Ability to adapt to new restrictions key for Leeds Rhinos, says Richard Agar

Super League are aiming to return to action in August after the coronavirus shutdown, with squads, therefore, largely expecting to start training at some point next month.

Although there is no confirmation as yet, the sight of Premier League and Championship football resuming last week has given players an indication of what life might be like with strict biosecurity measures in place.

Rugby league are still ironing out the details of how they will operate but Leeds head coach Agar is ready to be as fluid as possible, ready for any eventuality.

Asked about how things might look for the West Yorkshire club, he told The Yorkshire Post: “We’ll have to drop in to a new way of work which you’ll have to be pretty strict around.

“For instance, there will be issues around how you use your gym and how you use your changing rooms but one of the biggest changes we’ll have to prepare for is team meetings.

“We have a lot of those where we do reviews and previews. That’s going to be very different; our ability to have 30 people sat in a room watching film is going to be very difficult.

“We have some stuff like that we use with an application called Huddle where we have the ability to send film out.

“We can voice over those clips but, obviously, a big part for us, when we’re watching our clips and doing our previews and reviews, is our interaction.

“The talking up in meetings and the questioning is a valuable part of the process of preparing a game and getting better.

“That will be different. Can we do it outside? We’ve got a big screen at Headingley. Can we do it outside from a social distance perspective, spread out on the field like that? We’re not sure yet.

“We’re making enquiries and firms are developing portable big screens you can take out onto the field that are weather-proof.

“We’ll still wait for the final guidelines. When they come we’ll have to adapt and we’re very much of the mindset if we can’t do them the way we normally would, that’s just going to be the challenge for this year.”

Much of the talk in football circles has been about getting the right balance between fitness and ball work once they resumed practice after three months absence.

In rugby league, of course, by the time it starts up again, players could have spent even longer – four months – away from their training base and organised club programmes.

On which aspect will take greater importance at Rhinos, Agar said: “We’ve some thoughts and ideas but we’ve got a senior players meeting organised this week where we’re going to discuss it with them. I think the general consensus at the moment is that our blokes, pretty much across the board, are in a good spot fitness-wise.

“They’re all doing their own thing obviously in lockdown and are feeling pretty good.

“Strength will be the major concern; guys that haven’t had the right amount of weight to lift who may have lost a little weight and certainly some strength.

“That will be one thing that we will have to address immediately once we are in together.

“But if we get a three or four week lead-in, we’ll definitely make some gains in that. We’ve put some videos together about the roles and responsibilities of the way they play, how they play to try and give them a refresher and reminder of things and we’ll gradually drip-feed them things about systems once we do start.”

Agar, who joined Leeds in 2018 after leaving his role as St George Illawarra Dragons junior recruitment and high performance manager, has spoken to former colleagues in the NRL about how they have adapted, although the Covid situation is markedly different in Australia.

“Undoubtedly, we’ll underpin fundamental skill,” added Agar.

“And we think getting them back into rugby-specific game situations and positions they would be in games – the short bursts, the different energy systems, up and down off the floor – will be key.

“We’re unsure at the moment about contact.

“We certainly think being in a wrestle room will be off limits so any contact we’ll have to do outside but just how, when and how much contact is an unknown for us.

“We’ve got an idea (how training will look) and three weeks would look very different to four.

“Four weeks would be brilliant. If it’s looking more like three weeks, then of course we’ll have to prioritise.

“And it might be that we get in and realise we’re in better shape than we thought. But I’m confident we’ve smart enough players that they will drop back into where they need to be.”

In the NRL, only a certain number of players and staff – 50 when they returned in May – are allowed in their ‘bubble’ and it will be interesting to see if Super League adopt a similar approach.

Details about how Super League is set to resume are expected later this week.

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