Bradford Bulls offer something different with new head coach

In Eamon O’Carroll, they have a 36-year-old with plenty of Super League experience as a player, as well as someone who has featured for Ireland at two Rugby League World Cups, meaning he knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level.

But they also have a man who has steadily built his coaching reputation up over the last few years.

Not only has he had two separate spells at Catalans Dragons, playing a key role as assistant to Steve McNamara as well as reserves head coach, in the club’s most successful period in history, but he also helped turn Newcastle Thunder into a recognisable force in rugby league.

He was there as part of their successful push to be given the vacant available spot in the Championship at the end of 2020.

O’Carroll also helped the club gain an Elite Academy Licence in 2021, one of only three teams outside of Super League, alongside Bulls and London Broncos, to have that honour.

He kept them up in the Championship that year too, no mean achievement for a club that had only ever had one season in the second tier before, way back in 2009 under their previous guise as Gateshead Thunder.

Then in 2022, he oversaw the club turning professional for the first time, a huge transition that would not have been easy for even the most experienced of coaches.

Despite spending less than three years at Newcastle, Eamon O'Carroll packed plenty into that time. (Image: Paul Clayton.)

Do not underestimate his move back to Catalans either.

One of the Championship’s most talented coaches in recent years, Batley’s Craig Lingard, has taken his talents to Castleford to be the number two there, with the Tigers nowhere near the level of the Dragons at present.

Some of the quotes from Bulls CEO Jason Hirst stood out when the appointment of O’Carroll was confirmed yesterday too.

He said: “Eamon was our number one choice, so to secure his appointment for that length of time is great news for our club and gives us stability and consistency at a pivotal period for the sport of rugby league.

“As well as coming highly recommended, he impressed tremendously throughout our discussions and interviews.

“His knowledge, enthusiasm, work ethic, professionalism, articulate nature and hunger to build and succeed shone clearly through.

“We look forward to him joining us for the 2024 pre-season, with planning for that and the actual season well underway with Eamon, Lee Greenwood and Brian Noble.”

Brian Noble and Lee Greenwood now have a third person in the mix to help them prepare Bulls for 2024. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

To pick the bones out of that, we know Bulls had plenty of interest in the role, and a confirmed shortlist of six, so to know that O’Carroll came out on top in that lengthy recruitment process, and that he has now put pen to paper, is satisfying, as the man Bulls wanted all along.

Besides, the club have clearly noted the upheaval and major milestones for O’Carroll at Newcastle as mentioned above, suggesting they back him as more than just a coach, man manager and tactical innovator, but someone who can also deal with the huge off-field changes going on in rugby league over the next few years.

And arguably most importantly of all, he is already engaging with Noble and Greenwood, long before he comes in to take the job.

That helps Bulls for a variety of reasons, not least because Greenwood has already said he and Noble are running things currently with the new man very much at the forefront of their thinking.

In an important period of recruitment and retention, those who have not signed back on yet now know who their new boss is going to be from 2024, which instantly removes that uncertainty when it comes to signing a new deal.

Furthermore, it is an important three-way dialogue. Greenwood and Noble can keep an eye on the Bulls players at close quarters and their development, while O’Carroll can use that information to work out who he might want to keep for the style he intends to play.

Plus, working in Super League, O’Carroll is likely to have a good idea of who might be available and willing to join Bulls from the top-flight ahead of 2024.

Also, it just offers something a bit different. Many felt John Kear’s tactics had gone stale by the time he left last year, and that he was too loyal to certain players.

Furthermore, with the successive in-house appointments of Mark Dunning and Lee Greenwood, it felt as if the club were happy to take the cheap option, and there were always fears that it wouldn’t be possible to shrug off the old regime, when the new boss had been part of those previous failings.

Mark Dunning had some decent moments as Bulls' head coach, but many felt his appointment showed a lack of ambition from the club. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

O’Carroll is young, fresh and has no previous association with the club, so for the first time in years, it feels like a brand-new era.

And after learning so much under one of the best coaches in Super League under McNamara, O’Carroll will be looking to use the best of those traits to succeed at Bulls.