Everybody is there for each other at Leeds Rhinos – Luke Gale

THE BEST wishes of everyone at the Rhinos are with Konrad Hurrell following the sad death of his mother this week.
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I know he was massively close to his mum and my thoughts and sympathy go out to him and his family.

A situation like that is always tough and him being away from his family will make life even harder.

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We will do all we can to help him get through this difficult time.

Luke Gale, pictured at a Leeds Rhinos training session back in March this year. The players are currently training alone until further notice. Picture: Bruce RollinsonLuke Gale, pictured at a Leeds Rhinos training session back in March this year. The players are currently training alone until further notice. Picture: Bruce Rollinson
Luke Gale, pictured at a Leeds Rhinos training session back in March this year. The players are currently training alone until further notice. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

I caught up with him on Wednesday, for a chat and to give him my old golf clubs.

He is not built like your average golfer, but he’s just getting into the game and he’s quite enjoying it.

He was in good spirits and he appreciates all the good wishes from everyone.

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On a happier note, I am a bit jealous of the football boys now their season is back up and running.

Leeds Rhinos have rallied round Konrad Hurrell this week following the tragic death of his mother. Picture: Jonathan GawthorpeLeeds Rhinos have rallied round Konrad Hurrell this week following the tragic death of his mother. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Leeds Rhinos have rallied round Konrad Hurrell this week following the tragic death of his mother. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

The Premiership started on Wednesday, but Sunday is the big one when Leeds United take centre stage.

Being a United fan I am excited for that.

A friend texted me the odds of Leeds going up and it’s 1/66 so it’ll be the greatest sporting upset of all time if we don’t get promoted.

Good luck to all the Leeds United boys for their final few games.

Luke Gale is looking forward to seeing Leeds United return to Championship action this Sunday. Picture: Simon HulmeLuke Gale is looking forward to seeing Leeds United return to Championship action this Sunday. Picture: Simon Hulme
Luke Gale is looking forward to seeing Leeds United return to Championship action this Sunday. Picture: Simon Hulme

This is a busy weekend for me on a personal level.

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It is my daughter’s sixth birthday today, it’s Father’s Day on Sunday and I am turning 30 on Monday – for the third year in a row!

I think I’ll spend some of it editing my Wikipedia page to grab a few years back.

Rob Lui does it every year, he’s the only person I know who gets younger with each birthday.

HELPING HAND: Leeds Rhinos' players are spurring each other on remotely as they keep in shape ahead of a return to full training, which they haven't done since March, above.
 Picture: Bruce RollinsonHELPING HAND: Leeds Rhinos' players are spurring each other on remotely as they keep in shape ahead of a return to full training, which they haven't done since March, above.
 Picture: Bruce Rollinson
HELPING HAND: Leeds Rhinos' players are spurring each other on remotely as they keep in shape ahead of a return to full training, which they haven't done since March, above. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

It’s an on-going joke with him, I don’t think anybody knows how old he really is.

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With the footy returning and shops opening, it is good to see things slowly getting back to normal.

We don’t know anything official yet, but I think everybody in Super League is aiming for an August restart.

I’ve been speaking to a lot of the lads about it and everyone is stepping up their training and putting in some really tough sessions.

We can’t train as a group yet and it’ll be a big step forward when we do, but over the last 10 days I’ve gone up a level and been doing more pre-season type sessions.

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I am training Monday-Wednesday-Friday, but the sessions are a lot more intense.

I am feeling good, feeling fit and getting excited about the prospect of playing matches again.

Everybody has been keeping in decent shape anyway, but you don’t want to over-do it when there’s no games in sight.

It is going to be an intense season when we do get back out there and nobody wants to risk burning themselves out, but now what we are doing is being aimed at getting ready to play.

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I guess we will get some sort of mini pre-season, but we don’t know how long that will be and we’ve a couple of catch-up games to play so we might be back before some of the other teams and we have to be ready to get cracking at fairly short notice.

It is not easy training on your own, but the boys are keeping each other going.

We are all naturally competitive and seeing what the other lads are doing pushes you on.

We are all spurring each other on and that’s a great part of the culture we’ve got at the Rhinos at the moment.

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Everyone is accountable and everyone wants to get better week-in and week-out.

I can sense the boys are taking it to the next level in their training now.

Everything is going well and once we get the call our boys will be ready and sharp to jump straight back in.

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