Friend a superman

[Coaster]

HE experiences the same G-forces as a fighter pilot and runs the equivalent distance from Burleigh Heads to Surfers Paradise while clocking speeds in excess of 30km/h.

Titans hooker Nathan Friend has long been regarded as arguably the hardest working player in the NRL.

But now the Bulletin has uncovered the science behind the statistics, with exclusive GPS data revealing the strain placed on the gutsy No.9 every time he plays.

Friend wore a GPS device under his jersey against the Penrith Panthers last week at Skilled Park and the results were astonishing. During 80 minutes, Friend ran 10.65km with a top speed of 8.5m a second, while his heart rate peaked at 190bpm.

But the most amazing data came from the magnitude of the collisions.

Friend experienced 74 impacts above a G-force of 8, which is higher than that felt by a Formula One driver (5G) or an astronaut (7G).

"In terms of what it would do to a regular person, well most people wouldn't get up," said Titans strength and conditioning coach and Bond University assistant professor Chris McLellan.

"Basically these guys over the course of the season get conditioned for the collision.

"It is not something normal people are accustomed to.

"In terms of Friend being the hardest working man in the NRL, it would be impossible for me to know because I don't know what every other player is doing.

"But he is covering the most ground by far for us and he certainly had the highest number of collisions. He is topping out all of our categories in terms of the number of sprints and his heart rate, because let's face it, he doesn't stop."

The GPS devices are fitted with an accelerometer, which uses satellites to determine change of velocity.

"Impact data is obtained from being tackled and tackling, but also tackle breaks and say if you are already in a tackle and someone else jumps on top of you," said McLellan.

"It is the same as the GPS in your car, it tells you how quickly you are moving and how quickly you stop and then gives you the G-forces.

"It gives us a good indication and we use it as a monitoring tool."

Friend is renowned for his high workrate, which regularly includes nearly 50 tackles a game, most of which are made bringing down opposition big men.

"I have been used to the contact since I was six years old," said the reigning Paul Broughton Medallist.

"We took part in a study last year to measure our bone density at Griffith University.

"It showed our bones are probably twice as strong as a normal person.

"Obviously if a person walked off the street and into one of our battles they would feel a fair bit more sore than we do."

Link to Article

Holy Hell, that is some major collision damage

[Rage]

Yeah they were talking about this during the commentary of the match and Gould couldn't help but keep pronouncing that Friend was the fittest player he's ever seen!

[Ryan]

Stats reveal Nathan Friend is the fittest Gold Coast Titans player of all
By Margie McDonald
September 17, 2010
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...018866,00.html


Like the deities of Greek mythology who had exceptional strength and powers, Gold Coast Titans hooker Nathan Friend is head and shoulders above most players in the NRL.

But unlike the Greek gods, there is nothing too mystical about the 29-year-old hooker.

Gold Coast strength and conditioning coach, Chris McLellan, said there seemed no freakish DNA where Friend was concerned.

"I believe it's just hard work, diligence in his diet, and determination in training."

Friend may only weigh 85kg, about 7kg lighter than when he played four seasons with Melbourne Storm, and stand just 172cm tall, but he certainly packs some punch.

"He covers in the vicinity of 13 1/2 to 14 kilometres a game, or about five kilometres more than the next best guy on the paddock," McLellan said.

"Will Zillman did about 11.5 the other night (against Warriors) and he was everywhere. So that gives you an idea of the amount of territory Nathan covers.

"He also does about 45 sprints above 22 kilometres an hour per game. He has an extraordinary number of collisions either with the ball or making a tackle -- 70 or more above 8Gs."

Air force fighter pilots are exposed to about 6Gs -- the amount of gravitational force.

NRL stats show he averages 42.3 tackles per match.

"So Nathan has a big day at the office every time he plays basically," McLellan said, adding that it helped considerably that Friend had very little body fat.

"He's got very lean muscle mass and just trains his bum off. He can just run all day."

Friend enrolled himself in a nutrition course at the privately run human performance centre based at Miami on the Gold Coast, which accredits personal trainers and first-aid officers.

Regarded by many as the fittest man in the game, he is very particular about his diet and monitors his intake daily.

"Certainly nothing too alternate. I just train really hard and I certainly watch my nutrition. That's what I think is the thing," Friend said when asked where his energy came from.

"I did a nutrition course on what to do 'pre' and 'post', not only games but training sessions too. I watch what I eat carefully and keep up my fluids. I think that's the edge that I've acquired.

"A really good diet can give you that little extra. And what I'm eating now makes me feel good during a game."

[TITAN PETE]

The best part about Nathan is he has passed on a lot of his health knowledge to most of the players which has stopped most of the younger brigade drinking Sh#t "Pick me up" drinks like V, Redbull Monster etc before games & have all been replaced with caffine pills which work much better without the un needed Sugar Fix