You have to expect the unexpected then get on with things – Luke Gale

We’ve had players taken out because of coronavirus and now it’s the head coach, but that’s just the way it is in 2020.

You have to expect the unexpected, adapt and get on with things.

With Rich and Jonesy being off, Sean Long has come in to work on the coaching side, alongside James Webster and they have done a great job.

Longy was due to start with us next season, but the club have taken the opportunity to get him in early and it’s a link-up I am really enjoying.

He did a few sessions earlier in the year and he is a very smart bloke who knows the game inside out.

We have already seen this week the little bits and tweaks he is going to add to our game next year.

For me, it is an exciting prospect. I am 32 and still learning every day and I try and take in every bit of information my brain can hold.

I want to make myself better every day and that’s why I am so pleased that Longy has come in.

The teams he has worked with before have all got a massive rap on his attacking structure and he and Rich working together next year is going to be great for our half-backs, full-backs and outside-backs. It is going to be a great combination and one I am massively looking forward to.

At the start of the year, Rich put in a senior leadership group and we are like the go-betweens, between the players and the coaches.

But we are all a close-knit group anyway and I am quite vocal whether the head coach is around or not.

When Rich got stood down on test and trace, I told the lads ‘don‘t worry – I’ll take the whistle and cap and take us for training’!

We had a laugh about that, but the senior boys have all been great this week and I think we’ve got a good blend of youth and experience on and off the field.

It has been strange, with no head coach after having Rich around all year, but there’s no excuses.

We all know our jobs and what we need to do and now it’s just a case of going out there and putting it into practice.

If we beat Catalans tonight we are into another semi-final and I think that would be a great achievement, especially in a season like this and having already won the Challenge Cup.

To be in this position shows how far the group has come in a short period of time, but we know what Catalans can bring to the table.

They have some great players, some world-class players and we will have to be on our A game.

I am sure we will be and I think it will be a good game as well. There has been a lot of chopping and changing this year, but we’ve ended up with this top-six format and I think Super League and the RFL have done the best they can and come up with something that’s going to produce three weeks of cracking rugby.

For us, everyone is in great spirits.

It has been a good training week, the boys look sharp and I think the break – not playing for nearly two weeks – will have done us the world of good.

The chance to rest up, recover and refresh after all the fixture congestion last month has been just what we needed.

Personally, it has helped me and I am sure the other boys are the same.

It is knockout football and in three weeks’ time there’s a Grand Final at stake, so it is exciting and these are the games you want to play in.

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