ANDY WILSON was at Odsal on Friday night and gives his reaction to a great night for Bradford Bulls fans.

GOOD things come to those who wait.

The patience of anyone involved with, or with the remotest soft spot for, the Bradford Bulls has been tested to an extreme level over the two decades since their 2006 World Club Challenge win against Wests Tigers – the ninth, and last, major trophy of a glorious period which turned out to be built on flaky financial foundations.

So having to wait 59 minutes for their first try in a stodgy West Yorkshire scrap on Friday night was nothing to complain about too loudly – especially on a crisp Odsal evening which stirred so many memories of the better times that really do seem to be coming back.

The slick runaround move that sent Leon Ruan surging over on the left was followed by three more tries in the last 17 minutes, two scored and the other made by Jayden Nikorima on a terrific Bulls debut – securing a third straight home win for Kurt Haggerty’s 2026 vintage, and lifting them to fourth in the Super League table.

All this in front of a 10,031 crowd, the first five-figure attendance at Odsal since the 2019 Challenge Cup tie in which John Kear’s Bulls shocked Richard Agar’s Leeds Rhinos, itself an outlier in a decade in which Bradford’s average gates in the lower divisions have been less than half that, despite the admirable loyalty of the club’s hard core.

Yes, Friday’s figure was swelled by more than 1,000 youngsters attracted to Odsal by DJ Sigala rather than Nikorima, and the chance to be part of a world record number of backing dancers at 7.45pm rather than watching the Super League derby that followed.

But working with external agencies to create a sense of occasion – in this case Pro-Excel and Dance Yorkshire – and to cover Odsal’s infamous shale track with banks of teenagers in white T-shirts, some of whom had travelled from Ireland and the Isle of Man, was an admittedly extreme example of the sort of initiative the Bulls pioneered in Super League’s early seasons. The much-missed Peter Deakin would surely have nodded approvingly.

Asking what the Bulls bring to Super League is now a Pythonesque question along the lines of what have the Romans ever done for us – and the group of investors who have been brought together under the previous ownership of Nigel Wood, and the continued stewardship of Jason Hirst, surely deserve recognition for reminding us all of that.

Despite their first three home games coming against the competition’s smallest travelling supports, Bradford’s average gate currently stands at 9,600 – come September, it will be interesting to see how many other clubs have managed that for the visits of Catalans, Toulouse and the Giants.

Castleford will be looking forward to welcoming a decent Bulls following to Wheldon Road next week even on a Thursday night, and that’s followed by the return of the Easter derby between Bradford and Leeds on Good Friday – a mouthwatering prospect which will stir more memories of Fielden, McDermott, Burrow and the Pauls, and has Bulls officials whispering off the record about a 15,000 gate.

Logically, the return of Bradford must also produce more Sky and SuperLeague+ subscribers, and the name of the Bulls still resonates beyond the sport’s regular bubble, whether in radio bulletins or the occasional broadsheet feature.

Tiptoeing cautiously on to controversial ground, perhaps this is another way to view the RFL’s decision to buy, and arguably save, Odsal in 2012. It meant 13 years of immensely damaging and morale-sapping publicity for the sport and its governing body, and raised difficult questions about favourable treatment for one member club.

Does this eventual re-emergence of the Bulls as a potential Super League heavyweight finally justify all of that? Even the NRL may have a view on that soon. Certainly Bradford’s success already this season is vindication for the IMG grading system which ranked them the ninth strongest Rugby League club in England even playing in the Championship, the Bulls having been unable to secure promotion in the old-fashioned on-field manner.

Huddersfield are very much at the other end of that spectrum, still pointless after five matches in their 24th consecutive Super League season, and undeniably dragging down the competition in terms of average attendances, broadcast viewers and travelling support – as reflected by last year’s IMG position of 12th.

There were sage words from Luke Robinson when asked about that in yet another post-match inquest, which he handled with typical courtesy and class. “This isn’t anything new – it’s just when we’re winning it goes a bit quiet.”

As Robinson added, he’s been around long enough to remember brighter days for the Giants, stirring Yorkshire nights of their own in the 2013 season when Danny Brough was in his pomp and Paul Anderson’s team won the League Leaders’ Shield.

Robinson, whose sacking was announced on Sunday, was one of many good people at the Huddersfield club who deserve much better than the collective kicking they are all receiving, in his case horribly undermined by an injury epidemic, which even his rival coach Haggerty described as ridiculous.

“You’d have to be pretty daft not to have an understanding of it,” said Robinson.

And patience can often prove a virtue – just ask the Bulls.