Josh Papalii, Joey Leilua and Junior Paulo shed a combined 30kgs following disastrous World Cup

SHEDDING a whopping 30kg between them has left Canberra Raiders Junior Paulo, Joey Leilua and Josh Papalii hungrier than ever to make an immediate impact in the NRL.

Josh Papalii stacked on the weight during the World Cup before returning to the Raiders and being told to lose it all.

SHEDDING a whopping 30kg between them has left Canberra Raiders Junior Paulo, Joey Leilua and Josh Papalii hungrier than ever to make an immediate impact in the NRL.

The tubby trio were read the riot act by Canberra coach Ricky Stuart when they returned from the World Cup for Samoa late last season.

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When the players were about to start a three-week holiday, Stuart politely told them “you’ve just had your holiday at the Cup’’.

Papalii ballooned to 126kg, Leilua 111kg while Paulo said he was “somewhere between 130kg and 140kg’’.

Papalii had an unhappy World Cup.

ON Monday, the trio weighed 116kg, 107kg and 126kg _ a combined loss in weight that would be the equivalent of a Raiders ball boy.

“Drinking a lot of alcohol, eating shit, not training hard, it was eventually going to take its toll, and it did during the World Cup,’’ Papalii told The Daily Telegraph.

“I knew when I got back here I needed to click into gear. I got to 128kg, which is the heaviest I’ve been. There were no excuses for it. I had a good time and got a bit carried away in camp.

Papalii knew he had plemty of work to do after the World Cup wrapped up.

“That’s not Samoa’s fault, I just didn’t have the desire to eat properly or stay off the drink. I played a shit World Cup.’’

Paulo had planned a quick getaway with his partner after the Cup, but after Stuart’s eruption, thought it was best to put those holiday plans on hold.

“I’d been away six weeks and the missus wanted to get away without the kids, and when she thought we were going somewhere, I told her it was best if I start training the next day,’’ Paulo said.

“I did make it up to her last week when we went to the Sunshine Coast.

“When we jumped on the scales for our medicals, that was a big indication of how much we had let ourselves down.

Papalii and Paulo are both slimmed down and ready to go.

“But the way we’ve committed ourselves to get the weight off, it’s a credit to ourselves.

“It was done through discipline and hard work. I’ve stayed off the piss a while - it was a lengthy stint without the grog - but it was really important.’’

Paulo has always been able to punch out big minutes for a big man, and is confident he can repeat the long stints on the field around 126kg. The only thing he is surer about is wanting to remain in the nation’s capital beyond this season.

If the Raiders are to fire early, especially without hooker Josh Hodgson, Papalii, Paulo and Leilua will need to play key roles.

Leilua has shed four kilograms.

Leilua dropped four kilos after the Cup and wants to lose a further two kilos in the next fortnight before the Raiders open their season on the road against the Gold Coast.

He said the three weeks spent being whipped into shape by the club’s wrestling coach Steve Babic was tough.

“Sticky was furious and gave us three weeks to get into shape,’’ Leilua said.

“Steve trained us hard, and ever since then we’ve made sure we’ve eaten well. We trained hard, but we needed to do it for the team’s sake.’’

The Raiders had just the one hitout against Canterbury last weekend, and will not trial against before the Titans opener.

Originally published as Josh Papalii, Joey Leilua and Junior Paulo shed a combined 30kgs following disastrous World Cup