AT the end of 2008, George Flanagan’s hopes and dreams were shattered when he was released by the Bulls.

Having spent six years in the club’s junior and reserve grades, being denied the opportunity to become a full-time professional at his boyhood club left him heartbroken.

Tomorrow, Flanagan will return to play at Odsal for the first time since leaving the club he grew up supporting.

The 28-year-old hooker joined Hunslet in the off-season after previously playing for Batley, Dewsbury and Featherstone.

He will not have far to travel as Flanagan and his young family live just off Rooley Avenue, a mere stone’s throw from Odsal.

Flanagan, who remains an ardent Bulls fan, said: “It’s going to be a different experience, that’s for sure.

“I spent all those years there as a junior and this will be the first time I’ll have played there since leaving, but once I’m out on the field all the emotions will go out of the window.

“I’ve got two brothers and two sisters, and we all grew up supporting Bradford.

“It has always been a club close to my heart but when I left, I don’t think I got a fair crack of the whip.

“I got released after a long time in the academy, right from the under-16s, 18s and 21s, then I obviously didn’t get a crack in the first team.

“Like I said before, it wasn’t meant to be but hopefully I can prove a few doubters wrong at the weekend.

“My dad and the rest of my family hardly missed a game when I was a young lad.

“He’s a big Bulls fan but he’s obviously 100 per cent behind me and has said ‘whatever the result, have a good game and look after yourself’.”

Flanagan, a dynamic presence out of dummy half, was instrumental in last week’s win over Dewsbury after coming off the bench to score a try, capping his recovery from a broken fibula.

Flanagan was coached by Jimmy Lowes when he was on the scholarship at Odsal and still has aspirations to play rugby full-time.

He said: “We had a good win last weekend and it was convincing too.

“Dewsbury have a good team on paper and I think they’ll be challenging for the top four come the end of the season.

“But we really dug deep and I thought we were unlucky to lose against Featherstone and Batley in our opening two games.

“We were pretty pleased to beat Dewsbury and it’s always good to get over for a ‘meat pie’, especially after being out for seven months.

“The first four games of the season are all against my former clubs.

“The Bulls have been going really well and have set a benchmark for every team in this division.

“Everyone wants to go to Odsal and win and we’ve got a good side at Hunslet, so hopefully we can put in a good performance and the result will look after itself.

“Survival is the aim this season and anything after that is a bonus.”

Flanagan is an admirer of his fellow No 9 Adam O’Brien and admits Lee Gaskell is the man that Hunslet must stop.

Flanagan, who works for a road construction firm, added: “Adam’s a good player and to play 80 minutes for three games running is no mean feat.

“Lee Gaskell is class and I’m still good mates with Etu Uaisele from our time together at Featherstone, so I’ve been texting him this week about the game.

“I’m looking forward to it as I have loads of family and friends coming to support me.”