He's the honest toiler who dominates multi-premiership winners on the training paddock, but Penrith's Freddy Lussick says he's also a man playing for his NRL future.
Lussick arrived at the Panthers for 2026, having hopped between the Sydney Roosters, St George Illawarra and the Warriors in search of regular minutes since his NRL debut in 2020.
In searing western Sydney heat over the summer, the 25-year-old stormed on to the podium for almost every pre-season fitness drill at the NRL heavyweights.
Lussick even pushed State of Origin fullback Dylan Edwards, Penrith's usual barometer for effort and fitness.
"(Lussick) was always there at the top," Panthers prop Lindsay Smith told AAP.
"Throughout the pre-season, he proved he was definitely pretty fit."
Ahead of his first start this season, coach Ivan Cleary called Lussick "one of the fittest guys I've ever seen".
For Lussick, it was a non-negotiable to arrive at Penrith with the right attitude.
"When I first came to the club, you hear about the high standards and obviously the success the club's had," Lussick told AAP.
"Coming in, for me, it was super important to have a really good pre-season under my belt and put my best foot forward, and I feel like I've done that.
"I'm in the middle, so you've got to be fit, otherwise you'll get found out. It is crucial and it's something I sort of pride myself on."
Mitch Kenny's leg injury has meant Lussick has been back in the No.9 jersey for the past fortnight in wins over Newcastle and Manly.
Now a one-game suspension to back-up hooker Jack Cogger could leave Penrith to rely even more heavily on Lussick for Sunday's road trip to Canberra.
Playing 80 minutes at hooker is an increasingly challenging proposition in the six-again era, but Lussick is unfazed.
"It's something I really look forward to," he said.
There's extra motivation for Lussick as well: the father-of-two is without a contract beyond this season.
"I'd love to stay at Penrith," he said.
"At the moment, I'm sort of playing for a contract, so I've just got to keep chipping away and let that sort itself out in the background."
