A dose of early-morning banter has made Bryn Hargreaves’ 6am starts more bearable.

Since making an off-season switch from St Helens, the workhorse prop has become accustomed to getting up at the crack of dawn – a necessary evil in making the journey to training from his Wigan home.

But the chore of driving across the Pennines every day has been eased by the presence of several fellow Lancastrians, with Ian Sibbit, Michael Platt and Shaun Ainscough keeping Hargreaves on his toes in the wee hours.

Hargreaves said: “Getting up at 6am takes its toll but once I’ve settled into a proper routine it won’t be too bad. I’ll be tired at first but there’s a good travelling squad.

“That’s what you find about rugby. Everywhere you go you’ve always got characters in the squad and that’s what makes rugby league such a great place to be.

“You quickly find out who the characters are at any club you go to. There’s already banter going about and it’s easy to slip into it.

“Even though there’s quite a few new players at Bradford, it feels like we’ve all been here for quite a while and that’s reflected in the training.”

Ainscough in particular has developed a lively reputation and team-mates have been treated to the amusing sight of the four cross-Pennine travellers piling into the former Wigan winger’s modest Suzuki Swift.

Hargreaves said: “The Lancashire bus has got a full car every day. We’ve got some good lads in the car and we have a good laugh on the way over.

“When it’s Shaun Ainscough’s turn to drive we all get in the Suzuki Swift, so that’s a bit of a squeeze.

“He makes the journey pretty enjoyable every day because we all ask him questions and just listen to his views on life.

“It’s amusing because he’s got a different take on life to most, so I just feed him questions and listen for the answers. I definitely think he’s got a mild case of Tourettes!”