100% agree
Think excessively long off seasons are asymptomatic of the professional era where it's considered justiification for player wages, pressure on coaches to win early and regularly, plus more club earnings for football sides that tour overseas. It came from sports like football but they do 1st past the post and use bigger 1st team squads.
NRL is about timing your run and peaking at the end, something we often did so well. Bringing new players early is a good idea - keeping It less intense, and otherwise save your experienced players from burn out - so long as they do constructive things in the off season and keep healthy.
Whats excessive though?
Take our club for example. Weve been unfit for years. Had a roster shake up. Training staff shake up. New coach.
From the sounds of the training vids, there seems to be a plan of action. Fitness being the first, ramping that up as the weeks progressed up to Christmas.
At present training down south an emphasis of gelling as a group seeing as their is few new players.
Gelling on the field as a unit will take time.
I think weve needed this time to prep. Baz had the boys come back a week early to.
I would think he knows enough to consider balance so that the boys dont burn out months into the season.
anyways, just some thoughts.