BULLS’ interim head coach Lee Greenwood rates tomorrow’s opponents London Broncos so highly that he sees them as ‘dark horses’ for the Betfred Championship Grand Final.
But he insists his Bradford side could do worse than replicate parts of their scintillating performance in the reverse fixture at Odsal, which they won 32-16.
London have come on strong in the second half of the season, with Greenwood saying: “If you remember, they were on a good run before our home game against them, so they’d already started their momentum then.
Bulls have been hit and miss in the run-in, unlike in-form London. (Image: Tom Pearson.)
“They’ve been on good form and are a strong side, and bringing Corey Norman in has given them a bit of extra smartness, as well as skill and quality around the edges, which they lacked before.
“London have everything you’d want in a good team and they can beat anyone.
“I’d say they’re a dark horse for the Grand Final, I rate them that highly.”
But Greenwood backs his own side too, and recalled: “Some things have changed since we beat them in June, but there are a lot of players from both sides who played in that reverse fixture.
“We did a good job on lots of things that day, so we need to replicate those this weekend.
Ben Blackmore celebrates scoring against London Broncos in June. (Image: Tom Pearson.)
“But there were elements we didn’t cope with and having Corey Norman in the halves gives them a different dimension, as does having Alex Walker at full-back, who didn’t play in the reverse fixture.
“They’re better than the side we beat in June and I know they were hurting after that game because of what we did to them.
“They tried to beat us by taking us on and we won convincingly, so they’ll be dying to get after us for revenge on Sunday.”
Asked if it was tricky to keep the players focused on London and London alone, given how tight the play-off race is, Greenwood said: “I think the players have bought into that mantra of one game at a time, as there’s certainly been no play-off talk in house.
“We’re all fully aware of where we are in the table, and we’re right in the fight, with just as good a chance as others to get where we want to be in October.
“But right now, we’re just thinking about winning this week.
“Last week against York, the difference was that they stuck to their plan for 80 minutes, and we maybe drifted from ours.
“We’ve reinforced that point at training, and we’ll see if we’re in a position to avoid that if we’re involved in another tight game at London.
“But you have to be aware that every game is different.”
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