LUCAS Walshaw cannot wait for his next taste of first-team action with the Bulls as he vowed: There is so much more to come from me.
The close-season signing from Wakefield played in the Challenge Cup home defeat to Hull KR on April 19, scoring a try, but has not been involved in the five games since.
The imposing second-rower, who has recovered from a bout of flu, has told Jimmy Lowes he is raring to go and had hoped to play some part against winless Doncaster tomorrow.
Walshaw helped the Dons seal promotion to the Championship during a loan spell in 2012 but, with competition for places growing increasingly fierce, he was left out the Bulls’ 19-man squad yesterday.
“I’m fit and raring to go and it would have been great to play against one of my old clubs,” said 22-year-old Walshaw, who featured prominently in the opening weeks of the season.
“I helped Doncaster to win promotion to the Championship in 2012 when we beat Barrow at Warrington.
“I played eight or nine games on loan from Wakefield and was involved in the grand final against Barrow.
“Last season Donny were a real force to be reckoned with but it just seems to have gone out of the window this year.
“We’ve got a couple of lads in the squad who haven’t played a single game yet, so the competition for places is unbelievably strong.
“You’ve just got to show Jimmy what you can do in training and then hope to get the opportunity to show it to the rest of the fans.
“We’ve just got a lot of depth in the back row with the likes of Jean-Philippe (Baile), Tom Olbison, Jay Pitts and Dale Ferguson.
“Some of those lads have been coming back from injury as well, so Jimmy’s testing them out and there is no point in changing a winning team.
“You’ve just got to be patient and wait for your time again – but there is a lot more to come from me.
“I’m trying my best in training, on and off the field, so it’s just about waiting for another opportunity to show what I can actually do.”
Dave Petersen has joined Sheffield for a month, while Adam Brook (Keighley) and Nathan Conroy (Dewsbury) are also currently out on loan.
Those three players – along with Matty Blythe and Karl Davies – have also featured for Oxford in League One in recent weeks.
But Walshaw said: “I’ve had no talks whatsoever about going out on loan. Obviously I want to play regular first-team rugby but if I can’t get that here, then I’d be happy enough to go out on loan.
“I’ve had the flu during the past week but I think I’ve been involved in the 19-man squad for pretty much every other game.
“We’ve got a lot of players in my position, so it’s literally about battling it out and showing what you can do in training.
“I’ve loved my time here, though, and was speaking to Harry Siejka about how much of an improvement being at Bradford is compared to Wakey.
“You get looked after really well at Bradford and all the lads are absolutely sound. We regularly go out for meals together, so we have bonded well and you couldn’t really get a better set of lads.”
Walshaw signed a two-year deal when he joined Bradford and will be at Odsal next season regardless.
He said: “It’s good to have that security but you don’t always think like that. You want to be playing regular first-team rugby and build yourself another contract from there.”
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