Bradford Bulls prop Ebon Scurr glad to bring power off bench

The hosts were struggling to break down a young Rhinos side, and were only 6-4 up 10 minutes before half-time.

But head coach Eamon O'Carroll then brought on rampaging props Ebon Scurr and Eribe Doro, with the pair almost immediately punching huge holes in the visiting defence, leading to the latter scoring his side’s second try.

From there, Bulls were on easy street, and speaking to the T&A after the game, Scurr said: “I think it’s just part of our job, myself, Eribe and Kev (Appo).

“Anybody that comes off the bench has to bring something to the game, that’s the intent the three of us bring.

“When us middles come on, I think we all complement each other, which helps.

“At the start of the game, Bruno (Michael Lawrence), Dan Smith and Sam Hallas have to put in that hard work, then we come in and try and elevate that as best as we can for when they're back on.”

Michael Lawrence and Dan Smith tend to wear teams down, before Ebon Scurr and Eribe Doro come on to punch holes in a tiring opposition defence. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

It is a role Scurr is happy to play, saying: “I just do what I’m told in a sense, it doesn’t bother me having to come off the bench.

“I’m happy to do whatever my team needs really.”

It is a team and club the Bulls academy product holds close to his heart, and he said: “The big part of it all for me is the fans and the fact they turn up loud every week.

“It’s hard to look away from that and at the end of my current two-year deal in 2025, I’ll have been here for a decade.

“I’ll be 25 by then, having been here since I was 15, and I look forward to playing every Sunday.”

Scurr has generated interest from Super League in the past, and will likely have plenty of suitors in the top flight when his current Bulls deal runs out.

But he said: “It’s just how it all falls really and what the clubs decide.

“Short-term, I just want to turn up every week and put in a performance.

“I don’t like to look into the future too much, because I’ve just got a job to do for Bulls every Sunday.”

As for Sunday’s win over Leeds, Scurr said: “It was a good result, but the important bit of this game was just fine-tuning a lot of those details we’d talked about in training all week.

“The biggest thing was ticking those extra boxes that we were talking to Eamon about, like bringing that line speed.

“Doing that made our lives a lot easier today.”

Asked if this victory had set them up perfectly to face Dewsbury in the 1895 Cup group stages this Sunday, Scurr said: “I think we’ve put ourselves in a very good standing.

“We’ve obviously still got stuff to improve on, but this was a good step, and we’ve improved with each pre-season game, which is a big thing for us.

“That shows we’re learning in each training session, and that we’re building and building, which is a good sign.”