KIERAN Gill admitted he was not fazed by the influx of new faces at Bulls ahead of the 2023 season, with one of them among his closest childhood friends.

The centre, Bradford’s top try-scorer last term, has known new half-back Tom Holmes for years, and has a long-standing relationship with Brad Foster too.

Gill said: “They’re not really new faces as such our signings, because in rugby league, you basically know everyone.

“I was brought up with Tom for example.

“We were good mates at high school and we spent three months in Australia together a few years back.

“We both have young families too, which is another thing that connects us.

“Tom and I were in Castleford’s academy together too, as was Brad Foster, who I also have a good relationship with.

“With Ben Blackmore and Brad England there too when they were young, we joke and say the Cas bus has arrived at Bulls now.”

It is not just the Castleford crew who are a tight-knit bunch at Bulls either, with Gill saying: “There seems to be a different vibe at the club this year.

“Mark (Dunning), Lee (Greenwood) and Kane (Daniels) have set the standards and we’re all on point.

“Most of us in the squad are roughly the same age too, which is no bad thing, as when you’ve been playing rugby league for years, you get to understand people’s backgrounds, even if they’re at different teams.

“That meant, in that sense, it didn’t feel like anything particularly new or different coming into pre-season.”

Speaking of pre-season, Bulls finally play their first game of the new campaign when they visit Dewsbury for a friendly this Sunday.

Gill said: “I think Dewsbury is a good chance to get minutes into our legs and to brush off the cobwebs.

“But it also helps us put our skills into practice.

“We’ve been learning plays over pre-season and the game will give us some understanding of which ones might work best in matches.

“We can get to properly know each other as a team too, as training is never full on.

“You do need that sense of having 80 full-blooded minutes against an opposing team, to see what you’re like under game day conditions.”

Gill added: “Dewsbury could be a good game for our youngsters.

“We’ve been working well with the reserve grade lads in training, and this game gives them a good chance, if selected, for the coaches to see if they might be capable of pushing for a first-team place this season.”