MAKING the step up from a part-time environment to a full-time one can often be difficult for a number of players.
Not only does it mean a financial change, it also leads to a completely different routine and training pattern.
Whilst part-time clubs generally train in the evenings due to work commitments, full-time teams train in the day with evenings usually free.
However, making the step up from part-time to full-time also means leaving a job – and for new Wakefield Trinity signing Lachlan Walmsley, he has given up brick labouring at his old job in Halifax.
“Being at Whitehaven and Halifax, we didn’t get to do as much skill-based work and concentrating on certain areas but being in a full-time environment helps,” Walmsley told League Express.
“Back home, I used to be a metal roofer which is a bit better than doing slate and tile over here. I was doing brick labouring in Halifax. It wasn’t a bad job and I did a little bit of that in Whitehaven.
“It’s nice to get off the tools and just be a full-time rugby player. It’s been pretty good to be honest, just to be able to concentrate mostly on my diet and weightlifting as well as the speed element.
“It’s been a lot less stressful getting up at 7am and going to work, whereas I’m getting up at 7am now to ensure I’m fuelled with the right food for a training day.”
The goal is simple for Walmsley in 2024 with Wakefield: win the Championship Grand Final.
“Obviously, as a team, I want to win the Championship Grand Final and we have aspirations of doing well in the 1895 Cup as well as the Challenge Cup.
“I want to help get this club back to Super League and ensure that Wakefield will be a powerhouse one day.”
Of course, it’s a new era at Belle Vue, with a new stand and new owner Matt Ellis hiring head coach Daryl Powell as well as financing a hefty investment into the 2024 playing squad.
And Walmsley is onboard with Ellis’ excitement for the club.
“I’ve had little conversations with Matt Ellis. He is very keen to get us back into Super League and has put in all that time, money and effort into laying the foundations for getting us back up there.
“He is excited about where we are going as a club and we are all onboard with his ideas.”
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