BRADFORD BULLS have announced the signing of explosive forward Ronan Michael on a two-year deal from the start of the 2025 season.
The 24-year-old joins from York Knights, where he has become a key player at the LNER Community Stadium since his initial loan move from Huddersfield Giants in 2022, before penning a permanent stay.
An Irish international, Michael featured in the Rugby League World Cup for the Wolfhounds alongside fellow new recruit Joe Keyes and he will also link up with former roommate Mitch Souter in 2025, following a spell in Australia with Canberra Raiders.
Ronan insists the exciting direction the club is heading in was a huge factor in his decision to join – alongside being able to learn off the plethora of talent Eamon O’Carroll will have at his disposal next term.
“I am really looking forward to it, it’s a really good opportunity for me and my career to play under Eamon who I’ve known since the very early days when I was 18 and he was an Assistant Coach with Ireland,” said Michael.
“Eamon was a big factor in my decision having known him a long time obviously but Bradford is an exciting club going in an exciting direction, it’s an exciting time and I want to be a part of that.
“Me and Mitch [Souter] lived together at his house with his family when I was in Australia with Canberra Under-20s, he is a really good mate and I am looking forward to linking back up with him, he was in my ear telling me to come!
“I just want to come in, have a good pre-season, do what I do best and learn a lot as well – there are a lot of senior blokes at Bradford and there are more coming in too, so I can learn a bit from them.
“The combination of the young and older lads is exciting and being able to pick their brains and learn off them is the best thing for me and my development. I am just looking forward to ripping in with the lads, getting a good pre-season under my belt and kick on from there.
“Odsal is a tough place to go as a visiting player because of the fans, I am really looking forward to having them on my side for a change! The fans at Bradford are a massive influence on the game with them being as loud as they come, so I am really looking forward to that.”
Head Coach Eamon O’Carroll has spoken of his delight at Michael’s arrival in 2025: “I am really pleased, Ronan is a great lad who has worked extremely hard to get to where he is now. I first crossed paths with him when I retired in 2017 and spent some time with the Ireland camp where he was up and coming and had a really good work ethic, with a desperation to achieve things,” said O’Carroll.
“He took himself out of his comfort zone to further develop and even went to Australia where he ended up living with Mitch [Souter] and his family!
“I am really happy for him and I am happy for us as I know his quality and he has aspirations to further develop so he will be a huge boost for us.
“I have watched him closely throughout the year, I obviously know of him having followed his journey but he’s impressed and the exciting thing is he wants to get better, he can get better and I feel he is coming to the right place to do so.
“It was important we worked really hard early on to nail what we wanted our squad to look like next year and in terms of the retentions we wanted to make as well. We have learned some lessons and we are making sure we have the right balance next year so we don’t have the same issues as we have encountered this year.
“It’s about bringing in the quality but quality people too and we’ve done really well in that respect and there’s more to come as well.”
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