This is the signing that Bulls fans thought they would never see.

Hot prospect John Bateman puts pen to paper on a new contract that will keep him at Odsal until 2015.

Bulls fought off strong competition, led by Hull FC, for the 19-year-old second rower, who declared: “I’ve always said I want to stay at Bradford.

“Some people were saying I’d already signed for this club or that but I’ve never wanted to leave here.

“Hopefully I’ve given the fans back a bit for what they’ve done for me.

“It’s been a long time waiting with what’s been happening but I’m really happy to get it sorted. There’s a security at the club now and everyone knows what’s going on.”

Francis Cummins admitted that he shared the doubts of the Bulls faithful that the club could hang on to Bateman with so much outside interest.

The Bulls coach said: “Probably every Bradford fan thought John was going to go, whether it was in the crisis or not. There were times when I was the same.

“Keeping him is huge. It sends out a signal of the ambition of the owners at the club, not just to our own fans but the game as a whole.

“They pledged that they’d invest in youth and keep these good young people. We’ve secured one of the hottest properties in the game at the moment.”

Cummins can now step up his recruitment drive safe in the knowledge that the biggest signing has already landed. Building the club around their young talent is a major part of his plans.

He added: “We’ll get other people in and maybe some foreign stars when we get going. But the foundations will be set by John, Elliott Whitehead and Tom Olbison.

“They are players who’ve been here since they were kids. That’s how we will take this club forward.

“John supported Bradford since he was a kid. I know he will go that extra yard for his club, his family and his friends who are watching.

“I’m not going to pretend it’s going to be easy. We’re going to have to way out-perform last year because we’ve lost players.

“It is going to take a while but we have ambition.

“Who knows where we can take this? We’ve got the talent and it’s in our hands.”

Bateman is already counting down the days until the squad assembles for their first fitness check on October 24.

He said: “It’s a fresh start for everyone. Franny will have new ideas and some new faces coming in but we’ve still got the core from last year.”