The life of a top level rugby league player has drastically changed since the advent of the summer game.
Gone are the days of turning up for training or a match after coming home from work or not looking after your body in terms of diet and nutrition.
Instead, the vast majority of Super League players are now prime athletes, many conditioned within an inch of their life to get the best results possible for themselves and their team.
For Castleford Tigers’ new signing, Kieran Hudson, who joined from Whitehaven in the off-season after starting his career at the Newcastle Thunder, the difference between being a part-time player and being in a full-time environment is so different.
“It was Tuesday and Thursday night at Newcastle. There would be a lot of running and contact but we would go through the plays. We wouldn’t do much conditioning throughout the season,” Hudson said on The Full Eighty Minutes podcast.
“It was tough because every single day if you are injured they would find something for you do to make you fitter.
“When I first joined I was injured and I thought I would have a coaster day and watch from the side but they were on top of us with the running.”
Hudson was also quick to point out that players would not want to be injured as they would still have to take part in full training.
“You go in and they will torture you around the field if you’re not playing. You don’t want to be injured because you know you will still have to do the work.
“Even if you’ve hurt your lower body they will get you on the skier.”
“The way Super League is, if you play Sunday you’re still sore for the next two days and the next thing you know the game is the next day.
“There’s not much chance to get much running in if you’re playing week in, week out.
“At Cas, the day after a game, you will watch the video and do recovery in the pool and the non players would be running on the pitch.”
