SHEFFIELD EAGLES coach Craig Lingard hopes to see further signs of a growing connection between squad members when he returns to Keighley on Saturday.
The reshaped South Yorkshire side have a 3pm pre-season match at Cougar Park, where the 47-year-old was in charge from September 2016 until May 2019.
After that he coached Batley and Castleford before taking charge of Sheffield just over a year ago.
At that time, the steel city team were still in transition following stalwart Mark Aston’s coaching exit four months before.
Players came and went over the course of last season – when Sheffield finished eleventh in the old Championship – then in the weeks after it.
Additions include centre or second rower Josh Hodson and prop George Griffin from Castleford, centre Kieran Gill and halfback or hooker Jordan Lilley from Bradford and winger Joe Brown and utility forward Conor Fitzsimmons from York.
“Quite a lot of new guys have been signed, and with those who came in during last season as well, we have effectively got more new players than old,” said Lingard.
“That can be difficult, so we have put a big emphasis on making sure the group spend as much time together as possible.
“Part of that has been an old-school Saturday morning session, where we have a 45 to 60-minute blast of work then sit down for a coffee and a feed.
“That means the lads get time to relax together, talk and get to know each other.
“There is a good feel so far, and it seems they are connecting well, which is pleasing.”
Lingard believes centralising training to a facility in Castleford has also been beneficial, explaining: “One of the things I struggled with last year was lads not doing their strength and conditioning work together.
“I think that’s a really important part of the game. You have to sweat and struggle as a group and drag each other along when it’s tough, so it was important to get somewhere to accommodate them all.”