WE go inside the NRL man caves at your team for an insight into what the clubs are doing to keep their players happy and relaxed.

Jarryd Hayne’s NRL debut hits some turbulence and we meet the youngsters who are forging their own path despite their famous names.

Plus, the Rooster with a lengthy commute, as Private Ryan takes a look behind the scenes of the greatest game of all.

CAP PROGRESS

Round 19

A few weeks back the NRL proposed an $8.3 million base salary cap for 2018.

It was met with disappointment.

Private Ryan understands the final figure for the salary cap will likely be $9.1 million in 2018.

While it’s an improvement on the current offer, it’ll leave several clubs in trouble with a host of teams banking on the cap to sit somewhere between $9.5-10 million.

This means they’ll be forced to shed players.

PING PONG, BUNK BEDS AND ICE HOCKEY

It’s common for businesses like Google to have ping pong tables, slushy machines and sleeping pods for their staff.

The idea is happy staff are more productive workers and NRL clubs are getting on board.

Gone are the days of slogging out at training, jumping in the showers and heading home. Clubs are building common rooms filled with the latest games and gadgets to keep their players entertained.

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Manly's Fussball table in the sheds. Source: Supplied

Manly’s base at the Sydney Academy of Sport in Narrabeen has a common room filled with beds, lazyboy lounges, Euchre, an ice hockey table and stereo.

Both St George Illawarra and Newcastle have a basketball hoop, while the Knights have bunk beds, lounges and bean bags as part of their set-up.

Canterbury have lounges, televisions and a ping pong table. Sam Kasiano is known as the king of table tennis in Belmore.

Penrith too have the ping pong, a television with Foxtel and a Fussball table.

A ping pong table inside the Titans' sheds. Source: Supplied

On the Gold Coast, Jarryd Hayne and Konrad Hurrell are hardly seen without a paddle in their hands and John Sutton and Alex Johnston are the most competitive ping pong players at South Sydney.

Aside from the table tennis, the Rabbitohs also have bunk beds at their headquarters for players who want a nap.

North Queensland has a similar set-up, not that it gets much use according to hooker Jake Granville.

“We’ve got a bit of a ping pong table but we more or less eat our lunch on it,” Granville told Private Ryan.

Newcastle have bunk beds in their man cave. Source: Instagram

“A lot of us enjoy playing golf. There’s (a course) directly across the road from training. My clubs tend to sit in the passenger seat (of my car).”

Granville, who plays off a handicap of 15, can be found on the course with the likes of Matt Scott, Michael Morgan, John Asiata, Kyle Feldt and Johnathan Thurston.

The Wests Tigers have ping pong and a FIFA set-up but the younger brigade of James Tedesco, Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses prefer to play a round of golf after training.

DID YOU K NOW ...

South Sydney fullback Alex Johnston’s first job was working as a teacher’s aide.

ONE TO WATCH — INTRUST SUPER CUP

Guy Hamilton with the Sunshine Coast Falcons. Source: News Corp Australia

Guy Hamilton. The Sunshine Coast halfback can do it all. At 21, Hamilton oozes confidence. A crafty half who controls his team well, the No.7 is a former captain of the Bulldogs’ NYC side.

A replacement for Ryley Jacks after he signed with Melbourne, Hamilton is also a gandy goalkicker.

ONE TO WATCH — INTRUST SUPER PREMIERSHIP NSW

Lachlan Stein. A centre/winger with Penrith, Stein is a real jack in the box. While he’s built wide and low, the 97 kilo back is a worker. A Thirroul junior, the 21-year-old isn’t afraid of the tough stuff and runs a great line. He joined the Panthers after playing NYC for the Sharks last season.

Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover are joined by Storm football manager Frank Ponissi to discuss the bombshell Cooper Cronk news and what it means for the club.

You can also subscribe via iTunes or for Android users, listen on the iPP Podcast Player app.

HAYNE PLANE DELAY

While we were expecting to see Jarryd Hayne back in the top grade this Friday against Brisbane, the fullback is a more realistic chance of making his comeback at Shark Park in round 8.

THE PRANKSTERS

Several Cronulla players were out to dinner on Friday night when one of them ordered a cake and told the wait staff it was Jayson Bukuya’s birthday.

The entire restaurant wound up singing Bukuya ‘Happy Birthday’ but the 27-year-old doesn’t celebrate his birthday for another two weeks.

Private Ryan has the feeling that Bukuya can expect a few more birthday surprises over the next fortnight.

GENERATION NEXT

Kyle Flanagan, the son of Cronulla premiership winning coach Shane, is running around in the Holden Cup and looks every bit the player.

Coach Flanagan has no doubts he could coach his son at first grade level with the halfback a chance of kicking on in the top grade in time.

Kyle Flanagan during Cronulla training. Source: News Corp Australia

But he’s not the only famous surname in the NYC.

Another playmaker in Jack Johns has been impressing in Newcastle.

A handful of 20s players were invited to train with the NRL side recently.

Matty Johns’ son Jack was running around with the big boys following a string of impressive performances in the halves for the NYC side.

HUSH, HUSH

Which key player has been needling his lower back each week in order to play after straining a muscle during a pre-season trial?

SPOTTED

James Segeyaro playing mixed basketball in Western Sydney last Tuesday night.

SPOTTED II

Mitch Rein walking into a showing of the movie Beauty And The Beast during the week.

SPOTTED III

Several Newcastle players dining with Jarrod Mullen during the week.

THE COMMUTE

There are days where Roosters winger Daniel Tupou spends more time sitting in traffic than he does on the training pitch.

Commuting from Auburn, the 25-year-old is a solid 55-minute drive from Roosters headquarters in Moore Park.

Having been with the tri colours since 2012, he’s made the trip for six years now but still he won’t complain about the drive.

“I’m still out west in Auburn with the family,” Tupou told Private Ryan.

“I’m not sick of the drive yet. I’m a massive fan of music so that gets me through the day and the traffic.

“Sometimes I don’t get home for an hour and a half. It gets bad on Parramatta Road. But I’m not sick of it yet.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I think clubs like the Bulldogs and Roosters, you know they’re always going to be strong and they’ve always been run from the top very powerfully.” - James Tedesco told radio station C91.3FM