Maintaining a tight-knit group is a key goal during lockdown – Luke Gale

During the season we spend almost all our time together so I think it’s really important we stay in touch and stay tight knit as a group, especially as that was one of our strengths in the five games we got to play.

I’ve been keeping in touch with a lot of the young lads, people like Harry Newman and Jack Walker.

I have spoken to Jack a few times and he says his rehab’ and recovery from his foot injury is going really well.

He is in good spirits and the shutdown has been a bit of a blessing in disguise for him.

Obviously he doesn’t want to miss any games and he has used the break to his full advantage. Hopefully he won’t be far off when we get back playing.

I did a podcast with Brad Dwyer last night, so listen out for that.

Brad and Cuthbo have both been getting some good guests on their shows and now Stevie Ward is doing a bit of acting as well, so we are all finding ways to keep ourselves occupied.

I am good pals with James Donaldson and I’ve been speaking to him quite a lot as well.

He organised a quiz night last Saturday. He was quiz master and he is a genius at it. He did some really good things.

It was me, Richie Myler, Konrad Hurrell, Donno, Rhyse Martin, Cuthbo, Matt Prior and our partners.

We had to come up with a team name and he gave us all an embarrassing picture of each other.

There were five rounds and Rhyse Martin and Vanessa won.

It was great fun, we had a good craic and it was a good way to keep everybody’s spirits up.

It is good to see the lads, even if it’s over social media or the internet, because nobody has any real idea about when we’ll be able to get together in person. It’s more than two months since our last game now and I can’t see us getting back on the field any time soon.

The £16m emergency loan announced last week is a good thing for the sport so well done to Ralph Rimmer and the RFL for getting that from the government. I know clubs have to apply to the RFL for the money and I hope it gets handed down throughout rugby league, not just to Super League sides.

Lower-division teams and the grass roots are struggling as well and we need to make sure they all survive.

The cash will definitely help the situation we are in as a sport. It looks like when we do get back we will be playing behind closed doors and clubs are still going to struggle for revenue.

Nobody wants to play without a crowd, but we all reckon that’s what is going to happen. It will be disappointing, we play for the fans, especially a Friday night at Headingley.

There is no better platform to play on but there’s no other way around it, that is just what is going to happen. There will be no mass gatherings, I think, to the back end of the year, if at all.

It is going to feel a bit strange, but it’s nothing we haven’t encountered before.

I played in stadiums when they were empty in the under-18s and under-20s.

There’s five men and a dog there when you play three hours before the first team kick off, so we’re all used to it and it’s just what we are going to have to do. The big thing is to get back playing and I’d be happy if there’s no pre-season at all. I hope we get told on Friday that we’re playing on Sunday.

One session would do me, but obviously that won’t happen. I think three weeks, possibly, is fine. I don’t think we are going to have the luxury of six weeks or even a month but, to be fair, you get up to game speed anyway.

You do two months of pre-season normally, then the first games you are still not fit.

Game fitness is like no other and you’ll build that up as when you start playing.

That doesn’t worry me too much, it is more the contact and skills that would concern me more.

I have been keeping in shape – I did a 50k bike ride before I wrote this week’s column – so I am pretty confident it won’t take me long to get back into things once we do get back up and running.

****

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. These are challenging times but the team at the Yorkshire Evening Post need your support more than ever in the weeks ahead.

While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you - wherever possible and providing it is safe for you to do so - to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Inevitably falling advertising revenues will start to have an impact on local newspapers and the way we continue to work during this period of uncertainty. So the support of our readers has never been more important as we try to make sure that we keep you connected with the city you live in during this time. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. We need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Our team of trusted reporters are working incredibly hard behind the scenes- from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms - to look at how we can do this and your continued support to the YEP will help to protect its viability in the days and weeks ahead.

For more details on our subscription offers please visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk/YEP, email [email protected] or call us on 0330 4033004

Thank you, Laura Collins, Editor