LOIS FORSELL will return to lead Leeds Rhinos on Saturday when they travel to Sheffield to take on the Eagles in their second Challenge Cup group game.
The former England international has been on maternity leave since last August and has recently had a phased return back into the head coach role.
Interim coach Leon Crick was in charge for the weekend’s opening clash against Leigh Leopards, but will now start to hand the reins back to Forsell.
“Leon has been doing a great job while I have had some time off,” said Forsell (right), who will return in a head-to-head with an old England teammate in Sheffield coach Andrea Dobson.
“I’ve been catching up with him regularly and he’s been keeping me in the loop, and I’ve been down at the club once a week just to keep myself in and around everything that has been going on.
“But I’m phasing myself back in now and the next couple of weeks will be about me and Leon swapping roles back over and then as of May I will be back leading the girls full-time.
“I’ve only recently been back in for every session so Leon took care against Leigh and then we’ll start swapping things around before the next game and beyond.
“The girls are aware of what’s happening and I’m looking forward too getting back to it.
“It’s important for everyone involved that we take our time with the changeover. Leon has been leading the side since August and he has great with the girls. They have a lot of respect for him so it can’t just be a quick changeover for them because they have to get used to the changes again as well.
“It will be nice to see Andrea again, it will be like the old days only with a whistle rather than having the boots on. But I don’t see it too much about that though, it’s more about the girls – not me – so we’ll just be trying to prepare them as much as possible for another good round in the cup.
“It will be another tough game and a side coached by Andrea won’t take a backwards step. I know she’ll have worked hard in defence with them, but also those forwards will have a bit of flair. She won’t let them be robotic, so if there is an offload to have, they’ll have it.
““They will be tough, work hard and be competitive. That’s what Andrea was like as a player so I am sure that is what she will have instilled in her team.”
