Despite putting 18 months of injury misery behind him, Stuart Reardon is still playing for his future.

The former Great Britain star returned to Bradford in the winter after an agonising spell on the sidelines caused by career-threatening Achilles tendon problems.

Initially, his signing was seen as a gamble but Reardon has played every minute for the Bulls so far this season, while beginning to repay the faith shown in him by coach Steve McNamara.

Happy to get back on the try-scoring trail in last week’s defeat at Hull – his first touchdown since an opening-day double – Reardon knows the pressure is on to prove himself worthy of an extension to his current one-year deal.

“It’s up to me to earn another,”said the 28-year-old winger.

“It’s always going to be hard coming back from an Achilles injury, especially two, but I feel I’m getting better and sharper each week as games go on.

“We’ve got a competitive team here so as long as I can keep my spot, I believe I can get better and better, get back to where I was and earn a new contract. That’s my goal.”

Close to signing for Brian Noble’s Crusaders in the summer, Reardon is grateful he was given the chance to return home. The former West Bowling amateur spent six years with the Bulls in his first spell after graduating through the club’s academy system.

Settling back into Odsal life has not been a problem but Reardon is still not at his playing peak.

Pace and sharpness, in particular, have been slow to return after injury and a switch to wing from full back, where he played for former club Warrington, has taken some getting used to.

Reardon said: “It’s all different players but it’s the same good club, the same good people behind the scenes.

“I’m really enjoying being back to playing rugby.

“There’s no ill-effects from the injury but it takes a while before you feel like yourself, in terms of sharpness and speed.

“It’s coming back, I’m doing extra work in the gym as much as I can. I’ll just get better each week.

“I played a lot of full back but I’m getting used to the wing. It’s a good position to play.”

Reardon also sees plenty of unrealised potential in the Bulls, who sit ninth in Super League ahead of tomorrow night’s clash with Harlequins.

He said: “There’s a lot more to come. Some teams have already peaked but we’re not quite there yet.

“As long as we stay injury-free we’ll be up there.”