IF he had a dollar for every time he's been asked what he's tipping the scales at, Dragons youngster Cody Ramsey wouldn't be skint.
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He'd be "a bloody millionare" by his guess, but he doesn't resent the question.
Having never so much as looked at a dumbell before shifting to Sydney from his hometown of Molong, the 21-year-old knew his approach needed to change.
"I obvously had to work on putting my weight on and that's something I've really focused on," Ramsey said.
"I'm getting a lot stronger, getting a lot bigger and hitting the gym up a bit more than I was. You can be as fit as you want but, far out, if I've got no strength I'm just going to get ragdolled again.
"That's the major thing for me, stepping out of my comfort zone and getting in the gym. Last year I was playing at 85-86 [kilos] and now I'm up to 91 and that's what I want to hold throughout the year.
"It's only a few kilos but I can definitely feel the weight when I'm running around now."
It's one of the lessons learned from a second season in the top grade that was something of a reality check after bursting onto the scene in 2020, first at the NRL Nines, then with two tries on NRL debut later that year.
It was a highlight in an otherwise forgettable season for the Dragons, made his mum Kim a social media sensation, and even drew comparisons to Jesus; more for the hairdo than his ability to walk on water.
The 2021 season proved a tougher school, from an afternoon stuck in the path of a David Fifita-shaped freight train in round 19, to losing a couple of pegs from his gums against the Raiders a fortnight later - his last appearance of the season.
None of it put a dent in his enthusiasm, with the livewire confident he's better equipped to meet the gruelling week to week demands of a full NRL season.
"I knew what I was getting into footy-wise but it was the recovery and stuff like that, I'd never really looked after my body growing up," he said.
"Last year I got a bit rattled and sometimes I couldn't eat after games because I felt sick. I'd lose three kilos during a game and wasn't putting it back in my body.
"I didn't really learn that I needed to do that stuff, I just played football. Before moving up to Sydney I'd never set foot in a gym in my life.
"I think for a good three years I hated the gym and considered it something I didn't need to do. Now I'm starting to understand it a lot more, I'm really loving going to the gym.
"I've really learned the importance of those things I never really expected coming in."
It's also put him in a position to fight for his preferred fullback spot come round one. While plenty are willing to write young-gun Tyrell Sloan's name next to the No. 1 jumper in permanent marker, Ramsey's hat remains firmly in the ring.
"He's going for that spot and so am I," Ramsey said.
"I love him, he's a great kid so it's always friendly competition. I think it's the same for every position, if you train well and work hard Hook (Anthony Griffin) is going to put you in the team if you're playing your best football.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens when we play some games and get a feel for things.
"I'm just going to play eyes-up footy and play what's in front of me when I get my opportunity."
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