Des's delivery meals slim Suli into career-best form
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Call it Dessie's home delivery – the secret to Moses Suli's career-best form even if he is still joking about downing 10,000 calories of McDonalds in one sitting.
Young Sea Eagles centre Suli copped both barrels from Hasler earlier this year having let his weight balloon once more after losing 12 kilos over summer.
Hasler dropped Suli to reserve grade in April for "failing to meet professional standards", but far more significantly, signed the talented tyro up for My Muscle Chef's ready meal service.
With meals averaging around 500 calories delivered to his family home, and mum Moana cracking the whip too on the 21-year-old's diet, Suli has been in impressive touch since returning from a fractured finger a month ago.
"Greens after greens. All greens, that's it," Suli grins.
"I've got Muscle Chef that sends meals to my house. They send it every week and it's been good.
"When I had the meeting with Des he spoke about it and he wanted meals sent to my house just to make sure I'm eating well.
"Mum ripped into me too after she found out that I had the meeting with Des and he had got into me. It's helped me a lot, I'm feeling lighter and fitter.
"I can do more on the field too. I go from 112 [kg] to 115, that's the highest I go but then I'm usually about 112.
"I've been playing the best footy [of my career]. Coming back from injury I've been doing well."
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Suli's numbers in his last four games show similarly stark improvement – with an average of 145 running metres per game (compared to 99m across his first eight games of 2019), three tackle busts a match (compared to 1.6) and two tries to boot.
Like anyone, Suli still has his cheat days. And jokes of downing a "whole Maccas dinner box if I could."
Suli struggled with his weight and the expectations of a big money Wests Tigers deal, touted as the richest in NRL history for a teenager when he first signed at the start of 2017.
A dramatic falling out at Canterbury followed before linking with Manly and Trent Barrett on a train and trial deal.
Now after a little more than a year in maroon and white, Suli is getting the hang of the balancing act under Hasler.
"He really got into me," Suli recalls of that one-on-one with the Manly mentor four months ago.
"After that I guess I understood, what I've got, no one else has got it. I can't take it for granted.
"I've just hammered down on the little things. [There's] some sacrifices I've made like things I shouldn't be eating.
"I've got my days where I have my little cheat day but not every day like I used to.
"KFC, Maccas. I have that little cheat day but not too much because Des will rip into me again.
"I'm happy so far with the way I'm going."
