Ryley Mackay: Gun Roosters centre primed for massive 2022

If you're Roosters centre Ryley Mackay, you do it the old fashioned way: you work even harder.

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Watching the latest Mackay model roll out of the garage will be one of the more exciting sights when the season starts in April.

His six-try haul against Werris Creek at Kootiginal last year was one of the competition's standout performances in 2021, and a framing of his huge improvement since bulking up and dedicating himself to becoming the best footballer he can be.

Watching the 25-year-old's transformation has been his new fiancee, Sophie Johnson, his four-year-old son, Korbyn, and Johnson's daughter, Sabrina.

"My family play a huge role on my performance playing footy," Mackay said. "I love seeing them in the grandstands.

"They come to every game, week in, week out, and give me a lot of support from the sidelines.

"My little boy, Korbyn, hasn't missed a training session yet. He's been to more training sessions than some of the lads. He's loving it just as much as me."

The 360 Fitness Club employee has been working hard on his cardio in the off-season in order to "build on" the previous season.

One of his goals is to stop this from occurring: "Last year was my first playing a full year of first grade," he said, "and I noticed I'd get gassed throughout the game in the high intensity moments, mainly, towards the back end of each half."

Roosters coach Geoff Sharpe has been impressed with Mackay's efforts to rectify that issue. This month he said Mackay had "a bigger body" and had been "training the house down".

Sharpe was "looking forward to him taking his game to another level", and possibly playing five-eighth following the retirement of his son, Jordan Sharpe.

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