THE Bradford Bulls Women’s head coach Shaun Flynn feels his ladies are in a better position to make a mark next season, with a place in 2024’s eight-team Super League up for grabs.

An inconsistent 2022 saw Bulls Women rarely threaten to earn promotion to Super League 1, but the set-up looks more solid now, with the club’s 2023 squad revealed on Monday night.

There are several new signings, and some top teenage talents, and Flynn said: “We’re going down a bit of a different avenue for next year.

“We have lots of young lasses at the club now, and I’m 75 per cent sure we’ll be able to have an Under-19s side getting regular game time.

“We never got chance to play one last season because everything was a bit rushed with the World Cup looming.

“I just didn’t feel we had the manpower to get it up and running how I wanted, but we’ve got the young girls training with the women’s first team now.

“That will put them in a better position for U19 games and also help them know what’s required when they step up to either our first team or another club’s.”

As for that Bulls Women’s first team, Flynn insisted: “We’re going for that eight-team Super League, which is part of a new structure for 2024. We want to be part of that.

“The Super League 2 title winners next year will get a place, and then the teams finishing second to fifth will enter the play-offs for the second spot available, so we have to make that top five.”

Teenager Jess Harrap will be key to Bulls’ chances, with the Bradford Sports Awards’ reigning Sportswoman of the Year an integral part of the first team.

Flynn said: “Jess just keeps pushing on and she inspires the other girls, even though she’s still only young herself.

“We’ve brought in a couple of youngsters from Wakefield too, who like Jess, are experienced and have had plenty of first-team game time.

“With Jess, when she performs, the whole team tends to do well.

“She’s a key part of our forward pack, who we really want to see being mobile and repeating sets next season.”

Off the field, Flynn is pleased with how things are going too.

He said: “The women’s team comes under the Bulls Foundation, but sadly we’ve lost our a key staff member in Vikki Haley due to work commitments.

“She’s played in women’s rugby league, so has that knowledge of the game and respect from our players, so the door is always open for her to come back.

“I am looking for an assistant for next season, but there’s no rush, as we need someone that fits our ethos.

“We’ve already got a full-time strength and conditioning coach and a full-time physio for 2023, whereas before they were part-time, which wasn’t ideal for our girls, who had to work around that.”

Flynn added: “We’re not separate to the rest of the club, who are heavily involved with the women’s side of the game.

“Big things are going on at Bulls and there’s a real sense of unity among the different teams.

“There’s now a better partnership between the club and the Bulls Foundation, with one good example being that our first team now get to train with the academy lads.

“Ryan Hunkin, Leigh Beattie (who both have key roles in the youth set-up) and (first-team head coach) Mark Dunning are all very supportive of the ladies team.”