Luke Gale “only going to get better” for Leeds

Luke Gale says he is “only going to get better” in a Leeds shirt after putting in a strong performance against Hull KR last week. 

Gale, 31, played a part in four tries and kicked eight conversions as the Rhinos romped to an emphatic 52-10 success at Headingley to pick up their first win of the season.

It was an impressive display from Gale who, in only his second competitive game for the club, already looks to be having an impact on a side who have underperformed in recent years. 

However, Gale, who joined in the off-season from Castleford, insists that although it was a good night at the office for both himself and his team, there is still much more to come. 

“It’s always good to set up a couple of tries and I’m happy, but I’m only going to get better the more I play because I was gone on my feet in the first half”, the scrum-half admitted. 

“The ground didn’t help, it was real tough under foot. It might not look it, but the sandy pitch takes a lot out of you, I remember a couple of breaks in the first half that I didn’t need to be honest, my legs weren’t there!

“But I think the more I get playing with the combinations and the more they [his Leeds teammates] know how I want to play, and I know how they want to play, the better I’ll become. 

“The links between me and Rob Lui, Brad Dwyer and Jack Walker [will get better] with the more games that we play and the more we’ll improve as we get to know each other. 

“We’re still a new team together and we’re still building so definitely, as we get down the line, it will improve so it’s exciting.”

It comes as no surprise that the former Harlequins and Bradford man isn’t quite in top shape fitness wise after spending so much time on the sidelines over the past few seasons. 

Gale missed three months of the 2018 campaign with a fractured knee cap, while he failed to play a single game last term due to a serious Achilles injury. 

His fitness problems meant eyebrows were raised when the Rhinos announced the signing of the 2017 World Cup finalist, but he says he is feeling good after his first couple of games back in Super League. 

“That’s the biggest thing that I missed, the playing, the soreness after games, the ‘in the grind’ of week in, week out footy. That’s what I love about my job”, he added.

“Obviously I’d not played [for a long time] before this season, but I’m happy with where I’m at and my fitness will only get better.

 “If you’d have said that coming back from an Achilles rupture that I’d be starting and looking sharp, and I feel sharp as well, I’d have been happy, but there’s always room for improvement.”