Whitehead sheds pounds for Canberra

Elliot Whitehead has lost 11 pounds in pre-season as he prepares for the faster pace of the NRL with his new club Canberra.

Whitehead arrives at the Raiders having established himself as one of the top back-rowers in Super League.

The forward beiieves he is now in his best physical shape for some time.

“I just always wanted to play NRL since I was younger and this is probably the first time I’ve had the opportunity to come over,” he told NRL.com.

“Making the decision to come to Canberra, it made the decision easier already knowing a few of the boys here and obviously there are some boys here I’d played alongside [such as former Catalans teammate Sam Williams and Test teammate Josh Hodgson] and they only had positive things to say about the club and how Ricky Stuart would help me as a player.

“It made everything sound positive which made my choice to come here a lot easier.

“When I got here they said they wanted to get me down to 103, 104 because NRL is just that little bit faster. With me shedding that bit of weight hopefully it helps when it comes to playing.

“The last two years at Catalans I’ve played every game, 80 minutes. I’m capable of playing 80 minutes.

“Like I said I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been for a while, I think I’ve lost five kilograms since I got here so without that extra bit of weight hopefully I can last 80 minutes here if I have to.”