BRADFORD Bulls have spent years in the Super League wilderness.
One of the most successful teams in Super League history and one of only four teams to ever in the Grand Final, the Bulls have been consigned to the Championship and even League One for the past eight years.
Relegation from the top flight at the end of 2014 coincided with extreme financial difficulties with the Bulls suffering greatly.
Having said that, a core group of Bradford fans continued to support their club through thick and thin and whilst the 2022 Championship season was a disappointing one, the Bulls have been working hard to rebuild for 2023.
With the departure of John Kear, the Bulls lost one of the most respected coaches in the game, but under Mark Dunning, Bradford have been able to bring in Leeds Rhinos pair Jack Walker and Bodene Thompson whilst Huddersfield Giants duo Fenton Rogers and George Roby have made the move to Odsal on season-long loans.
Add into the mix the capture of ex-Castleford Tigers halfback Tom Holmes and Bradford have the nucleus of a top-four Championship side – and the club may not be finished there for 2023 either.
Alongside what is hoped to be on-field improvement, the club are also involved in a potentially groundbreaking new Odsal redevelopment that could change the future of the Bulls as well as the city of Bradford.
A modern ‘Wembley in the north’ isn’t unrealistic with plans submitted for a potential levelling up grant from the government and the city certainly has a big case to attract the millions necessary.
For long-suffering Bradford fans, the 2010s was the worst decade in the club’s history with a number of liquidations and relegations ripping the heart out of the city, but the Bulls are now certainly heading in the right direction – the recent spate of singings proves that.
