News

League legend gives United some bite

During his career with Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers and Queensland’s State of Origin side, Lang was renowned for his never-say-die attitude. After helping the Panthers take out the premiership in 2003, the prop hung up his boots the following year and ventured into the world of fitness training.

Although drafted in to assist with United’s conditioning work, Lang will also be using his motivational skills to help Gold Coast overcome their recent run of results and get back to winning ways.

While the round ball code is slightly foreign to him, the 36-year-old is certain he can incorporate his tough style of play into United’s training regime, saying one of the key ingredients for improving mental toughness - sticking together as a team - was universal in any sport.

“It’s good physically and mentally just to do something different to what they’ve been doing,” Lang said.

“But their fitness levels are certainly very good, they all stuck together and bought into it; I didn’t hear too many complaints,” he added.

Over the next couple of months Lang will be keeping the boys on their toes as he pushes them through some challenging speed and endurance training.

The retired athlete will also be drawing on his decade of professional rugby league to encourage and advise the United side in any way possible.

Lang said although his involvement was small in the scheme of things, but he would be doing his utmost to inject something fresh into the squad.

“I’m certainly not the answer or the fix or anything like that, but they’re not that far away from doing really well; they’ve lost some really close games,” he said.

“So basically my involvement is just some extra fitness training and motivation so hopefully that helps them out enough to maybe spark something on the weekend.”