KIERAN Gill hopes Bulls can put a poor 2022 behind them, and the centre has already started 2023 with a bang.

The Bradford star has just got engaged to his now fiancée Olivia, and believes that personal milestone will help him on the field.

Gill was one of the few Bulls players who could hold his head up high after a dreadful 2022 campaign, which saw the club finish ninth in the Championship, losing 16 of their 27 league games.

He scored 18 tries last year, comfortably more than anyone else in the side, and was the winner of the T&A Player of the Year award as a result.

The 27-year-old hopes his recent engagement will elevate him to even greater heights, telling the T&A: "I'm happy in my personal life, so I'd say that should help me with my performances this season.

"My family is the most important thing to me, so I know if my personal life is going well, and my son, fiancée, parents and brother are all happy like they are, it helps me play better.

"It means you want to strive for success on the pitch, because you want to do it for yourself, but also for others who are important in your life too."

Bulls play their first friendly of the new season next weekend, away to Dewsbury.

They finished the 2022 campaign two weeks earlier than the previous year, and in a break from tradition, there was no Boxing Day friendly for Bulls either.

Gill has appreciated having that gap though, saying: "It was a good rest for me, as I work 12 hour days anyway.

"Having that break from rugby league, it was nice to reflect back personally and see what I and the team did.

"Collectively, it wasn't a great season, as we set goals as a team and didn't achieve them.

"We have to aim higher in 2023 and be bigger and better in all aspects.

"I'm sure Bradford, as a club, will do better this year than in 2022."

Gill was at a loss to explain why a team that reached the Championship play-offs in 2021 slumped to ninth last year.

The 27-year-old said: "It's difficult to comment on.

"The fans were rightfully asking why we didn't compete but in truth, we were shaking our heads ourselves and asking why.

"The Championship is a tough league and when you're not on form, that can happen, getting knocked off your perch."

An embarrassing record of just four home wins all season was a major factor in Bulls' poor 2022.

And Gill reflected: "We all know how Odsal can become a battlefield.

"A club with Bradford's culture, background and history means any visiting side really wants to win at our place.

"But we have to find a way to make it our stomping ground and turn Odsal into a fortress for us going forward.

"All home sides have that thought process, because you don't want to lose at your own ground, but that happened to us too often last season."