The Sharks’ Physical Performance Manager for two and a bit seasons, Gray (pictured above with Cronulla enforcer Wade Graham) has been in and around NRL squads for just on two decades; he’s a physiotherapist, strength and conditioning specialist and sports scientist rolled into one.

Where the Sharks’ head coach, Shane Flanagan, will generally be responsible for tactical preparation and skill acquisition of this players, Gray heads up the performance side of the club, focussing on three key areas: strength and conditioning, sports medicine and sports science.

For Inside Sport, he expanded on the importance of managing his players’ time and bodies, stressing that the slightest drop in energy or miscalculation in workload can have disastrous consequences on a team’s pursuit of those vital two competition points.

“Broadly speaking, based on a philosophy which I believe in, there is an optimal amount of load or work that an NRL player needs to perform each week, including the game, to maintain a high level of performance for the entirety of an NRL season,” Gray shared with Inside Sport.

(This photo and header photo by Getty Images)

“Too much load or work will definitely bring about an improvement in performance, but will also increase injury risk and will eventually lead to a decline in performance as fatigue sets in. Whereas a low load – or an amount of work below that optimal zone – may reduce your immediate injury risk, but will render players unable to compete at the intensity required in the NRL competition.

“It’s a very small margin of error. If you happen to have just a few players who are a little bit off their game physically, mentally or tactically, you pretty much don’t stand a chance of winning in this competition. It’s that close.”

Check out this story in its entirety in the May 2017 edition of Inside Sport, on sale now.