Turning up the heat on new recruits

Cowboys recruits Scott Moore and Curtis Rona have been sweating it out in the heat chamber at James Cook University this week to get them better prepared for their first pre-season in a North Queensland summer.

The weather conditions are a massive change for the duo, especially Moore, who would be living in single degree temperatures if he was still at home in the north of England.

The new signings have been spending up to 90 minutes a day in the sports science department’s chamber which is set at 40 degrees and around 60% humidity.

They’ll join their new teammates on the training field for the first time on Wednesday afternoon and should be able to cope more comfortably with the heat and humidity they will encounter.

“When I walk outside, it feels like it’s cold here, not hot,” Kiwi-born Rona said of the benefits of working out in the chamber.

“The sessions are tough.

You feel very fatigued but it’s what we need to do to get ourselves better prepared for what’s to come.”

Facing such testing conditions, the players can lose up to 3.5kg, mostly in fluid, during a session, but their health is carefully monitored by the JCU staff, who ensure they are properly rehydrated with Powerade, ice slushies and protein drinks.

Moore, who struggled on day one, is convinced he’s already seeing the positive effects.

“Yesterday was completely different.

They nearly needed to carry me out,” he said on Friday.

“Today I coped with it all a lot better.

“I feel a lot fresher which is good so hopefully it will give me a kickstart into the pre-season.

“I’m really pleased about today because yesterday wasn’t a nice feeling.”

North Queensland’s high performance manager Paul Bowman said Moore and Rona were well on their way to becoming acclimatised to North Queensland conditions.

However, they still face another four sessions in the chamber before that part of their first pre-season with the Cowboys is complete.

“It should help to ensure they can get some good work in during the pre-season and not be struggling for the first month or so,” Bowman said.

“Instead of it taking weeks to acclimatise, we’re hoping to do it in a week.”