Junior Paulo’s off-season transformation has him primed to propel Eels back into finals contention

It’s rugby league’s version of a revenge body, with Parramatta’s Junior Paulo set to roll out a sleek new frame the Eels hope will lead them back to the finals. HERE’S HOW HE DID IT.

Parramatta big man Junior Paulo will unveil the biggest body transformation of the NRL pre-season when he takes the field on Sunday against Melbourne.

Paulo will run out onto AAMI Park weighing just 113kg, the lightest playing weight of his 14-year career, after dropping 10kg during the pre-season.

And the Eels hope Paulo’s summer makeover will propel Parramatta back into finals contention after only narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon last year.

Slimmed-down prop Junior Paulo in the gym at Eels HQ. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Normally one of the heaviest players in the NRL, Paulo has been told to eat less for most of his career.

So one can imagine the shock Paulo felt when the Eels’ first ever full-time nutritionist, Alice Sharples, told the 31-year-old that to lose weight, he had to eat more.

After all, Paulo was the same player who tipped the scales at 130kg when he joined the Eels from Canberra in 2016.

THE DIETITIAN

Paulo could not wrap his head around it initially, but the advice worked.

“She’s been on my case non-stop, but she’s done wonders for me,” Paulo said.

“To be honest with you, it felt weird at first, but she was telling me to eat more.

“She had us tell her what we were eating prior to tweaking our diets, and she said I wasn’t eating enough. I couldn’t believe it.

“I have never been told that throughout my career to eat more funnily enough.”

But that advice wasn’t a license for Paulo to hit fast food joints over the summer.

He was told to pack his dinner plate with nutritious food like bigger servings of protein, vegetables and even more complex carbohydrates, like whole grains and legumes.

The new approach also left the camera roll on his phone as full as his plate.

“I was probably very annoying on my part about it, over the whole pre-season sending her photos of my food back and forth. She requested that the boys send her everything we were eating and I definitely did that,” Paulo said.

“I honestly felt like one of those food influencers on social media, sitting at the dinner table taking a photo of everything I was eating.”

Junior Paulo in 2022. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

PHOTO PROOF

It took Parramatta’s official team photo earlier in the year for Paulo to really appreciate just how well Sharples’ advice was working.

He faced a big problem when he was handed the same size jersey for the photo day that he wore last season – for the first time in Paulo’s career, it was too large for him.

“It looked like I was wearing a parachute,” Paulo said.

“It was weird, having the same size jumper that has always been given to me, but then having it be bigger than what I was used to. I’ll need an altered jersey now.”

Paulo has done such a good job shedding the kilograms over the pre-season, skipper Mitchell Moses jokingly worried the veteran prop had taken his weight loss journey too far.

Paulo after his boxing victory over Ben Hannant in 2023. Picture: Alix Sweeney/Fightr Promotions

“I think he’s being modest, I think he’s lost more than 10kg to be honest. He probably needs to put a bit of weight on, he’s that small now,” Moses said.

“Junes (Paulo) is looking unbelievable.

“He’s looking fit, he’s looking fast and he’s ready to go. He has really bought into the changes as a whole we have made at the club this year, especially when it comes to high performance.”

What hasn’t changed at the Eels is jovial banter between teammates.

“This is definitely the lightest I’ve ever been throughout my whole career, and the boys have been letting me know about it,” Paulo said.

“The boys have been paying me out.

“I was actually pretty sick after New Year’s, one of the first weeks we came back into training after Christmas, and I lost another 4kg then as well.

“So they’re paying me out, teasing, saying the only reason I’ve lost the weight was because I was sick.”

FITTING INTO RYLES’ SYSTEM

But Paulo’s weight loss is no joke to new coach Jason Ryles, who wants to unleash a fast-paced style of footy built on defence.

“We had a conversation early in the pre-season about how we wanted to play and what sort of shape he needed to be and he took that on board,” Ryles said.

“He’s quite a smart fella, Junior and he’s done a lot of work with himself and our dietitian and our performance staff to get himself into the shape he’s in and he’s moving well.

“He’s going to give himself every chance to be the best version of himself.

“I’d like to think he’s faster and he’ll be able to play a bit longer.

“That’s obviously the ideal outcome, but that will take a bit of time because he hasn’t had a trial, so we’ll be patient with him.’’

Paulo accepted the challenge to be part of a mobile forward pack.

“At my age, you have to keep evolving and keep adapting to the speed of the game,” said Paulo who, at 31, enters his 13th NRL season having played 239 games.

“That is the kind of structure, the way we want to be able to play.

“This year, Rylesy came in and is wanting a more mobile and faster-moving pack.

“I’m at the stage in my career, to do that, I’ve got to understand that my diet isn’t just Monday-Friday, and it’s about the right food going into my body, along with the right recovery as well.

“I’ve turned a new leaf and I’m an open book now, taking in new lessons.”

Paulo is also about to enter a new chapter in his personal life, too.

Paulo proposed to partner, Mele Maea.

Mele Maea and Paulo.

MORE OFF-FIELD CHANGES

After dropping 10kg, Paulo dropped to one knee during a family holiday in Bali over Christmas, proposing to his partner of 16 years, Mele.

The pair have three children together — Mario, Rosalina and Harmony.

“We’re high school sweethearts, been together since we were 15,” Paulo said.

“I literally did not tell anyone when we were over there in Bali and no one had any clue.

“So it was a surprise to the kids, too.

“It was pretty funny after I proposed, my son actually went to my partner and said, ‘Oh, Mum, you finally get to have that last name, the same last name as all of us’.”

Originally published as Junior Paulo’s off-season transformation has him primed to propel Eels back into finals contention