'A really good group' - Hunslet boss praises players amid League One uncertainty

Elite sport - including Betfred Super League - has been given the all-clear to continue during the latest national lockdown, but clubs outside the top tier have been advised by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to take at least a two-week break.

The Betfred Championship is due to begin next month, with the Challenge Cup and League One both set to kick off in March.

Lower division clubs, who have not played for 10 months, will meet with the RFL this week to discuss the situation and a delay to the start of the season is possible, though there is only limited room for manoeuvre with the World Cup scheduled to commence in October.

Hunslet began preparations for the 2021 campaign in December and Thornton admitted having to shut down again is far from ideal as his side look to pick up from where they left off.

Thornton - whose men were were top of League One last March when the 2020 competition was halted and eventually abandoned - said: “Pre-season was going really well, you could tell the boys have missed it.

“There was a terrific intensity right from the start and everyone was working really hard.

“There was a bit of optimism - a really optimistic feel about the place.

“The boys were chomping at the bit to get back in and they had really embraced what we were doing.

“I have got a really good group of players and their enthusiasm shone through in pre-season.”

Thornton said the focus in the early weeks of pre-season was on conditioning.

“We were able to train on the main pitch and use the track at South Leeds Stadium,” he said.

“Our aim was to get them as fit as we can and then step up the skills stuff after Christmas.

“It was going really well so having to stop is a bit of a setback, but hopefully a temporary one.

“We are at the behest of the government and the rules they put in place.”

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