Club captain, Kallum Watkins has reflected on a positive first week of pre-season as the lads begin preparations for 2025.
Five days of skill, conditioning, wrestling and everything in between were completed with an opposed session against Swinton Lions this morning.
It was the boy’s first run-out since returning for check-ups late last week and has allowed them to test their skill level under some physical fatigue.
Reflecting on week one, Watkins said: “Pre-season is pre-season – it’s hard work. It’s good to get all the boys around, a couple of new boys have come in so we can get to know them a little bit more.
“We’ve got a good group here so we’ve just got to keep working at it as we always do. Week one has been really good, really positive for us, so we move on to the next week now.”
After a gruelling 27 rounds of Betfred Super League action, plus an intense playoff game thrown on top, it was important for the players’ bodies to have rest in the off-season.
However, it’s now all about getting back in the right condition to attack the new season come February.
“It’s massive,” Watkins said on the importance of these next few weeks, “You make sure you can get your reps in, building your body basically.
“You’ve had that long break in the off-season and you’re coming back into it so you need a little bit of time in the gym, some contact and wrestle sessions.
“The staff are really good at preparing us for that and training us through that so once you’ve got a good group around it makes the hard work more enjoyable.
“It’s always good to work hard and it’s always good to work hard with good people too, so that makes it all the better.”
On the challenges of some of the physical exercises the players are put through, Watkins continued: “That’s the thing, the coaches set a platform, set a plan for how the pre-season is going to go and we follow that routine.
“Like you say, it’s a mixture of everything, the physical stuff, the mental stuff as well. Making sure our bodies are ready and getting fit as well and by doing that, spending time on the field playing conditioning games, practicing our skill under fatigue – which is what you do when you’re playing.
“Keeping things really simple, that’s the way you’ve got to do it. Everyone is ripping in and the first week has been good for us.”
This will be the 17th year our skipper has been in professional rugby league. His highly decorated career speaks for itself, but he says the hunger is just the same as the first.
“I love what I do. It’s something I dreamed of as a kid to do and I managed to do it for over 17 years now, so things go pretty quickly at the minute.
“It’s great to be around these boys, it’s great to be here at Salford and I’m just enjoying my time, taking each day as it comes and enjoying the company I’m with.”
