Manly will use slurpees to stay cool during trial against Wests Tigers at Campbelltown

MANLY will turn to old-fashioned slurpees to combat scorching temperatures during Saturday’s trial match against South Sydney at Campbelltown.

Manly will drink slurpees to stay cool on Saturday.

MANLY will turn to old-fashioned slurpees to combat scorching temperatures during Saturday’s trial match against South Sydney at Campbelltown.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting 42C in Sydney’s southwest during the day, and hovering around a still-stifling 37C for the 7.30pm kick-off.

Manly’s well-credentialed sports science team has devised a comprehensive plan to control the core temperatures of players, including the use of a simple slushy machine.

The iced drink, mixed with Powerade, will be used before and during the game to rehydrate players.

“We have a slushy machine. Because we get a Powerade mixture in the slushy, you are pretty much putting ice straight into your body,” Sea Eagles head of physical performance Dan Ferris said.

Hydration will be key in the heat of summer.

“That is an internal ice bath, as such. We can also reduce core temperatures that way. They get the benefits of Powerade too — the electrolytes, magnesium, potassium, sodium — they are getting hydrated as well.

“That is a big things because they are sweating so much we need to replace that.

“Its basically like drinking ice water. It is frozen down to minus one or two degrees. Everything we put on the outside of our bodies, to cool us down, you are just cooling down your skin.

“The only way to internally cool down is through drinks. The best way to do that is ice. To get a palatable drink, we use slushies.

Manly will also use ice towels — to be placed on the player’s necks and groin areas — along with the use of fans and ice baths. The game is expected to be split into quarters for additional drinks breaks.

The humble slurpee is set to make its mark on rugby league.

“At halftime, some things we need to do is the use of fans, ice baths, and then we will put ice towels on three parts of the body — behind the neck, which is probably the most important, and both sides of the groin,” Ferris said.

“There is a femoral arterial on the groin so we put ice towels there to try and cool the blood down and limit as much sweating as we can.

“The main thing is what has been doing for the last three months. Acclimatisation. We have been training in this heat for the last three months.

“We specifically put our field sessions on the hottest part of the day between 12pm and 2pm, purely for this reason. You can’t avoid the temperature. All we can do control what we can.

“We do pre-cooling. We actually do ice baths before the game. A six to seven degree bath, two minutes in, two minutes out.

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“We keep the players active so they’re not just sitting there. Mostly it is about the core temperature, it controls everything.”

South Sydney coach Michael Maguire also spoke about the need for rehydration.

“We are expecting it to be hot on Saturday but the 7.30pm kick-off should help, Maguire said.

“In any case we will have fans in the dressing rooms for players during the breaks to help them cool off.

“We will make sure, as we always do, the players are properly hydrated before, during and after the game.

“We’ve also been training in this sort of weather for the past two months so players will be acclimatised to the hot conditions through the work we’ve done pre-season.”

A NSW Cup game between Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles and Norths kicks off this Saturday at 3.15pm, the hottest part of the day.