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http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/wests-tigers-winger-marika-koroibete-bulks-up-and-considered-by-many-the-fastest-man-in-rugby-league/story-e6frexnr-1226590257798
TWO years ago, Marika Koroibete could bench press a barbell. That was it.
Worse, so terrible did this scrawny Fijian look under said length of metal on his first day with Wests Tigers, so clueless, conditioner John Skandalis considered switching to a broomstick.
"But that wasn't just Marika's first day at the Tigers - it was his first inside a gym," laughs Joel Greig, the league scout who discovered Koroibete in the Fijian highlands. "He was 18 and had never lifted weights in his life. Had never seen them. In terms of training, all he'd ever done was run.
"And skinny? In that first year of NSW Cup, the Tigers actually withheld him from the opening nine or 10 games. That's how worried they were he'd get hurt."
Call it the making of the greatest athlete in the NRL.
A sculpted 95kg flyer who now - the Wests Tigers privately believe - is ready to snatch that prestigious Greatest Athlete crown from noted contenders like Billy Slater, Greg Inglis, Sonny Bill Williams and Aku Uate.
Regarded by many good judges as the fastest player in the NRL, The Daily Telegraph can reveal Koroibete has added a staggering 6kg of muscle in preparation for his second NRL season.
From learning the art of bench press with that 20kg barbell two years ago, this transformed winger now has a 160kg maximum and can also bench two 60kg dumbbells for a staggering 15 repetitions.
So drastic has this 20-year-old's overhaul been since Christmas, Tigers coach Mick Potter last week approached his club board for extra money … explaining they no longer had dumbbells heavy enough for the Islander.
Importantly, the massive weight gains made under the guidance of strength coach Luke Portese have not affected the winger's pace.
In a trial match two weeks ago, Koroibete was clocked on his GPS system at 32.4km/h. To put this in perspective, when Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record, he averaged 37.6km/h.
Unfortunately, with footy clubs guarding such information like rednecks do their moonshine, confirming exactly where such a time puts the flyer in terms of the NRL's Fastest Man tag is impossible.
One NRL sprint coach rival, for example, described the time as "incredibly quick". Another told us his forwards could beat it.
A third said: "To have a time like that recorded in a game, the bloke is really moving. I know over the years there have been footballers run faster. I know of a 34\. And there were whispers about somebody running a 36\. But all these were in training with perfect conditions."
Born and raised on the family's cassava farm in the Fijian highlands, Koroibete's early tests of fitness were walking the 20km round trip to school on those days when his horse was being used by the old man.
A gifted sprinter in his teens, he once clocked 10.75sec for the 100m but would often skip regional athletics carnivals - fearing he would have to make a speech if he won.
Even now the Tigers are keeping the youngster, who scored four tries in only his second NRL game last year, off limits. A media ban is in place for the NRL newbie who, according to Greig, "can get through an entire conversation by only moving his eyebrows".
TWO years ago, Marika Koroibete could bench press a barbell. That was it.
Worse, so terrible did this scrawny Fijian look under said length of metal on his first day with Wests Tigers, so clueless, conditioner John Skandalis considered switching to a broomstick.
"But that wasn't just Marika's first day at the Tigers - it was his first inside a gym," laughs Joel Greig, the league scout who discovered Koroibete in the Fijian highlands. "He was 18 and had never lifted weights in his life. Had never seen them. In terms of training, all he'd ever done was run.
"And skinny? In that first year of NSW Cup, the Tigers actually withheld him from the opening nine or 10 games. That's how worried they were he'd get hurt."
Call it the making of the greatest athlete in the NRL.
A sculpted 95kg flyer who now - the Wests Tigers privately believe - is ready to snatch that prestigious Greatest Athlete crown from noted contenders like Billy Slater, Greg Inglis, Sonny Bill Williams and Aku Uate.
Regarded by many good judges as the fastest player in the NRL, The Daily Telegraph can reveal Koroibete has added a staggering 6kg of muscle in preparation for his second NRL season.
From learning the art of bench press with that 20kg barbell two years ago, this transformed winger now has a 160kg maximum and can also bench two 60kg dumbbells for a staggering 15 repetitions.
So drastic has this 20-year-old's overhaul been since Christmas, Tigers coach Mick Potter last week approached his club board for extra money … explaining they no longer had dumbbells heavy enough for the Islander.
Importantly, the massive weight gains made under the guidance of strength coach Luke Portese have not affected the winger's pace.
In a trial match two weeks ago, Koroibete was clocked on his GPS system at 32.4km/h. To put this in perspective, when Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record, he averaged 37.6km/h.
Unfortunately, with footy clubs guarding such information like rednecks do their moonshine, confirming exactly where such a time puts the flyer in terms of the NRL's Fastest Man tag is impossible.
One NRL sprint coach rival, for example, described the time as "incredibly quick". Another told us his forwards could beat it.
A third said: "To have a time like that recorded in a game, the bloke is really moving. I know over the years there have been footballers run faster. I know of a 34\. And there were whispers about somebody running a 36\. But all these were in training with perfect conditions."
Born and raised on the family's cassava farm in the Fijian highlands, Koroibete's early tests of fitness were walking the 20km round trip to school on those days when his horse was being used by the old man.
A gifted sprinter in his teens, he once clocked 10.75sec for the 100m but would often skip regional athletics carnivals - fearing he would have to make a speech if he won.
Even now the Tigers are keeping the youngster, who scored four tries in only his second NRL game last year, off limits. A media ban is in place for the NRL newbie who, according to Greig, "can get through an entire conversation by only moving his eyebrows".
