Review of the Year: After three years of virtual non-stop progress, the Bulls will look back on 1998 as one of bitter disappointment.

True they finished fifth to qualify for the inaugural Grand Final play-off series, but long before that and a first hurdle exit at St Helens, even the most ardent Odsal fans had given up hope of them retaining their crown.

And hopes of a third successive outing at Wembley were also quickly extinguished on a nightmare afternoon at Castleford when the problems of fitting close-season signing Shaun Edwards into the Bulls make-up were first highlighted.

It was to become a recurring theme in the early months of the season and, added to a freak casualty list which left Danny Peacock, Paul Anderson and Warren Jowitt all needing knee reconstructions, left coach Matthew Elliott with an unenviable task.

It didn't explain some pretty shoddy efforts throughout the season, even allowing for a general improvement right across the competition.

The physical and direct approach of the previous season was frequently matched by the opposition, and the Bulls' lack of penetration wide out became all too apparent.

With Peacock on the sidelines and former Man of Steel James Lowes and the previously highly influential Graeme Bradley struggling for form, the side often lacked direction and it was left to a trio of players to pull the side through.

Mike Forshaw took my vote for player of the season with some highly-consistent displays, while Stuart Spruce and wing recruit Tevita Vaikona also showed up well throughout.

But the bottom line was that as a unit they just weren't good enough when it really mattered, and the re-building of the squad in the past five months has been a realisation of that fact.

It wasn't all doom and gloom though as the club's much- improved junior policy began to bear fruit.

Scrum half Paul Deacon and forward Stuart Fielden both graduated to the senior ranks for the second half of the campaign, and there were late chances for 17-year-old Michael Banks and Leon Pryce, who is expected to get many more opportunities in 1999.

Excitement too has been generated by the capture of six new players - notably the multi-talented Henry Paul, whose combination with younger brother Robbie should provide the sort of quality possession out wide which was rarely seen last term.

The Bulls weren't the first champions to fall flat on their face in their bid to retain a title, and they won't be the last, but in Elliott they have a man determined to learn the lessons and come back fighting in 1999.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.