- Valynce Te Whare arrived overweight during pre-season training
- The 23-year-old has struggled to keep his weight under control
- Wayne Bennett sent him to boot camp
Wayne Bennett has told Valynce Te Whare he needs to shed the pounds to save his NRL career after the Dolphins cult hero arrived at pre-season training overweight.
Te Whare, 23, has quit Dolphins training and been sent to personal boot camp in a desperate bid to get his weight under control.
He will spend a fortnight undergoing the brutal training of Mark ‘Chopper’ Burgess in the humid Brisbane heat.
Te Whare had a great campaign in 2023 and became popular among fans for his bullock frame and personality.
Yet supercoach Bennett fears the youngster’s growing weight could ruin his budding NRL career.
NRL cult hero Valynce Te Whare has been told he must lose weight if he wants to play football
Wayne Bennett said his player returned to pre-season training overweight
Te Whare finished the season weighing 125 kilograms, adding a further 4 kg during a weekend on the eve of pre-season.
Bennett has had enough and orders his player to get back into shape, with patience running out.
“I sent Val away to get fitter, that’s the situation,” Bennett said News Corp of its star whose contract expires at the end of 2024.
“He came back to pre-season far too heavy and unfit to play against NRL at that body weight.
‘He’s not doing any ball work for us at the moment, our priority is to get him fit, so I’ve asked ‘Chopper’ Burgess to help out.’
Burgess is a highly regarded conditioner and has worked with some of Australia’s top stars. The 63-year-old was a former Australian amateur boxing champion and has served as a VIP protection officer for Bill Clinton and Peter Beattie.
Burgess has been doing Te Whare training twice a day, including daily boxing sessions and running in the steep hills of Mount Coot-Tha.
“At this level you can’t carry too much extra weight, not the way the game is played now,” Bennett said.
“You can’t hide there; you need a huge amount of fitness to make it in the NRL.
‘Val reminds me of Dave Taylor (former Broncos and Queensland Origin forward nicknamed ‘The Coal Train’).
He trains with renowned conditioner Mark ‘Chopper’ Burgess
“Those guys are big men, you put them in a weight room and all they have to do is look at the weights and then they figure out the size.
“When Val played in the State League grand final the year before (for Redcliffe in 2022), he weighed 114kg… he finished this season at 125kg.
‘Val needs cardio training to get his weight under control.
“If we can get him back to that weight (114kg) I’ll be happy with that and he’ll be more useful to the team.”
Bennett has defied calls from some quarters to tear up Te Whare’s contract and believes his player can still bring good things to the club.
“We think he can play,” Bennett added.
“Val did some good things for us last year, especially as he hasn’t played many league games.
‘If he comes back to us in better condition and has more weight loss, it will be more manageable for everyone.
“We know he can’t make it if he’s too unfit and carrying too much weight, but I believe Val can be a real asset and we’re trying to get him into that spot.”
