Bradford Bulls have turned down a money-spinning New Year's Day friendly with Malcolm Reilly's new-look Huddersfield Giants.

Talks had reached an advanced stage, but the Bulls pulled the plug following discussions with coach Matthew Elliott on his return from holiday in Australia last weekend.

Elliott, who has not been a fan of festive warm-up games in the past, said: "We did look very seriously at it this time, but we have a lot of players on the way back from injuries and the Paul brothers recovering from the Test series, so we would have had to field a much weakened side. We have built a reputation for being fair to our fans, and in the end we did not want to run the risk of harming that."

The Giants have now asked Halifax Blue Sox to take the Bulls' place for the match at the McAlpine.

Meanwhile, Elliott yesterday welcomed former Cronulla three-quarter Nick Zisti to Odsal, and he was being joined today by fellow Aussie recruit, Balmain centre Michael Withers.

Several players will be on hand tomorrow for the official opening of the Bulls' new city centre shop in Broadway (11am-1pm).

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