Vitality Superleague - England stars swell ranks as Leeds Rhinos switch-up training schedule

The Vitality Superleague newcomers will welcome their England Roses internationals into training, as well as their major Australian import next week.

And the focus for head coach and netball director Dan Ryan will shift from the physical development of his players to constructing a style of play.

Leeds have been in training since the start of October in preparation for their maiden campaign in English netball’s elite tier, which begins on February 6.

They have already announced the first players to wear the yellow and blue of the Rhinos in netball competition, but Ryan has had only half of that squad available in the first phase of training.

Senior England Roses players Jade Clarke and Vicki Oyesola will join training later this week following the conclusion of international duty, and Australian Donnell Wallam is due to arrive next week.

Ryan, the club’s high performance director and Superleague head coach, said: “Things have been progressing really well. We’ve had anywhere between six to 10 athletes at any one of our sessions, due to the girls on Roses duty, so it’s been a slow and gradual build which has been important when building a new team.

“December is a big month for us, though, we have Jade and Vicki returning from Roses duties and 13 of the 14 in the environment, and then Donnell arrives next week, so we’re looking forward to taking the next steps. We’re shifting to a different training phase in December, it’ll be much more around match simulation and getting the intensity and the load into the athletes that we can expect on matchday.

“It’s a different block of physical preparation for the group and also, because of the numbers we do have, it’s going to be about building how we play the game.

“The last eight weeks have been very much about physically preparing the athletes and getting their skills up to the certain standards of what we expect.

“That’s been slow and steady, now we’re integrating the group as best as we can and seeing what we can develop in terms of mechanics on the court.”

Training has been intense, with eight sessions a week spread over seven days which, for some of the younger members of the squad, has been a challenge to adjust to.

“That’s been an adaption for some of the athletes new to the full-time training capacity,” continued Ryan, who takes the reigns of the club after joining from Australia.

“We’re certainly seeing the gains, seeing these players all the time and how they’re able to back-up day to day.”

And building a culture has been of equal importance.

“As much as we’re trying to build the mechanics of how the team plays, we’re also conscious of the dynamics as well,” said Ryan.

“A lot of players have known each other from playing at club level or national under-age groups, so there’s some common understanding around friendships being formed.

“We’re not only building the way we play but also how we merge as individuals into the team ethos.

“It’s an interesting project but we’re making progress. The vibe and energy we have created is very much about learning and players wanting to authentically be themselves and learn in their own ways.”

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