Zak Hardaker has insisted he has no qualms about being thrown straight back in for his second Leeds Rhinos debut this Friday night. Hardaker has endured a whirlwind week which saw him released by former club Wigan Warriors, before the Rhinos acted quickly to re-sign the England international on an initial deal until the end of the season.
Having been dropped by the Warriors ahead of the Easter period before ultimately being released, Hardaker has not played for a number of weeks. But he stressed that he has told interim coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan he is ready and willing to be selected to face Hull Kingston Rovers and is eager to get going as a Leeds player once again.
"I've got no injuries so it's a case of whether I'm picked," he said. "I've told Jonesy I'm available and it was good to get back on the training field and playing in a different system. We'll see if I play on Friday."
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Hardaker admitted he had plenty of nerves before returning to Kirkstall for his first training session, saying: "I was quite nervous before arriving. Coming down Kirkstall Road, I was getting a few flashbacks from being here last time.
"Leeds itself has changed since I came over this way so I was getting a few butterflies on the way in but a few familiar faces are still here. I've really enjoyed the day, I've tried to take in as much as I can and the boys have been really good to me."
And having played with Jones-Buchanan as a team-mate during his first spell as a Rhinos player, Hardaker says he has enjoyed working with him as a coach too.
"He's been great," Hardaker said. "Watching Jonesy from afar, transition from assistant into a head coach, it's probably not the easiest job in the world.
"The boys in the meeting were saying how much things have improved over the last four weeks and Jonesy has been taking care of that so it shows he's doing something right. Speaking to the lads, they've mentioned it's been good and it's all set for the new coach to come in. It's been great to see some old faces."
