In the second week back at pre-season training, the heat was turned up a notch in more ways than one for aspiring first-graders Brock Lamb and Josh King.
With the heavy workload taking it's toll and temperatures regularly in the high thirties, Knights TV found out what it was like for the developing players.
Is it fair to say the hot weather was an added pre-season challenge?
King: Last week was a bit of a scorcher. Just keeping hydration levels up was the main key I guess to get through the heat.
Lamb: It was a lot harder than I thought it would be with the conditions. The team worked really well and pushed each other, so that made it easier.
Which teammate seemed to handle the conditions best?
King: I think some of the older fellers handled it better just because they’ve been doing it for longer now and have got their preparation and recovery down set. They always have water with them to stay hydrated.
How do you think you handled the conditions?
King: It definitely takes a bigger toll on the body… at the end of the day you’re just exhausted. But if you keep the water up then that’s the main key.
How did your preparations alter given the weather?
Lamb: I just drank a lot of water. A lot of water was needed for last week.
King: It was still training as normal, there were just more water breaks and we kept an eye on the hydration.
It was also a six-day week, how did you feel by the end?
Lamb: I pulled up pretty sore on Saturday afternoon but like I said, you’ve just got to prepare well and then get back into it the next week.
King: It was exhausting, but it was good to get a couple more in the bank.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks as Knights TV follows the young rookies as they progress through their first stint of fulltime NRL pre-season training. In case you missed Rookie Diary Week Two, CLICK HERE.
