Ethan Bullemor is the gym king for the Manly Sea Eagles

Asked to guess which Manly player can lift the heaviest weight, most Sea Eagles fans would nominate 6ft 10in front-rower Taniela Paseka. Perhaps fellow props Matt Lodge or Josh Aloiai, or even explosive back-rower Haumole Olakau’atu.

But for most supporters it will come as a surprise: Ethan Bullemor, a Nathan Hindmarsh doppelganger who works in banking one day a week, has astonished his team-mates and been crowned ‘King of the Gym’ at Brookvale.

The Sea Eagles have awarded a championship belt to the player who can lift the most weight using the bench press, bench pull, weighted chin-up and a hand-supported split squat, or what is essentially a modified lunge.

And Bullemor was in a class of his own, bench pressing 170kg and a staggering 270kg with the one-legged squat. For perspective, former Sea Eagles powerhouse Marty Taupau benched 180kg, while Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou squatted 300kg.

“Nobody else has bench pressed 170kg this year, although I did 180kg when I was at the Broncos – maybe I was at my peak when I was 19,” said Bullemor, now 24. “My best bench press is 140kg, and I did 60kg on the weighted chin-up.

“A great benefit of fitness is that it helps prevent injuries – the stronger you are in your muscles and joints, the better your tendons and other parts are protected. ‘Weak Things Break’ was always the slogan we had.

“The hard work is also done on the field in some ways. I don’t often play a lot of minutes, but when I do, I try to bring that explosiveness and power play.”

Jon Clarke, head of sport performance at Manly and a player who played for Great Britain and worked with England Rugby and Rugby Australia, said Bullemor was one of the strongest athletes he had ever encountered.