It’s rapidly approaching a year since Rio Hardy made the move to the North East.

The striker swapped Coventry United for Durham last January, and added an extra dimension to the club’s attack in the latter half of the season.

And now part of the way through her first full campaign at Maiden Caste, how has Hardy found her time at Durham thus far?

“It’s been really good.

“It’s been a smooth transition coming from Coventry and all the girls have helped me settle in really well.

“We’re ready to push on and show what we can do, building on what we’ve seen in training.”

Hardy, along with the rest of the squad, has also benefitted from the move to a professional model over the course of the summer.

The striker has previously played full-time at her former clubs, so knows only too well the benfits it can bring.

“It’s key,” admitted Hardy.

“It’s something that the club needed to do to move on and push forward and it’s been a good transition.

“Everyone is adapting well to it and we can all have our main focus on football – now we can do that, we can show everyone what we’re capable of doing.”

Prior to her move to Coventry in 2021, Hardy had spent a considerably period playing overseas.

After a scholarship in America, she briefly played in Iceland before making a home in Cyprus – where her goalscoring exploits caught the eye of a number of clubs.

And while the experience overseas was invaluable and no doubt memorable, Hardy is enjoying some home comforts now she is back in familiar surroundings – with her family in Workington only a short distance away.

She said: “It’s great – I’m only a couple of hours away now and that’s the closest I’ve been since I was 16!

“It’s nice to be able to pop home whenever I can, and having my family come to all the home games now is something really good.

“I think it’s a lot cheaper for them as well, so they’re happy about that!”

The forward returned to England to a second tier that had vastly improved during her time abroad – so what does she make of the standard?

“I think it’s probably what I expected it to be.

“Playing abroad, the standard can be here and there sometimes – but the Championship is what I thought it would be.

“It’s becoming even more competitive this season which is great and it means you can test yourself against the best.”

That competitive nature of the league has been evident in the early weeks of the season, and Hardy is well aware of the need for the side to push on in the coming weeks.

“We know that we need to kick on and pick-up more points,” added the forward.

“It was disappointing that the Birmingham game was off, but we know that we can bridge the gap with the games we have left.”

And Durham’s vocal home crowd can be pivotal in that push, 

Having been roared on by a sell-out crowd in their midweek clash with Manchester United last week, further large crowds are expected before the season is out.

And Hardy knows how key they can be. 

“They can be huge. 

“They’re like the twelfth player for us. They’re here week in, week out and we always hear them. 

“They come out in all types of weather and we really appreciate the support they give us.”