Knights centre Joey Leilua reckons he's never felt better.
Bouncing about training like an excitable kid playing league for the first time, Leuila opens up on the personal transformation this summer that has given him a new lease on life.
It's also made him fitter and stronger too.
You see, Leilua admits he packed on the kilos over the off-season break.
It was hardly an ideal situation returning to Knights' pre-season training, but the strike outside back has worked overtime to shed the extra pounds ready for the upcoming NRL season.
"I’ve lost about eight kilos," Leilua reveals.
"So I’ve improved a lot this pre-season, especially after last year when I put a bit of weight on.
"But now I’ve trimed down a fair bit and hopefully I can trim down a bit more when I get out on the footy field.
"That helps me a lot, because I can now last a lot longer and go quicker so it’s good."
Fresh from his starring role at the Auckland Nines last weekend, including a hat-trick against the Gold Coast Titans, Leilua is determined to maintain the high standard heading into this Saturday's trial against Canberra in Tamworth.
He says the Club performed well at the inaugural nines tournament and can't wait to get another chance to shine in the faster paced match made for speedsters.
"I’m pretty excited after my performance at the nines and I just can’t wait to get back on the field again," he says.
"I really enjoyed the nines, it was a good chance to get out there in open space and hopefully it can keep going for the next three years.
"I’m looking forward to it next season."
Leilua's immediate focus though is the Raiders trial this Saturday night, an opportunity to test himself against the likes of Jarrod Croker, Jack Wighton and emerging star Brenko Lee.
"They’ve got a good side with a lot of speed in the backs, so we’ll have to do a good job to shut them down," he says.
"I also can’t wait to play with the likes of Aku (Uate) and Dane (Gagai) again and it will be good to get a trial in before the season starts to get combinations right and see how we go from there."
