Kangaroos forward Tyson Frizell might take on the NRL's biggest on a weekly basis, but the prospect of racing in sports cars around a race track in a mid-week team activity almost proved too daunting for the Red V enforcer.
Speaking from Donington Park in Derby as the Kangaroos took some time out from training in the lead up to their Four Nations clash with the Kiwis, Frizell – who shows plenty of pace for a big man on the field – said he initially wasn't too keen on the idea of hitting the track for the first time with his Kangaroos teammates.
"It was pretty scary," Frizell said. "To be honest, I was thinking about chickening out and not doing it but you've got great drivers alongside you, they take you through it all. Once you go past the first lap it's pretty fun."
Fellow Kangaroos and Blues forward Boyd Corder had no such hesitation in enjoying the day, and despite also having never had a taste of a track day previously was quick to jest he was displaying the same sort of racing form as one of the legends of V8 Supercars.
"To drive in a Maclaren, a bit of horsepower… Once I got the first lap out of the way I thought I was Mark Skaife," Cordner joked.
"It's good fun to come away on tour, and that's unreal as it is, but to do all these activities when you're on it… It's good to get away from footy for a bit and enjoy the days."
While it was all fun and games on the track the focus will return to matters on the field later in the week as the Kangaroos ramp up preparations for their Four Nations showdown with the Kiwis.
Fresh off a 54-12 win over Scotland and 26-6 victory over David Kidwell's side prior to the UK tour, there are plenty of positive signs for Australia ahead of this weekend's double-header at the Ricoh Arena.
Cordner sat out the Four Nations opener but is in line to return against New Zealand and expects a much different Kiwis outfit to the one they faced in Perth just weeks ago.
"Obviously the boys got off to a really good start against Scotland on Friday night (Saturday morning AEDT)," he said.
"Although we did win by 50 there's still a lot of improvement in us and we're going to have to be better and work on those things for when we take on the Kiwis on Saturday."
New Zealand began their Four Nations campaign in dramatic fashion, with a Shaun Johnson field goal proving the difference in a 17-16 victory over host nation England. Frizell was hopeful the grinding contest took its toll on their opponents this Sunday (Monday morning AEDT).
"It was a very close game between those two (New Zealand and England) so hopefully they've taken it out of each other a bit," Frizell said.
"Leading into this game, we're coming away with the convincing win against Scotland, but they're going to be wanting to get one back on us from a few weeks ago. It's going to be a good match up and hopefully our boys can come away with the win."
