Twitter: ''Slept 9 hours. now for another 16 and I will be back to normal. Feels good to be home.''
Home for Wade Graham is now Cronulla. The Sharks have also put in the hard yards. Graham described a recent adventure race, which included running, swimming and 50 kilometres of rowing as ''the hardest thing I've done in all of my life''.
The purpose of all of these pre-season shenanigans is to bring men closer together. Paving the way for September football in December.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/parras-preseason-pain-20101218-19193.html
Hindy exhausted on all fours more info at http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/rugby-league/league-news/exhausted-eels-hit-the-slopes/20101218-191b6.html?selectedImage=4
Replies
Maybe this is Parra's toughest pre season ever.
see hindys abs are pokin through the skin
There won't be a burn-out, don't worry.
Thats good to see that SK is training them hard. The more you put in off the pitch the more you will get on it.
We'll see impact players like Fui playing even more minutes in the 2011 season, so bring on the new season.
You get out what you put in.
sure that's hindy ?
No crack showin !!!!
wayne bennet flogged the dragons during the pre season earlier
he flogged them everyday and before each game he flogged them the day before
this is going to do the world of good for them