KURT HAGGERTY believes Bradford Bulls’ style will bring the best out of Sam Eseh after making the prop their first signing for 2027.
Eseh, 22, has signed a three-year deal to join from Wigan Warriors, despite becoming a regular this season after failing to make an appearance in his first two years there.
The Wakefield Trinity product and former Hull FC loanee said: “I like the way Kurt plays, he’s a great coach and I think the way Bradford play will suit me a lot.”
Haggerty expanded on that by explaining how Eseh’s offloading game will suit the more adventurous style he has brought to Bartercard Odsal.
“He’s done his job and made a name for himself at Wigan, but we can give him an opportunity to get more minutes under his belt and unlock that offensive game I know he has,” said the coach.
“He’s got a point of difference because he can break tackles and offload. It’s something you may not see at Wigan because that’s not their style, but at his previous clubs he’s had an offload and it’s something we’d like to unlock here at the Bulls.
“I think it’s a pretty big statement from the club. He’s a fantastic young man, extremely polite, so I’m really looking forward to working with him, firstly as a character, and also as a rugby player.
“He’s a big body, he’s athletic and aggressive, and he’s young and English. He’s everything we’ve been looking for. I can’t wait to coach him.”
More signings are expected to follow as Bradford evolve their squad for a second Super League campaign after eleven years away.
“We’ve got around ten out of contract so it’s a big bulk of the squad,” added Haggerty.
“But I still think we did some good recruitment in getting boys on two- or three-year deals.
“It (recruitment) is an ongoing process between me, Jason Hirst (chief executive) and Brian Noble (de facto director of rugby).
“It’s consumed my life for the last month or so but we’ve got to get the right people here.
“We do play a bit differently to everybody else, so identifying the right player for the Bulls’ style is difficult.”