IT was a positive run out for Mark Dunning’s Bulls on Sunday as they got their pre-season schedule underway with a dominant 34-16 victory at Dewsbury Rams.

The first of three friendly fixtures will have given the Bradford boss plenty to think about after he handed five first team debuts from the start at the FLAIR Stadium, while several more debutants came on from the interchange bench for the visitors.

Dunning’s newbies impressed from the get-go and played a major role in the away side’s comfortable victory, as his side ran in six tries.

Despite their dominance from the offset, Bradford’s Head Coach admitted that his side have more to give ahead of their next friendly fixture with Huddersfield Giants at the weekend.

He said: “It was pre-season trial number one for us and I’d have given it a solid seven out of ten performance. It was a worthwhile exercise and we’ve luckily come through it unscathed, which is the most important thing about a pre-season trial. There’s a couple of bumps and bruises but we’ve got no injuries so I’m very happy.

“I do think we were good in spells. We got some minutes into some key individuals and we managed to see some good combinations and positive work in the offensive and defensive phases. We are basing a lot of what we do this year on effort, energy and enthusiasm and I thought we saw a whole heap of that in the first 60 or 70 minutes.”

Dunning added: “I was pleased with a lot of individuals, I’m not going to name them because it would be wrong of me to do so because I might end up missing one or two off the list, and it’s right in saying that the new boys contributed to that.”

Asked how long it would be until the side’s full potential was unlocked, Dunning joked: “How long’s a piece of string?

“We are building, and this is only game one of the rebuild. Some of these players haven’t played since September last year and you can do all the training you want, but rugby league is a tough game when it’s played out on the field. I’m happy with where we are at, and now we’ve got to look ahead to two real tough tests against Huddersfield and Leeds. I think them two games will give us an indication of where we are at ahead of round one. I’m not of the opinion that any team is at their best in round one of a competitive season. It’s not how you start the season, but it’s how you finish the season.

“We’ve set ourselves goals, we’ve set ourselves targets, both individually and collectively. As long as we keep meeting them, I’ll be happy.”

On Thursday, the sad news broke that Sam Scott has decided to call time on his playing career due to a long-standing injury, and of course, it has left Bradford with one less back-rower.

Discussing potential incomings, Dunning said: “We are in the market and we’ve said all along that we are in the market for a couple more players, even if it’s two or three. They’ve got to be the right fit and the right person. We are not panicking because we are really content with where we are at. If we identify the right person that fits this good group and Jason and the board can get it done, then fantastic, but we won’t be doing it for the sake of it.”