Bradford Bulls finally have deals done after six mad months

Yet the loan additions of Leeds centre Jack Smith and Wakefield winger Romain Franco until the end of the season will be their last for the 2024 campaign, as Friday marked Transfer Deadline Day in rugby league.

The lesser-known cousin of the football version, it still marks a vital day in the sport’s calendar, with Bradford no longer able to call on any new help as they have done on pretty much a weekly basis this season.

And with their play-off place by no means secure heading into the final nine games of the Betfred Championship season, it will be interesting to see how Eamon O’Carroll and his squad handle the removal of that safety blanket.

One exemption to the deadline day is dual-registration, with clubs still free to make use of that transfer avenue until the end of the season.

But while Super League clubs have kindly helped out Bradford on occasion this season, notably Hull FC, Warrington, Huddersfield and Wigan, none of that quartet have an official link up with the Odsal club.

It marks a departure from the last couple of seasons, where Leeds and Bradford had a dual-registration agreement.

Bradford’s actual dual-reg partner in 2024 is Rochdale in League 1, where they sent the likes of Ben Blackmore and George Flanagan, both of whom have since left BD6, earlier in the season.

And with the greatest of respect to the Hornets, that is very much a one-way street, and it seems highly unlikely that Bulls will be making use of players from the third tier as they look to book their place in the top-four of the Championship, in order to secure a home play-off on the first weekend of October.

Of course, players already at Bradford do not have to go anywhere after the deadline, so Bulls have been smart in extending the loan deal of Wigan’s Harvey Makin on Friday, who will help them as their injury crisis in the forward pack continues.

He will hope to do a similar job to his former Warriors team-mate Harvey Wilson, who caught the eye on loan at Bulls from Wigan earlier this season, and has now signed permanently for Salford, making his Super League debut for them in June.

And while delays over Jayden Okunbor’s Visa accreditation have been frustrating, that saga ended on Friday, and Bulls will be feeling blessed to have struck a deal for the winger, whose initial loan spell from Hull F.C. proved to be one of their shrewdest deals of 2024.

Jayden Okunbor gets the better of the Barrow defence to score a try at Odsal in June. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

The Australian, surrounded by countrymen and then close friend Franklin Pele, found a home at Odsal after a difficult first half of the year at the Airlie Birds, often being singled out for criticism as his parent club tumbled towards the foot of Super League.

But he has proved too good for the Championship, becoming an unstoppable try-scoring force on home soil in particular, and his presence is likely to be vital heading into the final third of the season, having now linked up with Eamon O’Carroll’s side on a permanent deal.

And Okunbor’s permanence will be a relief for the fans, as they issue with relying on loans is obvious, and has left Bradford in a vulnerable position on more than one occasion this season.

The prime example of this is surely Aidan McGowan, the little Huddersfield full back getting the better of bigger and more powerful defenders and attackers right through from January to June.

Aidan McGowan darts in to score for depleted Bulls in their impressive victory over Sheffield in May. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

But his season-long loan at Bulls was cut short without warning as the Giants decided he was needed for their Super League clash at Warrington.

Unsurprisingly to anyone who has seen the talent the 22-year-old possesses, he has been a regular fixture in their side since, scoring his first try for the club last week, and it quickly became apparent that once McGowan had returned to Huddersfield, Bulls had no chance of ever getting him back.

Losing McGowan's fellow Giant Fenton Rogers around the same time was a cruel double blow too, especially as his season-long loan at Odsal in 2023 meant he was well-acquainted with many of the Bulls squad already, as well as popular coaches Lee Greenwood and Brian Noble.

And while O’Carroll has insisted that’s what he wants for these young loanees, to be able to prove themselves with Bulls in the Championship in order to get their first-team chance in Super League, he cannot pretend it doesn’t sting to lose players who have been integral cogs in his machine for the previous few weeks and months.

Max Wood did so well here on loan from Warrington that he was parachuted back to Wire in double quick time, the prop going on to play a key part in their impressive rise to the summit of Super League.

And of course, even loanees have not been immune from Bulls’ chronic injury curse.

Poor Connor Carr was outstanding in Bulls’ excellent wins over Featherstone and Toulouse in April, scoring twice against the former, but the winger then badly damaged his ankle and has not been seen on the rugby league field since.

Connor Carr celebrates scoring for Bradford at Featherstone, in a brief but memorable loan spell earlier this year. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Either way, after a chaotic six months of forced wheeling and dealing, Bulls’ deadline day deals for Smith, Franco, Okunbor and Makin will be their last signings of the year.

From here until the end of the season, we now know exactly who Bradford have to rely on.