Time for Super League to cut to the chase or risk damaging game – Luke Gale

I think the full team is pretty much running on empty, which you could see on Thursday against Wakefield Trinity.

We backed up from Monday with pretty much the same team and on Wednesday Covid hit again.

When we heard about the 13 Castleford players testing positive, training got put back – which seems to be a regular occurence at the moment – and we had to wait to see who had been track and traced and had to stand down.

Losing four big players was far from ideal and then what should have been a preview/captain’s run became a bit of a Covid update on the backlash from Castleford.

Then we travelled over to Saints for the game and started with the best intentions, but after 10 minutes I think we all knew there wasn’t much left in the tank.

The effort was there, but we just didn’t have the energy.

It was disappointing, but we knew the backlog of games would affect us at some point.

The by-product of getting to the Challenge Cup final is you have to catch games up.

It has been tough and there’s no rest for the wicked because we have another game tomorrow, against Wakefield again, so it doesn’t get any easier.

Realistically, the top-four has probably gone now, but there’s talk of the play-offs being expanded to five or six teams.

We’ll accept whatever happens.

If it stays at top-four and we miss out, that is unfortunate for us but so be it; if they expand it and we get another chance, we’ll do our best to take it.

It is out of our hands, but my take on it is the fixture backlog we have got at the moment is damaging the spectacle.

Us playing Monday-Thursday-Sunday is no good for anyone, other than maybe the teams we are up against.

The product is going to get diluted if we have to carry on cramming games in.

We have already lost three games when we brought the young lads in, because of getting to the Challenge Cup final.

They have done a great job, I must stress that, but we have played three top teams and it was a tough ask for players who haven’t been at this level before.

We have to be careful the game does not become diluted by playing these fixtures for fixtures’ sake.

Obviously we have to fulfil the deal with Sky, but if you asked the players, I think they’d all say – even the ones in teams at the bottom of the table – let’s go to a top-six and end all this fixture congestion.

I think the RFL and Super League have done a great job rejigging fixtures and everybody deserves a pat on the back, but it is not doing anyone any good now, so let’s cut to the chase and get to the business end.

It was good to get a win – and a try – in my first game against my old club Cas the other day, but I was really shocked when I heard about all their positive tests.

That’s 2020 all wrapped up, it is a crazy situation and I don’t know what will happen next week when we are due to play them again, but at the moment I doubt that game will be on.

At the Rhinos we’ve done well so far, with only one positive test, but I think what has happened with Cas is a sign of the times.

Coronavirus seems to be getting worse rather than better. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve definitely known more people now who have got it than a few months ago and it is a worrying time for everyone, not just those of us involved in sport. The whole situation is tough and I just hope everyone at Cas – and anyone else with the virus – pulls through okay.

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