At 31 years of age and preparing to make his debut for North Queensland, Kevin Campion is a fair way from retirement.

But the hard man of rugby league joked he felt like hanging up the boots after a gruelling training session under the hawk eye of trainer Billy Johnston last week.

Campion hails from Sarina in Queensland and knows what it likes to toil under the harsh sun in soaking humidity.

But after two years of living in chilly Auckland where he played for the New Zealand Warriors, he has taken a little while to acclimatise.

"I'm training a bit better now than what I was," Campion said today.

"I honestly could of retired last week the way I was going. I was struggling that much. I was sweating and I couldn't move."

Coach Graham Murray gave Campion an extended break after the Warriors made the National Rugby League grand final in October, when they went down 30-8 to the Sydney Roosters.

And the 95kg lock didn't waste any time finding some waves and working on his sun tan in the glitzy surrounds of the Gold Coast.

But soon after he arrived in Townsville, on December 9, he was subject to the intense training sessions that Johnston has gained a reputation for.

"I haven't trained like this for a number of years so it was a bit of a shock to the system, but it was a good shock," Campion said.

"It's not really tortuous, it's just that every session is really intense."

The Cowboys have been doing it tough pre-season, scaling mountains and undergoing heavy training sessions with the army.

But Campion wouldn't have it any other way. He trained alone while on holidays but he thrives in a group environment.

"It's good for me because you just can't compete against anybody by yourself and you always take some short cuts," he said.

"And you're training against young blokes which is great - it always lifts the old blokes."

The Cowboys will now take a fortnight off but Campion said his teammates didn't need to be told to avoid putting on the Christmas cheer.

"I don't think many of the boys are game to have a drink over Christmas because we're in for a bit of a shock when we get back," he warned.

"Training under Billy, you just can't let yourself go."

Campion is heartened by the fact North Queensland won four of its last seven matches in 2002, includes victories over top eight sides Canberra and Parramatta.

"There's young blokes coming through so it's a good place to be around at the moment," said Campion, who's on a two-year contract.

Meanwhile, St George Illawarra will wrap up its pre-season training for the year with a triathlon at Wollongong on Friday that will encompass a 400m swim, 40km bike ride and 3km run.

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