How NRL cult hero Valynce Te Whare lost a STAGGERING amount of weight in just 10 days after supercoach Wayne Bennett called him too fat to play footy

NRL cult hero Valynce Te Whare has lost an incredible 4kg in 10 days as he fights to save his NRL career with the Dolphins.

The news comes just after coach Wayne Bennett bluntly told the 23-year-old to shed some weight after he arrived at pre-season training in an unsatisfactory condition.

The former rugby union star has been stood down from Dolphins training at Redcliffe and sent to a personal boot camp with renowned trainer Mark 'Chopper' Burgess.

'He started with me at 121.4kg on our first day and now he is down to 117.9kg, so he's lost almost four kilos,' Burgess told News Corp.

'We are doing two sessions a day and we are talking about nutrition all the time.

'It's basically been 'Fight Camp' for Val. We have been doing a lot of boxing and sparring to get his heart rate up.

'Val is an unbelievable athlete. He is very explosive. He doesn’t have a great endurance base, but he is going to play centre and wing and Wayne wants him lighter and more involved, so he needs to be in better shape.'

Te Whare wants to play in the NRL next season at 113kg, but if his weight continues to balloon, he will soon find himself on the rugby league scrapheap.

He enjoyed a promising 2023 campaign and became popular among many fans due to his bullocking frame and personality.

'I've sent Val away to get fitter – that's the situation,' a fed-up Bennett said.

'He came back to pre-season way too heavy and too unfit to play NRL at that body weight.

'He is doing no ball-work with us at the moment, our priority is to get him fit, so I've asked 'Chopper' Burgess to help out.'

Burgess is a highly-regarded conditioner and has worked with some of Australia's top stars. 

The 63-year-old was a former Australian amateur boxing champion and has previously served as a VIP protection officer for Bill Clinton and ex-Queensland Premier Peter Beattie.

Bennett also stated 'you can't hide at NRL level' and that Te Whare reminds him of former Broncos and Queensland Origin forward Dave Taylor, who was a punishing ball-runner when fit, but struggled with his weight across his career.

'We think he can play,' he said. 'Val did some good things for us last year, especially given he hasn't played a lot of league.

'We know he can't make it if he's too unfit and carrying too much weight, but I believe Val can be a real asset and we are trying to get him to that place.'

Former NRL stars Andrew McCulloch and Stephen Kearney have also been key figures behind the scenes in ensuring Te Whare doesn't see his contract ripped up by Bennett.