McNamara set for trip to Hull and back

He senses there could be a little bother on the horizon - and not just the imminent traffic congestion as the city's famous fair rolls in.

Being a born-and-bred Hull lad, still living close to the city, it's a tad unfortunate that the Bulls coach is now the man who stands between them and a first-ever place in the Grand Final.

McNamara has gone to some lengths to try and stay clear of bumping into the locals as tensions rise ahead of tomorrow night's all-or-nothing final eliminator.

"I'm trying to stay across this neck of the woods," laughs the former Hull captain from the safety of Grattan Stadium.

"I very rarely venture out that way. Fortunately I live in Beverley, so I'm not in the city too much, but all my family and mates live in Hull, while I still help out at my local amateur club Skirlaugh.

"All through growing up I was a Hull FC fan and I captained the club, which was a tremendous honour. I know how much rugby means to the people of Hull - they are fanatical - and how much they want to get to Old Trafford but there's absolutely nothing there now (for me). It's Bradford and that's it."

Ironically, McNamara could have been leading Hull out tomorrow night. He was offered the head coach job at KC Stadium when John Kear was sacked during a mad fortnight in April.

At that time, McNamara was still Brian Noble's assistant at Bradford, so the opportunity to stride out on his own at a club so dear to his heart was hugely appealing.

After a week of soul-searching, he eventually turned Hull down to continue his development with the champions, knowing he would be next in line when Noble decided to call it a day.

Aussie Peter Sharp was brought in to replace Kear for the Airlie Birds but then days later Noble stunned everyone by leaving Bradford for bottom-placed Wigan.

McNamara was shunted into the hot-seat a lot sooner than expected, becoming, at 34, the youngest chief in Super League.

Looking back, he recalled: "Hull just wasn't the right job at the right stage of my career. I wasn't 100 per cent sure and, as a coach in my first job, it was more of what Bradford could provide to me, the support that I knew I could get from the board, and I knew about the place.

"It was a fantastically hard decision and there wasn't really a right or wrong answer in some ways but I knew this was the right one in the end."

At the start, though, it was hugely difficult. McNamara saw fellow assistant Phil Vievers follow Noble to the JJB, leaving the club's coaching staff thin on the ground for weeks, and then he had to deal with the shock transfer of star prop Stuart Fielden.

Bradford lost four of the first six games under McNamara's command and the critics were quickly out to shoot him down.

Constant rumours about the likes of Terry Newton, Paul Deacon and Shontayne Hape also being off-loaded just wouldn't go away. Later, the Bulls would be docked two points for a salary-cap infringement, a legacy of last season.

Over in East Yorkshire, meanwhile, Sharp pulled off an amazing transformation at confidence-hit Hull, taking them from sixth up to second courtesy of a stunning run. So did McNamara ever think he might have backed the wrong horse?

"Even when Hull were flying along and everything was looking rosy out there, but dusty here, I didn't think that," he maintains.

"You rarely get things given to you easily in life. It's a challenge here every single day and I've never regretted it one moment. I love it, I'm honoured and now we're in the last three to become Super League champions."

It is ironic the clubs that have suffered so many problems this season will now contest for a place in the Grand Final.

McNamara admitted: "It's a quirk of fate. Both clubs were under some turmoil at the time and when coaches change it can always be difficult - but they've dug deep, as have we, and we're into the last three.

"Hull have been delighted with the appointment they made. Peter Sharp has done a fantastic job there, as have the rest of the coaching staff. It's been a very good turn-around. They've obviously bought into what Peter wanted to do with them. They needed a change and it's worked wonders and I'm not surprised at all.

"We've done okay ourselves and both have come out of it reasonably happy. It will be interesting tomorrow."

In another ironic twist, McNamara took the Bulls to Hull in only his second game in charge, losing 28-12 following some contentious decisions by referee Steve Ganson.

They haven't faced each other since that May night but McNamara knows his side will now go in as underdogs, having witnessed the manner in which Hull took St Helens so close in last week's final qualifier.

However, that was the Airlie Birds' third successive defeat, having lost to Wigan and Warrington in the final regular rounds. It marks their worst run since Sharp's arrival, so have they peaked too soon?

Bradford, meanwhile, are eyeing a fourth consecutive victory for the first time this season, having typically hit rich form in the play-offs. Prior to that, they had come unstuck in dead-rubber contests - for them at least - against relegation-threatened Harlequins, Wigan and Wakefield.

McNamara reasons: "I wouldn't say Hull are in bad form. The last two weeks of the regular season probably reflected where we were as well.

"The teams we were playing were desperate for points, while we were in fourth spot and couldn't move. Hull were the same in second.

"You can motivate people as much as you want but sometimes it can be difficult in those circumstances to perform. Hull lost a couple and then at Saints last weekend but I still say they are in good shape."

McNamara's former team are looking to make their maiden Grand Final appearance at the expense of Bradford rivals who have graced the last five Old Trafford showpieces.

The visitors have players who have done it all before but the Bulls boss reckons Hull are under most pressure.

"There's some expectation on Hull as they've been sitting in second most of the year and they've already had one crack at the Grand Final last week," he said.

"They won the Challenge Cup last year and that was the first time for a lot of them. They've had a sniff of what it's like now and once they get that taste they want more and more.

"It drives them on - but it's the same with our players as well. They've been bouncing all week and know what is now so close."