Bradford Bulls team of the decade according to Mick Gledhill

Those issues had the inevitable impact on the field as Bradford dropped out of Super League and even into the third tier.

But there have still been plenty of quality players who have worn the red, amber and black colours over that period.

Bulls commentator Mick Gledhill - a lifelong Bradford fan - has seen them all and so we asked him to give us his team of the 2010s.

Speaking to T&A reporter Nathan Atkinson, Mick outlines below his Bradford Bulls team of the decade, with a head coach and a couple of top-quality replacements thrown in for good measure.

Check out his line-up and then let us know your favourites from the last decade in the comments section.

FULL BACK - BRETT KEARNEY

To be honest, it has to be Brett. He joined us at the turn of the decade from Cronulla Sharks and was a great servant. He had utility value too, because he played in the halves when needed.

He was the big name when he joined Bulls in 2010 because he'd come from the NRL. We'd fallen on lean times a bit, as we'd gone five years without reaching a Grand Final, but signing players like him was a real statement of intent from the board.

He played 110 games for us and scored 59 tries. I don't think anybody will disagree with me putting him in this team.

LEFT WING - ETHAN RYAN

Ethan Ryan has to be there. He is one of the stand-out homegrown players Bulls have ever produced. You could tell that from the moment he made his debut against London Broncos the day before Good Friday in 2016.

Ethan has the ability, and he's fearless when it comes to putting the ball down for tries in tight spots.

There was one against Batley at Odsal in 2017 and how he contorted his body to score I'll never know. It's one of the top three tries I've ever seen at Odsal. There are very few players with those skills.

Ethan played nearly 100 games for us and scored 87 tries, so that's almost one a game. I think if he gets his chance at Hull KR under Tony Smith, he could light up Super League. He's a real entertainer.

RIGHT WING - JY HITCHCOX

He was a seasoned and experienced player, who made key contributions for us during the two seasons he was here.

I know one game doesn't make a man, but that hat-trick against Workington in the play-off final was massive for us.

He always turned up in the big games and we'd all seen what he could do previously at Castleford too. It's a real shame that we've lost him to Toulouse.

For me, he just edges out James Clare on the right wing.

LEFT CENTRE - KEITH LULIA

He joined us from Newcastle Knights in 2012 and got 22 tries in 50 games. He was only here for two seasons but he always had the ability to attack, break that defensive line and create space for the winger on his outside.

He had a great tries-to-games record in 2012 and 2013. There was one game in 2012 where I think he got four tries and he was amazing.

His performances for us meant he played for Cook Islands at the World Cup in 2013 too.

RIGHT CENTRE - ADRIAN PURTELL

He joined for the 2012 season like Keith and it's more of the same really. But he has an interesting back story, full of resilience.

He came through at Canberra, but contracted deep vein thrombosis and missed a season just as he was getting into their team.

He came to Bradford in 2012 but he had a heart attack in his first season after the Magic Weekend game in Manchester against Leeds.

That meant he missed the rest of the season and the start of 2013 too. Then we suffered relegation but he stayed on and became captain in 2016.

Unfortunately, he left at the end of the season because our financial difficulties emerged. He was a great player for us.

STAND OFF - BEN JEFFRIES

He'd had a previous spell at the club before the start of the decade in 2008-09. Then he joined Wakefield before returning to Bradford in 2011. It was Mick Potter who brought him back.

He and Luke Gale could chop and change with each other in the halves and he was very efficient too. Ben is the best boot to ball player I've seen at Odsal in the last decade.

In 2012 alone, he got 19 try assists off the boot. He was very prolific with Gale.

SCRUM HALF - LUKE GALE

He joined us in 2012 and spent three seasons here. We've had numerous half-backs since he left in 2014 and it's an area we've not had any consistency in.

This season just gone, I know Joe Keyes was injured for a while, but we had Dane Chisholm, Elliot Minchella, Rowan Milnes and Jordan Lilley all playing as half-backs at some point.

He's not a fans favourite and there were people who were glad to see the back of him when he went to Cas, but look at what he did in his four years there, wow!

And of course, now he's just joined Leeds. For me, it definitely has to be these two (Jeffries and Gale).

PROP - STEVE CROSSLEY

He is Mr Bradford Bulls. A former Clayton junior who's had three spells here. I look at him as like a wine, getting better with age like Jamie Peacock.

I think during that first spell he was very raw and we were in Super League and losing a lot. His second spell was during all our financial uncertainty so he left for Toronto.

But now he's one of those who has experience and leadership skills. In 2020 he'll have a very important role to play, as he's one of the more established players in the squad.

Steve gets what this club means, and I'll never forget him in tears after we beat Leeds in the Challenge Cup last season.

PROP - ANDY LYNCH

He was a great player who gave us seven years of service. He was similar to Steve, in that they roll their sleeves up every time, come rain or shine, and just carry that ball.

Andy would just visualise doing those hard yards, and taking it 10 or 12 metres regularly.

He and Steve are very old fashioned props in that sense and there aren't many around like that any more.

HOOKER - HEATH L'ESTRANGE

Heath obviously came in to replace Terry Newton, who had sadly died by suicide, so there was a huge weight on his shoulder. For me there's no dispute about his place in this team of the decade.

For four seasons, he was the epitome of what you want for 80 minutes at number nine. He was so dependable, and he would make scoots from dummy half all the time, which would often catch the opposition out and gain 20 metres for Bulls.

There was a lot of competition back then for him, with Matt Diskin joining and a young Adam O'Brien coming through too.

But he would play regularly for 60-80 minutes, apart from in 2011 when he picked up a bad injury. He had 30 games in 2010, 28 in 2012 and 27 in 2013, and only left to go home and join Sydney at the end of 2013.

SECOND ROW - STEVE MENZIES

He spent two years here, in 2009 and 2010, and in that 2010 season, he was prolific and creative and it was a shame we lost him to Catalans.

We called him Steve "The Beaver" Menzies because of his face and teeth but, seriously, he has to go down in history as one of the great players.

Look at what he achieved, playing over 500 first grade games in his career, two World Cup finals with Australia in 1995 and 2000 and in the State of Origin for New South Wales.

For Bradford to have him, like Brett Kearney, was a real show of intent from us to go out and get the big names. He's one of the most creative and prolific forwards ever to grace Odsal.

SECOND ROW - ELLIOTT WHITEHEAD

His record speaks volumes. He played over 100 games for us but then he fell out with Francis Cummins and, with the administration problems too, he left for Catalans.

Around that 2010-2011 mark, we had Elliott, John Bateman, the Burgess boys, Danny Addy, and, a little younger, Alex Mellor.

Steve Macnamara does get criticised for his time as head coach, but he invested heavily in youth and those guys I've mentioned were the first players off our academy conveyor belt.

We had them come through and the club still uses those policies now when it comes to young players.

LOOSE FORWARD - JOHN BATEMAN

Just like you had Elliott Whitehead come through from West Bowling, then there's John Bateman from Bradford Dudley Hill.

Now they've both just played for Canberra together in the NRL Grand Final.

He made his Bulls debut on Boxing Day in 2010 against Halifax. We won 52-16 but it was a snow-encrusted, muddy day. John was just a 17-year-old, fresh and raw.

Fax are often quite grubby in games against us, and they've whacked this 17-year-old and knocked him about. But he just got back up and seemed to thrive on the physical battle.

He only played for 20 minutes but he scored two tries and stole the show. You knew when you were watching him that day he'd be something special.

Unfortunately, he was sold to Wigan for £70,000 and for me, that is rugby league's steal of the century. We needed the money, but I think Bulls had their pockets picked with that one.

HONOURABLE MENTION - ELLIOT MINCHELLA

You can't underestimate what he did at Bulls, just with his support play and ability to appear out of nowhere.

It was a bit more difficult for him last season, but there was still that brilliant Widnes try when we beat them 62-0 and he scored a hat-trick.

Elliot was on form of gold at that time.

HONOURABLE MENTION - JAMIE LANGLEY

He spent 11 seasons at Bulls and he was a great servant before he retired at the end of 2013.

If John Bateman hadn't done what he did at Bulls, Langley would have made it into this team.

There's so many others too, like Kris Welham, Danny Addy, Ross Peltier and Ross Oakes, who gave, or give, so much for this club.

HEAD COACH - ROHAN SMITH

I have to mention Mick Potter, Francis Cummins and John Kear, especially because I don't want John to fall out with me!

But I genuinely would say, if I was picking a coach to lead this team of the decade, I'd stand by Rohan Smith.

This 13 would have a lot of creativity, and would be one that likes to play rugby league.

Rohan might not have got his selection right in that famous half-million pound game that we lost 20-0 to Fev, but just look at the rugby we played in 2016 with the likes of Dane Chisholm and Kieren Moss.

We were thrilling with the ball and it was just exciting. That was Bulls playing rugby league.