Luke Garner’s off-season mission to join dreaded Tigers fat club
A diet consisting of chocolate, pizzas and burgers would usually get an NRL player demoted to the lower grades, but for Wests Tigers forward Luke Garner it’s his ticket to rep football.
Tigers
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tigers. Followed categories will be added to My News.
PRE-SEASON: NRL starting 17s, SuperCoach analysis
Most players want to avoid the fat club but Wests Tigers forward Luke Garner was told to eat dirty and pile on the pounds.
Garner has long battled to add weight to his wiry frame.
Normally he’d smash the carbohydrates and live in the gym but it wasn’t working.
Stream over 50 sports Live & On-Demand with KAYO SPORTS on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly >
This frustrated Garner because he knows he must add at least another 4kg to his 98kg body to achieve his goal of playing representative football in 2020.
“It’s so hard to put on weight because I don’t like eating too dirty but I spoke to the trainer last week and he said, ‘You have to eat dirty’,” Garner said.
“So over the weekend I just had chocolate, pizzas and burgers. I put on a little — about a kilo-and-a-half — but there’s more to go.
“It’s not the worst situation to be in.
“I’ve been trying to put on weight for the last couple of years, and that’s been by eating clean, and I just can’t do it.
“Maybe eating dirty might be the way.”
Garner had a standout season in 2019, scoring seven tries in his 12 NRL appearances.
He was so potent that he crossed for a try in each of his final four games of the year.
Garner is keen to maintain his impressive try scoring rate in the opening round of the 2020 season against St George Illawarra.
“I’d love that to continue it,” he said.
“I’d love to score in every game.
“I look back in the off-season and came to the realisation of what happened last season.
“I was very happy with how my year went. I’m pretty excited to take that further into 2020 and hopefully my goal is to play representative football at some stage.”
The Tigers recently rewarded Garner with a two-year extension, keeping him at the joint-venture club until the end of the 2021 season.
The Dubbo-born back-rower couldn’t be happier to build a bright future under coach Michael Maguire.
“It’s awesome,” he said.
“I debuted here at the club in 2018 and to be honest I couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else. I love the boys. I love Madge, I love the coaches, so very happy to stay.”