Bradford Bulls' season assessed after a third of it gone

The international break has been a good time to reflect and take stock, especially after all the pre-season statements, from head coach and players alike, claiming this was a wholly different team with a wholly different attitude from 2022.

To call last season turbulent would be underplaying things somewhat.

John Kear was sacked after just over four years in charge, while a protracted search for a new head coach ended with someone who was already at the club in the first place.

Fans angrily attempted to confront chairman Nigel Wood after an appalling defeat at Newcastle, leading to a tension-filled fans’ forum just days later.

This was one of the defining images of Bulls' 2022 season, with gloomy faces at Kingston Park after the visitors conceded yet another try. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Defeat to Widnes on the final day made it an embarrassing 16 league defeats from 27, with outgoing captain Steve Crossley delivering an extraordinary parting shot less than an hour after the final whistle, as he gave his hometown club both barrels.

But a huge turnover of players in the off-season, including some impressive looking acquisitions like Jack Walker and Michael Lawrence, an acceptance that attitudes needed to and were changing, and a revealing interview with club CEO Jason Hirst on the eve of the season, finally giving fans some much-wanted financial transparency, gave people reasons to be cheerful.

But as is always the way, nothing is ever that simple.

There have been some brilliant moments for sure, with the win against Toulouse arguably Bulls’ best since beating Leeds in the 2019 Challenge Cup.

Sheffield came to Odsal off the back of four straight league wins, and were blown away inside 20 minutes by their hosts.

The Eagles then went out and thumped Toulouse six days later, showing just how impressive that Bradford win was.

There was also the brilliant backs to the wall derby win at Halifax. Bulls had lost four in row against the Panthers heading into that clash, but a depleted side carrying injuries galore dragged themselves to a 26-22 win.

George Flanagan celebrates at full-time after a memorable win at Halifax for Bulls last month. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Off the field, there were the excellent crowds of just under 5,000 for the opening two home games against Whitehaven and Widnes (both victories).

Academy quartet Jayden Myers, Myles Lawford, George Flanagan Jr and Marcus Green were all teenagers given Challenge Cup game time in March, with the former celebrating his 20th birthday with his Championship debut against Batley three days later.

The academy has just been audited by the RFL too, with the club reportedly very confident of retaining their elite status, which would be vital in boosting their IMG grading.

Myles Lawford (centre) and George Flanagan Jr (right) are two of the biggest talents to emerge from the academy into the first team over the last 12 months. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Nine teams play under the Bulls umbrella, again a big tick in the IMG box, while the club are holding themed days at Odsal to run alongside their home matches.

All rosy then?

Not exactly, though admittedly plenty of the negatives have been out of Bulls’ control.

Walker and Lawrence, arguably the two most eye-catching signings, have hardly played due to injury for example, with the former admitting it was only the club’s support that stopped him from retiring at just 23 years old.

There was also the hammer blow in January of the £50m bid to transform Odsal Stadium being rejected by the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Hirst is not giving up, telling the T&A the club would fight to create a modern 21st century stadium for supporters to enjoy, but that Government money would have made it far, far easier to achieve that.

The crowds Bulls were hoping to maintain have dropped off too.

That 5,000 figure seemed like a good benchmark, and they were less than 200 away from that total against Whitehaven and Widnes, two of the clubs furthest away from Bradford distance-wise in the whole league.

But the three league games at Odsal since against Toulouse, Sheffield and Batley have only brought in 2,798, 3,004 and 3,330 supporters through the turnstiles respectively, even with a well-publicised ‘Kindness Day’ being held at the latter.

The crowd for Bulls' home game against Batley last month was a little underwhelming, especially given the 'Kindness Day' theme. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Can the Bulls push that figure back up, if not to 5,000, to say 4,000 regularly for home league games?

On the field too, some of last season’s old failings have come back to haunt Bulls.

York away felt like a performance that has typified the last three years of watching the club, where a bright start faded away into a collapse.

Bulls visited Cougar Park looking to put noisy neighbours Keighley in their place, but were completely humiliated in a 34-6 defeat, a performance to rank alongside some of the worst in 2022.

Keighley humiliated Bulls at Cougar Park, as the visitors delivered their worst performance of the season in the Bradford District derby. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

And it was a kick in the teeth that just 10 days after that brilliant league win at Halifax, a disjointed Bulls were thumped 26-0 there in the Challenge Cup.

Giving his own take on 2023 so far, Dunning said: “We’re in and around where I expected us to be at the start of the season.

“We’ve been very good in patches but not in others and we’re striving for consistency in performance and selection.

“At the start of the year, I said I’d like us to be in the top four halfway through the season.

“That’s still within our grasp, so I’m content with how things have gone so far.”

That Challenge Cup thumping at Fax did mean Dunning’s side broke off on a low note though, and that game also led to the Leeds/loan debate rearing its ugly head again.

Many fans seem to have taken umbrage with the amount of Super League players Bulls are using, with the recent temporary acquisitions of winger Jason Qareqare and utility back Connor Wynne from Castleford and Hull FC leading to yet more grumbles.

Liam Tindall, Luis Roberts and James Donaldson are just three of the players drafted in from Leeds at times this season, with some suggesting this hampers the progress of the club’s own young players.

But it is not that simple. Jayden Myers told the T&A earlier this week that he was offered the chance to play on the left wing in the win at Halifax but did not feel he was ready, leading Dunning to bring Roberts in there to play instead.

Jayden Myers (ball in hand) made his Championship debut against Batley, not feeling ready to do so out of position the week before at Halifax. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Besides you cannot have it both ways. Leeds trio Roberts, Donaldson and Sam Walters were instrumental in that win at The Shay but with none of them playing less than a fortnight later, Bulls were thumped by the same opposition.

If you want to win a game, pick the best players available, not the ones who you have some supposed loyalty to.

It remains to be seen how Dunning makes use of his squads for the rest of the season, Bulls players or ‘outsiders’, but in a play-off place at present, with a kind month on paper coming up, hopefully we can be talking with much more positivity sooner rather than later.