Australian Kangaroos team manager Gavin Allen says the game’s best players risk being burnt out by a crushing workload being placed on the NRL’s top-flight stars.
Allen, a former top-line prop himself with the Broncos and Maroons, said the game’s biggest assets – its star players – needed to be protected for the health of the game itself.
In camp with the Kangaroos in Townsville for the Test match against New Zealand, Allen said he was struck by the sheer level of exhaustion among the players after a long and torrid season.
“You could really notice it when they came into camp, just how flat and tired some of the blokes were,” Allen told fogs.com.au.
“I noticed it especially with the Melbourne Storm boys – Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater – because they obviously had the longest season because of the grand final.
“But you could see they were flat and exhausted when they came into camp. (Australian coach) Tim Sheens was very conscious of easing them in to the week.
“Especially with the heat up in Townsville, it wouldn’t make any sense to be flogging them on the training paddock.
“So they had a very relaxed week in the lead-up to the game, where they could relax and recharge a little bit. And you could see by the end of the week that had that spring back in their step.”
Allen said the physical toll on the game’s top players was matched by the mental strain, which increased the risk of player burn-out.
“The thing about Cameron, Cooper and Billy is that they play a lot of games in the season, but the extra workload for them comes in the big games,” he said.
“Because blokes like them are so good, they play their normal NRL games, and then play Test matches, Origins and finals on top – and they are obviously the hardest games of the lot.
“They are copping it physically, but it is very emotionally draining for them to get themselves up for the big games as well.
“Plus, they are dead-set superstars – so often their teams are expecting them to produce the big plays or special touches under pressure that will win the big games.
“It is a massive load on them, and watching them walk into camp, you could see how tough a year it had been on them all.”
Allen said the welfare of players had to be of paramount importance because they were the ones the fans paid to watch, and that future generations aspired to emulate.
“They are the stars of the show these guys, so we should be doing what we can to keep them in the game as long as possible, not running them into the ground,” he said.
“The last thing we want to see is these guys walking away from the game or getting sick of playing just because they are continually exhausted.
“The players love playing the game, no doubt about it, and would probably say they would like to play as often as they could. But we just need to be sensible about how much of a load we’re putting on these blokes.
“If they burn-out early and walk away from the game, it is rugby league that will suffer the most.”
Allen, a former top-line prop himself with the Broncos and Maroons, said the game’s biggest assets – its star players – needed to be protected for the health of the game itself. In camp with the Kangaroos in Townsville for the Test match against New Zealand, Allen said he was struck by the sheer level of exhaustion among the players after a long and torrid season.
“You could really notice it when they came into camp, just how flat and tired some of the blokes were,” Allen told fogs.com.au.
“I noticed it especially with the Melbourne Storm boys – Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater – because they obviously had the longest season because of the grand final.
“But you could see they were flat and exhausted when they came into camp. (Australian coach) Tim Sheens was very conscious of easing them in to the week.
“Especially with the heat up in Townsville, it wouldn’t make any sense to be flogging them on the training paddock.
“So they had a very relaxed week in the lead-up to the game, where they could relax and recharge a little bit. And you could see by the end of the week that had that spring back in their step.”
Allen said the physical toll on the game’s top players was matched by the mental strain, which increased the risk of player burn-out.
“The thing about Cameron, Cooper and Billy is that they play a lot of games in the season, but the extra workload for them comes in the big games,” he said.
“Because blokes like them are so good, they play their normal NRL games, and then play Test matches, Origins and finals on top – and they are obviously the hardest games of the lot.
“They are copping it physically, but it is very emotionally draining for them to get themselves up for the big games as well.
“Plus, they are dead-set superstars – so often their teams are expecting them to produce the big plays or special touches under pressure that will win the big games.
“It is a massive load on them, and watching them walk into camp, you could see how tough a year it had been on them all.”
Allen said the welfare of players had to be of paramount importance because they were the ones the fans paid to watch, and that future generations aspired to emulate.
“They are the stars of the show these guys, so we should be doing what we can to keep them in the game as long as possible, not running them into the ground,” he said.
“The last thing we want to see is these guys walking away from the game or getting sick of playing just because they are continually exhausted.
“The players love playing the game, no doubt about it, and would probably say they would like to play as often as they could. But we just need to be sensible about how much of a load we’re putting on these blokes.
“If they burn-out early and walk away from the game, it is rugby league that will suffer the most.”
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