Bradford bounce-back hails new Super League era

Love them or hate them, Bradford Bulls are a club that certainly generates opinion in rugby league circles.

They also have a rare quality, a pull beyond the usual horizons, a brand that even laypeople can associate however faded the memory.

After 11 years away from Super League, time in which the club were liquidated, reborn, revived and finally returned, the Bulls will run with the elite again in 2026.

For a support starved of the top table it will feel special; a club that once posted a 24,000-plus attendance for a derby with Leeds - that is another factor to savour - can again sing its name proudly under the spotlight.

Yet this was not the triumphant routing of their foes on route to the Championship, a bombastic bounce-back before a packed out Odsal crowd.

It was a simple email that confirmed it in black and white. Bradford would be a Super League club again.

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Rebuilding after rock-bottom

The sheer drop from one of the game's major players to a side rebuilt in the bottom tier has taken some of the edge away from Bradford's claim to be a powerhouse.

It had an effect on the fanbase, the type of player they were able to recruit, and their sway with investors.

However, any fears of the Bulls sliding back into their prior demise have been allayed thanks to the investment of a passionate board, and the club-at-heart mentality of chief executive and hometown fan Jason Hirst.

Their Foundation carries the important role of spreading the sport to a new audience, while partnerships with amateur clubs in the area is also a vital way of establishing links with the community.

Off the field, Bulls have consistently turned a profit in recent seasons, while on it there has been careful rebuilding by a string of coaches starting with John Kear who brought them back from the League One doldrums and restored pride at Odsal, and Mark Dunning also maintained the upward curve.

Up until the end of this season, Brian Noble was brought in, after highly-rated Eamon O'Carroll was snared by St Helens to join their staff, and his legacy as a Bradford legend has helped restore some of the DNA, that passion and professionalism.

Now the reins are to be entrusted to another excellent young coach in Kurt Haggerty, who served his apprenticeship at Toronto, Leigh and Salford before taking this top job.

If 'franchising' via grading is the way to go in climbing up the pyramid, Bradford have carefully ensured they ticked the boxes to achieve it.

Odsal grumbles remain

Most fans, even begrudgingly, cannot fail to be impressed by Bradford's rebirth and the progress made.

That said, while Odsal Stadium has a history as rich and storied as any of Bradford's legendary players, the venue which opened in 1934 is showing its age.

For large parts it is a huge, open-air bowl with vast concrete terracing cascading down to the pitch, which unusually for a rugby league stadium is lined by a shale motorsport track for stock car racing.

It is this track which has caused much consternation in recent seasons. The pitch corners are somewhat infringed by the track. However, it meets the regulation dimensions.

There is a covered stand which in isolation would stand up to most in Super League, and a building which houses hospitality areas at one end of the stadium.

Bradford have been proactive is installing a big screen, LED advertising hoardings, and extending the TV gantry, amongst other developments, which contributed to their stadium points improvement.

In fairness, Odsal is not the only ground in Super League with historic legacy leaving it behind the times. It is a similar situation for Castleford, who have begun work on their stadium this off-season already in a bid to improve on their score.

Time to rediscover past glories

When captain Jamie Peacock thrust the Super League trophy into the air at a packed Old Trafford in October 2005, it proved a turning point for Bradford Bulls.

Their fourth title in just nine years was to be their last to date, as stars such as Peacock, Robbie Hunter-Paul and Leon Pryce all departed and the key components of 'Bullmania' began to slip away.

By the time the Bulls were relegated in 2014 under the coaching of talismanic former hooker Jimmy Lowes, the aura had faded drastically.

How does this new-look Bradford seek to re-establish themselves amongst the top dogs in the competition?

Well they have that brand, which will help in terms of selling the club to overseas stars and top talent here at home.

Andy Ackers has signed from Leeds, while a host of further arrivals are expected now the floodgates are open and their place is confirmed.

Players such as Shontayne Hape, Lesley Vainakolo, Daniel Gartner, Joe Vagana and the Paul brothers spread the word of Bradford in the southern hemisphere during their time in the game.

So too, did those World Club Challenge efforts against the likes of Newcastle, Penrith and Wests Tigers during the 2000s.

Not that much has changed since they went away, after all, Hull KR's 2025 triumph made them only the fifth team to win the competition, and the last time that had been challenged was 2004 when Bulls lost to allow Leeds to join the title-winning club.

Yet it is Hull KR that Bradford can gain heart from. They too had to rebuild and regroup back in 2016 when they were relegated via the Million Pound Game and were promoted a year later.

The Robins have shifted from perennial strugglers to champions, doing so by establishing a core of hungry players initially to set the culture, and appointing a shrewd, driving force coach in Willie Peters.

Now that core in Elliot Minchella - coincidentally a Bradford lad signed from the Bulls - Jez Litten and Dean Hadley provide the heart, lifeblood and spirit of the team, while Mikey Lewis has grown from young talent to world class star in that environment.

Rovers have given heart to everyone, and smashed the big-four ceiling.

Albeit they are part of that illustrious five, Bradford fans will need to be be patient, but the promise is there as a business and a club if they get things right.