AS the full-time whistle blew at Odsal this afternoon, the look of everyone involved with Bradford Bulls was one of pure ecstasy.

Mark Dunning’s men put on a title winning performance to condemn Toulouse to their first Betfred Championship regular season defeat since 2019, with Bulls the victors on that day too.

This one felt different though. It was a display full of grit, quality and passion, and a display that will have most certainly sent shockwaves around the rest of the division. In most cases, the question of whether Bradford Bulls are truly back will have crossed many fans’ minds at Odsal this afternoon.

They certainly have reason to believe.

One of those who was overjoyed with what he’d seen as the Bulls battled to a 28-18 victory was Bradford boss Mark Dunning. Reflecting on his side’s mammoth victory, he said: “Yes, it’s certainly up there with one of the best afternoons in my managerial career so far. I’m delighted for the players because they carried out the gameplan meticulously and they all contributed to the cause, even the boys who didn’t get given a shirt today.

“It is a very pleasing performance. There are players that stood out today but collectively as a group, it was a performance that illustrated a lot of the things we’ve been working on in pre-season and in training up to now.

“The most pleasing thing about the performance was that we had a clear plan, and we were able to carry that out to the letter of the law. Gone are the days of when this team came under a little bit of adversity and went wanting. We all stick together as a group whether it be the staff, the football staff, or the players. This club is connected again."

Dunning added: “I genuinely believed before the game that we could do something against them (Toulouse) and at no point throughout the game did that belief go. We had a plan, the players had a plan and we always had full trust in them to carry out that plan to the letter of the law, and they certainly did that.”

Tempers boiled over on several occasions during the match, but Dunning responded to the rivalry, by saying: “A lot of people throw accusations at my team for being undisciplined and I thought you saw today that we are not that. Penalty wise and action wise, we stayed disciplined and it was the other team that seemed to lose control at points in the game.”

Liam Tindall was selected to play today’s huge clash over David Foggin Johnston and Dunning admitted: “It was a selection and a tactical thing. I sat down and spoke with Fog about it. Fog has been great for us so far this season, but the one thing none of us can do is make him six foot tall. He was playing against a winger who was six foot four, so we tried to anticipate that their game plan would be to kick to Fog. So, when you have a player like Liam Tindall available, whose last competitive game was in the Super League Grand Final last year, then it would be silly not to use him.

 “Again, massive respect to David Foggin-Johnston for how he handled the news because he obviously wasn’t happy, but he respected my thought process and sat down in my office and said he respected my choice. Although he wasn’t involved, he was a massive help around the camp at Odsal today.”

Dunning added: “I think today’s win puts some things to bed; one being that my half-backs can play together and that we do like playing at Odsal. The last two weeks we have come through two real tests. I’ve told my players in there to go and enjoy their weekends because they’ve got a rare Sunday off. I hope they can forget about rugby league for a couple of days before they return to training next week because I’ve warned them that we are playing, what I believe, are the best team in the competition next weekend at Featherstone. I’ve watched them in pre-season and in the early stages of the competitive season, and they are a really, really good team. My players should enjoy tonight but we need to be prepared and focused ahead of what will be a very tough game at Featherstone next Monday.

 “But today’s win will give the team a lot of confidence but we’ve got to be grounded as well. I always talk to the players about not living in the moment for too long. I’ve seen the benchmark of my team all the way through pre-season and seen what they can do, and the way they conduct themselves both on and off the field. I’ve seen enough of these boys to know how they work. I don’t think we are anywhere near the finished article just yet, so that’s the most exciting thing for me.”