Rugby league vs ballet: Which requires more athleticism?

TWO athletes will be on their respective “big stages” as rugby league and ballet seasons get in full swing. But which is the more athletic? We put them to the test.

Jason Taumololo and Sophie Zoricic

POWER or precision? Fitness or finesse? Bulk or body weight? It’s the perennial question about who’s the more athletic – a footy player or a ballerina.

With the opening night of Queensland Ballet’s La Bayadere and the blockbuster Brisbane Broncos vs. North Queensland Cowboys match tonight, The Courier-Mail has sought to find out who the better athlete is.

The University of Queensland’s sport performance expert Dr Vince Kelly has crunched the data between barnstorming Cowboys forward Jason Taumalolo and Queensland Ballet dancer Sophie Zoricic.

“A footy player would most likely have a higher degree of absolute strength,” he says.

“However the interesting question might be who has the greater strength-to-body mass ratio, or even power-to-weight ratio.

“In this scenario they would probably become a bit more aligned.”

It’s all to do with strength levels relative to the body part, Kelly says.

Taumalolo’s giant thighs give him the power to sprint, sidestep, run-over-top-of and break a total of 128 tackles (in last year’s season).

But a ballerina – well, that requires a whole different set of muscles.

“A ballet dancer would have greater foot, ankle, calf and lower limb strength than a footy player,” Kelly says.

“It’s because they’re constantly performing on their toes and contracting their calves.

“Even a male ballet dancer – who has to do lots of overhead holds – may have greater isometric strength and stability in their shoulders than a footballer may have.”

The two athletes will be on their respective “big stages” tonight – Taumalolo running around the paddock for 80 minutes, while Zoricic will be elegantly gliding around for 2½ hours straight.

The 22-year-old ballerina says people are often surprised at how strong she is.

“I think it’s always surprising for people to realise how athletic our job is because it comes across as so effortless, which is part of the job,” Zoricic says.

“We do train every day as a normal job would. From 10am to 6pm we are in the studio on our feet, dancing the whole time. For the boys and equally for the girls, we put our whole body weight on to our toes.”

It’s not so much about bulking up for ballet dancers, rather more about core stability and body weight control.

“A lot of dancers are afraid to do weights,” Zoricic says.

“I find it helps so much. I use dumbbells and kettle bells and do lighter weights with more reps. We also do plenty of squats and lunges, just a lot of body weight movement.”

And that’s exactly how Kelly
sees it.

“I do feel a football player would more likely have greater overall strength levels because of the high volume of strength training they perform with high external resistance,” he says.

“Compare that to ballet dancers who would perform more body weight-resistance-type work.”

North Queensland Cowboys high-performance manager Paul Bowman last year told The Courier-Mail the club works hard to develop each player to their potential.

“We’re just trying to make them the best athlete that we can I suppose,” Bowman says.

“That’s all facets of their physical ability: strength, speed, power, durability.

“Each individual has their strengths and weaknesses so basically I’ll try and maintain their strengths and build on them if we can, but also identify the weaknesses or limitations that they have.”

Bowman says nutrition and fluid intake for each player is monitored by the club through apps, skinfolds and DEXA (whole body scanning system) scans.

“If a player is too heavy or needs to eat more calories to gain lean muscle, the club tailors a diet for them,” he says.

For Zoricic, there is not a specific diet set.

“It’s such another misconception that we have to diet,” she says.

“I just make sure to eat enough protein and that sort of stuff.”

And even though Taumalolo may be able to bench press, squat, bicep curl and sprint faster than Zoricic, she is quick to point out their win during a Queensland Science Week competition in 2016.

“(Fellow ballet dancer) Vito and I battled it out with the Broncos, Roar and I think the Heat in a few physical challenges as part of Science Week,” she says.

“And we won.”

Email Chris Honnery