Women's Super League: Leeds Rhinos aim for 'something special' in 2022

Rhinos finished second on the Betfred Women’s Super League table and were beaten by treble winners St Helens in last month’s Grand Final in front of a record crowd at Headingley.

Veteran prop Danika Priim has retired, but Rhinos coach Lois Forsell confirmed the rest of the squad have been retained.

Leeds have recruited former Woman of Steel Georgia Roche from Castleford Tigers and another signing is expected next week.

“We had three weeks off and the girls are back in,” Forsell reported.

“We have provided some strength and conditioning training so the girls are training one, two or three times a week, at Leeds Beckett University with the s and c team.”

Rhinos were hit by injuries throughout the 2021 season and Forsell reflected: “I was really proud of the girls and the staff group we’ve got.

“We are really tight-knit and it was a tough ask at times, playing with 16 away at York with some Covid cases and we had a lot of injuries.

“We have been doing some player reviews and speaking to all of them and it’s exciting to see the amount of players we’ll have back and the strength in depth.

“Hopefully that’ll create a really competitive environment and one that will push all the girls on to achieve something special next year.”

Forsell took over as coach from Adam Cuthbertson at the end of 2019, but the following campaign was wiped out by coronavirus.

“I enjoyed it,” she said of her first season in charge.

“It was a very steep learning curve, I was learning every single week, that’s for sure, but it has given me something to focus on.

“It is difficult now I am not playing, I am trying to pass on some of my knowledge and experience to the girls and that’s a lot harder than just getting out on the pitch.

“But I have been very lucky in that I’ve had two great assistant coaches in Ant and Dave Gibbons who’ve been able to help me lead the way.

“We have got a wealth of knowledge and experience.”