As the 2005 season kicked off, player burnout was a significant concern to some across the NRL as the game grew more professional and the representative calendar extended seasons.
Recent rugby union convert Wendell Sailor seemed convinced that too much was being asked of the game’s best young players.
But his former Broncos, Queensland and Australian teammate Shane Webcke had a different view.
“For me, I grew up around agriculture and farming and if you want to talk about burnout, try shearing 150 head of sheep a day,” Webcke told Big League earlier this year.
“At the time, I probably did think it knocked me around a bit but you’ve got to put it into context.
“My views were probably shaped by that thinking and they still are today.”
Towards the backend of his 254- game career, Webcke wrote a weekly column for Big League in 2005.
The hard-as-nails prop earned 24 caps for Queensland and made 27 appearances for Australia across his career. Between 2002 and 2004, the big man played 90 matches in the space of three seasons, beaten only by Anthony Minichello (96) and Willie Mason (93).
Despite that, Webcke said the benefits of representative football far outweighed the risks of player burnout both in his playing days and in the modern game today.
“My attitude hasn’t changed at all and it’s not really something that we hear a lot about nowadays,” he said.
“The professionalism of the players these days is just incredible and I think they are able to manage their physical and mental loads really well.
“We worked hard back in my playing days, but we were nowhere near as fit or as strong as the players now and that’s a part of the natural progression of rugby league and always has been.
“Would the game be where it is today if we didn’t have that international exposure 20 years ago? I don’t think so. I doubt we’d be playing in Vegas and I doubt the international game would be as strong as it is now.
“I think it’s important to remember that, particularly the current players, because the hard work they put in now can have huge impacts down the road.”
Rugby league changed quite a bit across Webcke’s 12 seasons at the Broncos from 1995 to 2006.
“At the start of my career it was only semi-professional so we all had full time jobs. We’d have to fit training around work, then when it went professional, I remember thinking, how good is this.
“All you had to do was train twice a day and then turn up to the odd club event. Relatively speaking, we did it easy and I reckon every former player you speak to, once they’ve lived in the real world, would say the same thing.”
