BRADFORD BULLS assistant coach Lee Greenwood believes the three promoted Super League sides have defied expectations in 2026.
The Bulls, alongside York Knights and Toulouse Olympique, were elevated to the top flight due to IMG gradings and an independent panel respectively.
Most pundits had all three sides to be fighting it out at the lower end of the ladder, but all three have won five of their top flight games so far, with entrenched Super League side Huddersfield Giants currently rock bottom.
And Greenwood believes that the Bulls have showed up on the whole this season.
“Everyone presumed the three promoted sides would be fighting at the bottom of the Super League table,” Greenwood said.
“It’s been a bit of a scrap, bringing some other teams into it as well. There is still a difference when you play the top teams with the squad depth and that shows when you play them.
“But, I think we are all battling away. We are disappointed with recent performances but we have taken teams on, we have scrapped and made it difficult for teams.
“We have picked up some great wins at home and we wanting that to continue all season. We want to make sure we get back on it quickly.”
Ahead of the Bulls’ fixture against Huddersfield Giants on Friday, Greenwood revealed that a number of injured players are still keen to play.
“Leon (Ruan) started cramping up at the back end of the game (last Sunday’s Magic Weekend defeat to Leeds Rhinos) and he has been struggling with that since,” Greenwood said.
“We have made the decision not to select him this week.
“There are people putting their hands up who are still carrying knocks.
“Dan Russell, Zac Fulton and Loghan Lewis are all busting their gut to be part of the team.
“Whether we put them all in or some of them, we will make the decision as late as possible.”
An update was also given on Will Gardiner, who was knocked out two weeks ago against St Helens.
“It just looked more severe, I think, and his reaction straight after made it look a little bit worse, maybe, than a normal concussion,” Greenwood said.
“He’s back in the mix, back in the running, back training and everything. It’s good because I thought he’d be longer than a week out because of how he looked.”