Bradford Bulls are back in Super League, and Ethan Ryan is also back with his hometown club as they aim to cement their return to the top flight with a few surprises against their more established rivals.
SATURDAY, 14th February, 2026 will be a special day in the history of Bradford Bulls.
While couples up and down the country are celebrating Valentine’s Day, thousands of Bulls fans will be enjoying a date night with a difference.
For that will be the day they have longed for since the club’s relegation from Super League at the end of the 2014 season. Whether watching live at the MKM Stadium in Hull or at home on Sky Sports, those fans will finally witness Bradford back in the top flight.
It will be an emotional evening for all involved, not least returning Bradford Bulls winger Ethan Ryan, even if – due to injury – he will have to wait a little longer to achieve his boyhood ambition of taking to a Super League field in the famous red, amber and black shirt.
A Bradford fan growing up, Ryan made his debut in 2016, when the club were in the Championship, and soon became an integral part of the first team. He remained loyal through another period of financial hardship, sticking by them when they dropped down to League One in 2018.
His try-scoring exploits were catching the eye of many, and by the end of 2019, he had been offered the chance to do something he thought he’d never get the chance to do with the Bulls – call himself a Super League player. So he signed for Hull KR and began his life at the top.
After four seasons there, he made the switch to Salford Red Devils, without any indication of what fate had in store for him just two years later.
Bradford’s rise up the IMG points rating table, coupled with Salford’s own financial situation, paved the way for Ryan to return to his first club, his first love, whilst also maintaining his Super League status.
“As someone who was a Bradford fan when they were growing up, who then got to play for the club, one of the first things I thought about when I was contacted about coming back was how it’s going to feel to play for them in Super League,” Ryan, who scored 88 tries in 98 appearances during his first spell at the club, told Rugby League World.
“It’s going to be quite emotional to represent Bradford in Super League. Not just for me doing it with my boyhood club, but just to see how far the club has come since it hit its lowest point. I know how much that day will mean to everyone involved – not just me.
“I’ve seen a lot of dark days at Bradford through different ownerships, administrations, and a liquidation, and now here’s a club that’s finally on the up again and getting back to where they have had so many successful years in the past.
“Whether it’s the fans, the players, people around the city, everyone has the same buzz, and everyone is getting behind us.
“When I left to go to Hull KR, it was hard to think that Bradford would pull themselves out of the pit they were in, so it just goes to show that we’ve got people here who genuinely care about the club and want it to be successful.
“It definitely feels like we’ve risen from the ashes.”
Long gone are the days of Lesley Vainikolo, Shontayne Hape, Jamie Peacock, and Robbie and Henry Paul lighting up Super League during the Bulls’ decade of dominance. In its place is new head coach Kurt Haggerty, who made 25 appearances as a player for Bradford in 2016, and a virtually new-look Bulls squad comprising of plenty of players who have been there and done it in Super League over the years.
Many, like Ryan, have made the move from beleaguered Salford, but despite the high level of experience throughout the squad, some quarters, including some bookies, are tipping the Bulls to finish bottom of the pile.
“I’ve been part of teams before where we’ve been tipped to finish bottom, because people say we didn’t have enough player depth, or that we just weren’t good enough, and then we’ve ended up doing really well,” admitted Ryan.
“Look at Salford in the first year I went there, we were tipped to finish bottom, but we ended up coming in the top four.
“People can have their opinions, and there’ll be a lot of people wanting us to fail. We’ll be quite a big underdog in a lot of games, but we won’t focus on any of that outside noise. We’ll just go about our business quietly, but we do it in a way where we’ve prepared well and have a game plan to win.
“What people will see from us this year is maximum effort every week. There is a lot of potential in the group in terms of what they are willing to give, and we’re all chomping at the bit. There are also players who haven’t played Super League before but have the quality to do so.
“There is a core group of fans that have always stuck by us through thick and thin. They have seen it all, so a strong season on the field this year will be the best way to repay that faith from them, and we will be giving it our all for them.
“It’s been a long time since we were in Super League, and hopefully this group will now be forever remembered as the one that got us going again in that league.
“With the new badge and a new squad, it’s almost like a fresh page in a book. It’s a new era now, and while we still like to focus on the club that used to be successful, it’s time now for a new group to step up, and hopefully that’s what we can do.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 517 (February 2026)