Stripped-down beast reveals Eels silver lining
Getting punched in the face inside the boxing ring doesn’t scare Parramatta enforcer Junior Paulo.
Whether it’s going toe-to-toe with Paul Gallen in the fight game or playing in the cauldron of State of Origin for NSW or a World Cup final for Samoa, Paulo has never been the type to sidestep the tough carry.
So is there something, a particular NRL opponent, anything at all that does make big Junior think twice?
I’m not scared of jumping in the ring I’m just scared of telling my wife and my mum,” the Parramatta Eels co-captain says breaking into a big laugh.
“That rattles me.”
Big Junior will start this NRL season having stripped eight kilograms from his cannon-ball frame thanks to being one of the headline acts on the NRL’s Townsville fight night at the back end of last year.
Paulo only started boxing when he agreed to fight retired NSW and Australian enforcer Gallen back in 2016 and quickly gravitated towards the conditioning associated with the full-on training of getting in the ring.
Still tipping the scales at 117kg, Paulo had off season foot surgery after taking care of Ben Hannant inside the ring then set about ripping straight back into training with an eye on unfinished business in 2024.
There’s no way to sugar coat it the Eels were one of the biggest disappointments of last season off the back of making the grand final in 2022.
Paulo knows to kick start Parramatta’s season the Eels need to start fast and bank wins so they’re not chasing their tale in circles leading into September.
Paulo and co-captain Clint Gutherson are leading a player driven ethos at the Eels to try and take Parramatta to the next level as an NRL side.
One of the primary messages from the Eels leaders over the course of the summer has been “smarter choices” which is about doing all the little things right in terms of professionalism and preparation.
“It’s been a long pre-season but the way I’m looking at it is it’s a blessing in disguise,” Paulo said.
“We’ve been back at it for 14 weeks now as a result of finishing earlier than we wanted to last year.
“Everyone wants to be playing in September and October but it didn’t work out for us last year so we need to cop it on the chin and learn.
“The positive is we’ve had two really solid blocks of training either side of Christmas and we’ve had a full squad available for the majority of that time.
“This is the fittest our whole squad has been for a long time. Everyone knows how important this year is for us.
“There’s a good feel brewing around the club.”
The foot surgery Paulo had over the off season is normally a four to five month recovery which means the Eels skipper spent plenty of time in the rehab group with fellow co-captain Gutherson.
Both made a point to return to full training well ahead of schedule and aside from having a few beers on Australia Day have been diligent and disciplined.
The Eels co-captain’s will both travel to Ipswich this weekend for Sunday’s final hit out in the NRL pre-season challenge against the Gold Coast Titans.
Will big Junior have another fight at the end of this season?
Too early to call. First things first he’s focused on trying to get the Eels rolling towards ending a premiership drought stretching back to 1986.
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