Sandhill Warrior hails resolve of new-look Tigers during brutal dune session at Palm Beach
MEET the Sandhill Warrior — the man credited for putting the mental steel in the new-look Wests Tigers during a brutal pre-season sand dune session at Palm Beach.
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MEET the Sandhill Warrior — the man credited for putting the mental steel in the new-look Wests Tigers during a brutal pre-season sand dune session at Palm Beach.
Rob Rowland-Smith is a respected fitness instructor who counts world champion surfers Kelly Slater and Layne Beachley among his closest clients.
Rowland-Smith may be a grandfather, but he leads at least three group sessions daily.
The renowned fitness fanatic also has rugby league running through his veins as a former Wests and Parramatta trainer.
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Rowland-Smith worked with the Magpies in the 70s alongside John Donnelly and Tommy Raudonikis, while he was at the Eels during the club’s glory years in the 1980s.
He has built close connections in the game, so he jumped at the chance to help his former club when good mate Ronny Palmer called late last year.
“I’ve known Ronny for 40 years and we met when I was at Wests and he was at the Tigers,” Rowland-Smith told The Saturday Telegraph.
“Then when I was at Parra he was at the Roosters and we’ve always kept in contact over the years. When he called and asked if the Tigers could come and do a Palm Beach session, I said — yep, bring it on.”
Rowland-Smith has used the Palm Beach dunes as a winning platform for countless champion surfers, elite athletes and rugby league teams.
He has fond memories of Wests prop John Donnelly struggling up his 50th sand dune for the day during a pre-season session in the 70s and announcing: “If I ever finish this, I’m going to kill you”.
Donnelly finished 40 minutes behind the main group, but he’ll always have Rowland-Smith’s respect.
“Because the big man never stopped,” he grinned.
“He felt like it, but he just kept going.”
Over three decades later, Rowland-Smith has praised the 2018 Wests Tigers for displaying similar fight on the Palm Beach dunes to their forefathers from the 70s.
From rookies to experienced campaigners, he says the entire Tigers squad pushed through the pain to deliver admirable results.
Rowland-Smith credits this never-say-die attitude to the culture coach Ivan Cleary is building at Concord.
In a bid to create club unity, Cleary also invited CEO Justin Pascoe and board member Michael Liubinskas to complete the dunes with the players.
Rowland-Smith says this ploy has worked wonders for the Tigers, who kickstarted their season in style with a round one upset win over the Roosters.
“The players’ energy was great,” he enthused.
“Whether they were at the front or the back of the pack, they didn’t give up.
“It was also fantastic to see the CEO and a board member out there trying as well.
“That’s how good the culture is at the Tigers.
“Culture can often be an overused word, but what Ivan has done with those guys so far is very impressive.
“Their work ethic is phenomenal and they are a really good bunch of guys with no bullshit.
“The fact Ivan’s staff also pitched in to help says a lot about the club.”
Rowland-Smith was so impressed by the Wests Tigers’ resolve on the dunes he has compared them to Parramatta’s 1986 premiership-winning outfit.
He worked as a trainer for the Eels in ’86 when legends Ray Price and Mick Cronin retired with a grand final over archrivals Canterbury.
“That Parramatta team was great because everyone got along really well and I feel like that atmosphere is similar to what is building at the Tigers,” he said.
“Ivan is going out of his way to create a team. Parramatta was like that and that’s why they were successful and I think Ivan has the Tigers on the right track.”