Pre-Season Gallery: Week One

[Wintergreen]

What’s not working?

Warriors site, like Mass said

Scroll down a bit and press the arrows

Yes the website needs work. You have to scroll down until you see the arrows. Press the arrows then scroll UP to see the pics.

[Wintergreen]

Walters makes Thompson look like a dwarf.

Without getting into too much about body shapes etc, thompsons physique is a lot heavier set than Walters. Walters looks tall and a little bit lanky. Maybe he's carrying a little bit of weight but he doesn't seem to have any definition at all on his arms and legs. Leeming on the other hand is ripped to the hills

Nb I'm not saying at all that physique actually makes a difference. These are just observations.

It does, but not in itself. So in Rugby a stronger player will have an advantage, other things being equal. But of course they are not equal.

Ideally you would be as strong as you can without carrying excess weight. The heavier a player is, the harder it is for them aerobically.

However, it's not quite as simple as that as not all weight is created equal. Muscle is more desirable than fat for obvious reasons, but even then some fat might "help" some aspects of the game in the sense that bodyweight does. Ideally the player would be carrying very low levels, but individual genetics may mean that reducing bodyfat to those low levels is extremely hard and more importantly would mean sacrifices in other areas that lead to a net reduction in effectiveness.


The reason some players are "ripped" in RL is purely a by product of them trying to minimise their bodyfat in relation to their own genetics and the position on the pitch (and therefore the mix of aerobic/anaerobic effort in the match).

It is fascinating to see how far today's players have come down this route in an attempt to optimise their play.

[josie andrews]

Warriors site, like Mass said

Scroll down a bit and press the arrows

Yes the website needs work. You have to scroll down until you see the arrows. Press the arrows then scroll UP to see the pics.

I haven’t had any of the problems others seem to have had! Read the article & saw the pictures no problem

[Blackpool_Pie]

Walters makes Thompson look like a dwarf.

Without getting into too much about body shapes etc, thompsons physique is a lot heavier set than Walters. Walters looks tall and a little bit lanky. Maybe he's carrying a little bit of weight but he doesn't seem to have any definition at all on his arms and legs. Leeming on the other hand is ripped to the hills

Nb I'm not saying at all that physique actually makes a difference. These are just observations.

It does, but not in itself. So in Rugby a stronger player will have an advantage, other things being equal. But of course they are not equal.

Ideally you would be as strong as you can without carrying excess weight. The heavier a player is, the harder it is for them aerobically.

However, it's not quite as simple as that as not all weight is created equal. Muscle is more desirable than fat for obvious reasons, but even then some fat might "help" some aspects of the game in the sense that bodyweight does. Ideally the player would be carrying very low levels, but individual genetics may mean that reducing bodyfat to those low levels is extremely hard and more importantly would mean sacrifices in other areas that lead to a net reduction in effectiveness.


The reason some players are "ripped" in RL is purely a by product of them trying to minimise their bodyfat in relation to their own genetics and the position on the pitch (and therefore the mix of aerobic/anaerobic effort in the match).

It is fascinating to see how far today's players have come down this route in an attempt to optimise their play.

I'm aware of all this, although you have articulated it very well.

I'm more pointing out that a great physique doesn't mean a great player. Sometimes you see players with amazing physiques who can't put in a shift and vice versa.

Also, Walters physique for instance, looks like he could do with dropping some body fat, but that doesn't show how well he hits lines and manages to break tackles

[moto748]

I just watched the interview with Eseh on Wigan TV. He looked a smart and impressive young man; I hope he does well.