I'd agree with you to an extent. But food, good food, is no cheaper in Oz than here, and the science and knowledge has been around for years. Iy's readily available on the internet (and I am talking legal here).

When I was younger I knew a fair few lads who joined gyms and used a body builders diet and they all bulked up, some very significantly, and all off there own backs.

Obviously not all players need bulk, and some simply can't add it. But for those who can, and would benefit, it seems to arrive to late imho.

PS: Murphy did most of that whilst still in the UK, which really makes you wonder. I'm not sure he'd have bothered if he'd stayed, but might be wrong.

Farnworth was being lined up for the NRL from the age of 13/14 and Widdop ended up over there by circumstance.

I don’t think the question being raised is “would they be as good” the question is in regards to their physical athleticism.

Do I think Farnworth would be as athletic as he is now had he come through the SL systems, probably yes or not far off because he is a natural freak of an athlete he was successful at every sport he turned his hand to and he had the height and frame.

I don’t see Widdop’s key attributes as his athleticism so I don’t see as there would be much difference either.

I don’t think either Farnworth or Widdop would be as good a players as they are becoming or were, in Widdops case, because to bring out your true potential you need to perform at the highest level regularly and they wouldn’t get that over here.

But Farnworth is a good example.
Could he have been as physical, of course yes.
Would he?
Well for me, without the same inventive and pressure to succeed and the knowledgeable people around him I don't think so.
He wouldn't have had to try as hard in SLto be successful.

Good debate is this.

I’m a big listener to podcasts particularly around players who have played in both comps and one thing that is very evident that the NRL off seasons are far more brutal than than those in SL.

Interestingly though NRL careers are generally much shorter than SL.

Matty Johns highlighted this recently.

The average NRL player only plays 49 to 75 games.

About 36% play less than 10 games.

75% are out of the game after two years

88% out after five years.

The physical toll is significantly more looking at those stats, if that was replicated in SL we wouldn’t have a sport as there wouldn’t be enough players.

The numbers associated with their game ensure they can sustain that turnover.

I think Farnworth and Young are athletic freaks who would get there regardless of comp particularly if they were at the bigger clubs with more investment. If rugby league wasn’t a thing I think athletes like them still achieve in other sports.

It’s interesting debate.

Do we burn bright early and fade away like what happens to significant numbers in the NRL or do we take the slower approach to ensure that careers can be built over time.

I love Matty Johns and his stuff, although he plays the joker most of the time, his RL IQ is pretty much unparalleled. Craig Bellamy sending over Cronk, Munster and Slater to stay with him to get them individually coached. Suppose it’s helped having the 8th immortal as your brother. In regards to off camps, the Storms is well renowned for wielding out players who won’t make it physically and mentally with their army camp.

I think the success of the players in the NRL is like you mentioned earlier on in that the player pool is just ridiculous compared to over here and the fact highschools and colleges have specific programmes for getting players ready for NRL, with most of these being cherry picked by NRL clubs and getting them ready physically and mentally from a young age. Would a player like Brian To’o for example be the same player if he was from the UK with his physical Attributes. Or Jeremiah Nanai who is of average size yet an absolute freak of a player based of sheer talent. Ruben Cotter is another example, injury blighted earlier on in his career, quite small in stature, but an absolute beast for lock/ prop at every level.

Joe Burgess, Ryan Hall, Sam Tomkins, Oliver Gildart, Joe Wardle, Zak Hardaker have all struggled in the NRL.