Bradford Bulls chairman Chris Caisley has once again raised the prospect of a merger with cash-strapped neighbours Halifax to form one major Super League force.

He says he would be prepared to talk about moving away from Odsal if the right deal could be struck and consider a name change that might remove the link with Bradford.

Controversy raged four years ago when Caisley and his then Halifax counterpart Tony Gartland opened merger talks but the plan was ditched because of the furore it caused at Thrum Hall.

The plan resulted in a major boardroom split at Halifax and after demonstrations on the terraces and threats to his family Gartland eventually stood down.

But Caisley says: "The merger almost came off four years ago and I think the material reasons why it was discussed in the first place are as pertinent now, if not more so.

"My views on the subject are well known by the people at Halifax and I feel the time for further discussions has never been better.

"I know it will immediately get the Halifax fans' backs up raising the issue again, but I can assure them that is not the intention. For whatever reason they are losing supporters and for the good of the game in the region I don't think that situation can be allowed to go on.

"I am not talking of a takeover and we would certainly need to look at ways of maintaining links with Halifax and it's tremendous history. But the stark truth is that you cannot live in the past.

"Things have to move forward. Any business that stands still is in trouble and that applies to sport too.

"We said right at the start of Super League that there were too many clubs in our area competing for too few fans and that remains the case today. The elite of any sport is about major clubs and that is the direction our sport has to move in without abandoning the roots of the game."

Caisley's comments are sure to spark debates among both sets of supporters, especially the thorny issue of a name and venue for the new club.

"I want the best for the Bulls fans and they deserve to be watching their side at a venue like the McAlpine.

"If we could reach agreement with Halifax I would certainly look at the prospect of moving away from Odsal. Bradford Council has shown that it has little regard for the club and if it had not been for the way they have handled the Superdome debacle we would have a 30,000 purpose-built stadium by now.

"When you look at most of our major sponsors they are from outside the Bradford area and it would be interesting to see what our fans thought about a name change.

"The Bulls is a brand leader and we would certainly want to keep that tag, but the Bradford name could certainly be open for discussion.

"I can assure our supporters though that nothing will be done along those lines without consulting with them."

Halifax recently staved off a winding-up petition brought by the Inland Revenue for £150,000 owed in back tax.

There has been talk of them standing down from Super League to the Northern Ford Premiership as a cost-cutting exercise or merging with derby rivals Huddersfield Giants.

But the Blue Sox board issued a statement at Sunday's clash with St Helens when they expressed their determination to go it alone and retain their top-flight status.

Halifax treated Caisley's remarks light heartedly. Chief executive Nigel Wood said: "We would welcome Bradford Bulls coming to merge with Halifax Blue Sox but we would like the opportunity to complete our stadium first so that we can accommodate all of their fans."

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