First clubs report back for pre-season

James Gordon
Luke Gale has started pre-season at Hull FC

Photo credit: Hull FC (@hullfcofficial)

Barely a month since the 2021 season ended with St Helens winning the Grand Final at Old Trafford, Super League clubs are back in pre-season training.

Luke Gale captured the headlines on his first morning in training as a Hull FC player, following his move from Leeds over the weekend.

He and the senior figures of Brett Hodgson’s squad reported back first thing Monday, November 8.

Several of the club’s younger players have already been back a week to be put through their paces with a number of conditioning drills.

Maintaining standards

Another club reporting back this Monday was Castleford, who will enter 2022 with a new coach in the shape of Lee Radford.

He told the club’s official website: “Hopefully the players see when they come in on day one, that a bit of a change has been made, and we can maintain the standards that we are looking to set out nice and early.

“I’ve been trying to put my own stamp on the place but I’m also trying to make the place flow a little bit better. It will make their daily schedule flow a little bit better and that will tie in with the programme that we will set for them.

“This flow will mirror the flow of the days they come in for training as well.”

Huddersfield are another club due to start pre-season training this week.

They will be without a few of their overseas players due to visa issues, while Theo Fages and Chris Hill have been given a few extra weeks off.

A number of other clubs, including Warrington, are starting pre-season next Monday, November 15.

The Wolves launched their 2022 kits and squad numbers at a Bonfire night fans event at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday.

After appointing Paul Rowley as their new head coach, Salford are holding a fans forum this week to provide fans with an update.

The Red Devils are currently in discussions over a possible “stadium swap” deal that would see them leave the AJ Bell Stadium, potentially as early as the end of 2022.

The key dates

It has been confirmed that the 2022 Super League season will start on February 10.

The Grand Final is scheduled for Saturday September 24 at Old Trafford, ahead of the World Cup getting underway in mid-October.

The Challenge Cup final is being held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday May 28.

The full fixture schedule is due to be released on November 25.

Meanwhile, a handful of Championship sides have also already reported back for pre-season training.

Widnes are already entering their third week back, ahead of the fixtures being released on November 15.

Super League Castleford Tigers