Coaching role not on the agenda for Leeds Rhinos’ Luke Gale just yet

As Luke Gale continues to recover from a torn pectoral muscle, suffered when lifting weights last month, he has spent some time as an avid viewer of pre-season practice sessions at the Super League club.

It was something Sean Long, Rhinos’ assistant and an erstwhile Test No7 himself, wanted him to do during his rehabilitation and for myriad reasons including seeing first-hand some of the principles the Leeds coaching staff want to get across.

However, spending more time with head coach Richard Agar and Long has also allowed Gale, who turns 33 in June, to get a more accurate sense of what is involved with coaching.

Now, the 2017 Steve Prescott Man of Steel winner admits it is something he might look to pursue when he does finish playing.

“The lads have been giving me plenty of stick already,” Gale said.

“When I’ve got my coat on watching training, they are asking if I’m ‘Coach Gale’ or ‘Player Gale’ today?

“They’ve been getting into me. They do reckon I’m coaching already! But I do like learning. I like learning from Rich and Longy and it’s something I think I’d definitely like to do as time goes on.”

Super League legend Long, of course, joined Leeds at the end of last season after moving back to the code from Harlequins RU.

For fellow half-back Gale, who hopes to represent England again at the World Cup this autumn, it is an invaluable experience.

“Longy’s been great; fantastic,” he added.

“We’ve not done much yet (on the field) but I’m just watching the sessions with him and being in the videos. He’s just such a smart player. I’m looking forward to that relationship flourishing. His style of play is going to suit me as well. It makes it massively exciting wanting to get back on the training field.”

The Yorkshireman, who lifted the Challenge Cup for hometown Leeds last year in his first season with the club, is not far off doing that in full.

After surgery on the pectoral injury, his recovery is going well and he even bench pressed last week for the first time since suffering the tear. “I got back under the bar and I did 30 kilos,” he said. “It was 130 kilos the day I did it but I won’t be doing that again in a hurry! It’s been a really positive week. Even if we went up 20 kilo per week up to round one, that’d be good.

“But the physio says it’s more about just getting the movement again rather than the weight and I’ve ticked off that first hurdle this week.

“I’ve been running for probably two weeks now as well and started to join in with low level training so it’s progressing really well. It’s been nearly six weeks and things have gone perfectly.”

Medical specialists said the former Castleford Tigers star could be back for Easter.

“They said 12 weeks so that gives us until round two,” said Gale, when Leeds play Castleford at St Helens on Good Friday. “If we shave a week, which we maybe hope we can, then I could be back for round one. I’m at that age where my body will tell me. If I aim for round one it gives me a great incentive to get back. I’m pretty positive.”

That said, given his importance to the team, Agar will certainly not rush the influential playmaker back for the opener against Wakefield on March 26.

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