Jordan Petaia in great condition ahead of Reds’ clash with Waratahs in Dalby
Having put on an extra 4kg and built his body with a tailored training regimen, Jordan Petaia is preparing himself for the physical challenge of life in Super Rugby and the Wallabies.
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Jordan Petaia may be the face of Queensland rugby’s new decade yet having the finely-tuned body to live up to it is even more important for the World Cup find.
Petaia has put on 4kg during the off-season at the Reds and worked diligently at strengthening the hamstring that delayed his eye-popping initiation as a Wallaby in Japan.
Rather than simply working on his hamstring, the Reds’ strength and conditioning staff have mapped out a specific program to make his whole body stronger and more resilient for the longer term.
To that end, Petaia will have his first gallop for the Reds in Friday night’s pre-season trial against the NSW Waratahs in Dalby but may play less than half a game.
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Petaia is still just 19, still growing into his best footy body at 103kg and still to regularly stand up to the extra rigours of playing outside centre rather than wing.
He hasn’t played a full 80-minute game in 11 months because five of his six games since have been either injury-affected or strictly managed comeback minutes.
If he stays healthy, his 2020 workload could soar to 16 Reds games and a dozen or so Tests which will place huge extra demands on his body.
He showed in his three Tests at the World Cup just what a weapon he can be with his elusive running.
Petaia was more dangerous in the opening 90 seconds of the Australia-England quarter-final than some teammates were across 60 minutes.
It’s no use have the “matchwinning weapon” tag if you are sitting on the sidelines as he did for all but 95 minutes of last year’s Super Rugby campaign.
The Dalby trial will be a first look at how effective and exciting a James O’Connor-Petaia centre pairing can be.
There is certainly more passing skill in such a pairing to create chances for the likes of wing recruit Henry Speight, who will play his first game in a Reds jersey after minor knee surgery.
“Jordie’s looked big, fast and strong at training and I’m pretty keen to see what he can do and get some good ball off him as well,” Reds winger Jock Campbell said.
The five-match ban dealt winger Filipo Daugunu for his careless spear tackle in last Friday’s trial against the Melbourne Rebels means extra audition time for Campbell.
Daugunu expressed remorse in his early guilty plea but it doesn’t lessen how much he has cost his team after scoring five tries in that trial.
Wind and thunderstorms around parched Dalby this week have added some green shoots to the grass around town where hotels are near full for Friday night.
* Nudgee College graduate Reesjan Pasitoa, 18, will play at inside centre on Thursday afternoon in the first of two Brumbies-Rebels trials in Albury.
Young Noah Lolesio is getting first crack at flyhalf to fill the boots of departed Christian Lealiifano in the later trial.
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