Can Brian Noble bring back the glory days to Bradford Bulls? Rugby League World caught up with the coaching legend to find out what motivated him to return for a second stint at the Odsal helm.
IT MIGHT be an old face back at the helm of Bradford Bulls in 2025, but for Brian Noble the new year also signals a new era for the Odsal club.
Long gone are the glory days of Noble’s last reign at the club, when the former star player led the Bulls to three Grand Final successes (2001, 2003 and 2005), two League Leaders’ Shields (2001 and 2003), the 2003 Challenge Cup and the World Club Challenge crown in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
It was the very height of Bullmania and the sort of days the fans on the terracing would love to see again.
And while now is about creating a new legacy with a new group of players, those glory days will not be forgotten and used as inspiration in the months ahead.
“What we’re trying now has nothing to do with what we have achieved previously, it’s about a new legacy,” Noble told Rugby League World.
“Focussing on the past can sometimes drag you back as much as it can drive you forward and I just want the club to do really well and be respected as a good team, and I want people to know that we will work hard and try to improve every week.
“I have never liked talking about trophies or big games. They may come around at the end of the year, but for now, it’s all about what we do and what we learn before them.
“Yes we have to pay homage to the great 10 years that the club had and understand why they were so good. Will I call upon some of the players involved in those days to speak to this group? Of course I will, but this new adventure we’re on now is a progression of what has been going on for four or five years.
“At one point Bradford Bulls were a worldwide phenomenon and a name on everyone’s lips. There aren’t many clubs that have the standing that this club had and their story is one of a rollercoaster ride and a half.
“At the top of that rollercoaster I was privileged enough to work with a group of players that were unbelievably good and fully committed to the cause.
“If we can get the same commitment from the current crop of players then we’re in for another good ride.”
But no matter how well the Bulls perform once the season gets underway with the visit of London Broncos on Sunday, 16th February, a place in Super League may still be out of their grasp if their IMG score hasn’t increased sufficiently.
Batley’s Kevin Nicholas and Mark Sawyer of Dewsbury recently put forward a proposal that would see the winner of the Championship Grand Final, if they were a Grade B club, earn promotion to the top flight to either replace the lowest ranked Grade B club in Super League or become an additional club if all clubs in Super League are Grade A.
With the Bulls’ aims for this season, they likely saw it as a blow when the proposal was voted against by the other clubs. Still, for Noble, off-field decisions cannot be allowed to detract from the job he wants to see done on it by the strong and experienced squad the Bulls have built for the task ahead.
“My ambition, and the club’s ambition is to be back in Super League and that will take a lot of dedication from a lot of people,” added Noble, who admits promotion could be the perfect way to step back from the game.
“We’re still a part-time club so the commitment needed to achieve that is huge.
“This club doesn’t want gimmes, we want to earn our stripes and be part of Super League on merit. It is quite humbling when I walk Odsal, Tong (training ground) or on a matchday and see so many people enthused as to what the club might do.
“We can’t just say we’re Bradford Bulls, we’re a good club – that doesn’t wash – you can’t just go on a name. We have to show that we are a good club on the field.
“We have to show the game that we are worthy of Super League and the higher up the league ladder we can finish will help to put the pressure on the powers that be.
“I do think IMG is a worthwhile attempt to improve standards in the game and you can see that a lot of clubs have improved. But my driver has always been that if you’re winning games and are nearer the top than the bottom then they should look at you.
“So all we can do as a group of players and a football staff is to finish as high up as we possibly can. We know the rules, so we’ll play by them.
“If it does transpire that the Bulls get back into Super League, then it will be a wonderful achievement and I might be able to throw the whistle away and walk away with my head held high.”
Noble’s return to the Bulls hot seat comes 18 months after he initially rejoined the club in a consultancy role.
He temporarily stepped up to coach the side alongside Lee Greenwood when Mark Dunning left in May 2023 until Eamon O’Carroll took over at the start of the following year.
But following O’Carroll’s departure to join Super League side St Helens as an assistant to Paul Wellens, Noble took the decision to return to the coal face of coaching for the first time since leaving Salford in early 2014.
Despite being linked with various coaching roles since then, Noble has instead opted for director of rugby or consultancy roles at clubs such as Toronto Wolfpack, London Broncos and Gloucestershire All Golds. He has also kept his hand in the game with commentary and punditry roles with the BBC.
So why has he chosen now to return to the cut and thrust of life as a head coach?
“You have to enjoy this job and I’d got to the point when wins weren’t lasting long enough,” added Noble, who is excited to be working alongside Greenwood once again as well as new coaching recruit Keith Senior.
“You’d win on a Sunday afternoon, but that feeling had gone by 9pm on the Sunday night because you were starting to think about the next game.
“And losses were lasting too long, you couldn’t get rid of that feeling until the week after so I probably wasn’t as nice to people as I thought I was. I’m not saying I was a psychopath, but it did hang with you and affect your personality.
“I have been offered a few coaching roles since I finished at Salford, but there was always a reluctance there to take them because of that.
“But in the last year, working with Eamon and Lee I did a little bit more coaching and tried to influence as many people as I could. Thankfully they let me have a say and, the bottom line is, I am enjoying it again.
“We have brought eight or nine new players in for the new season, and we have a lot of good systems in place. We did some really good things last season but there’s still a lot to do.
“I felt that a bit of stability was needed around the club and I feel that I can offer that by working alongside Lee.
“It was a conscious decision to understand that I am giving up half of my personal life to do this, but I don’t mind because rugby league has always been a hobby as well as a job.
“I know the game has moved on, but there are also some core principles that are still as relevant today as they were in the 70s, 80s and right the way through to now.
“As a coach you need to know what works and what doesn’t in the modern game and try to imply those tactic and technicalities. As well as my media work, watching three or four games a weekend and everything else I have done in the game, hopefully, I have got a good grasp of the game.
“I also still have some very good friends at a high level in the game that I can get honest answers and opinions from.
“People here wear their heart on their sleeve and have a real affinity with the club and from what I have seen over the last 18 months, I know for a fact I am going to enjoy this added responsibility of effectively running the joint. But I have got some really good staff, and some really talented people alongside me, so the job is a whole lot easier because of that.
“Lee is an outstanding coach. He is the rocket scientist out of us both – he’ll come up with the plays, he’s another footy nut so he watches as many games as he can and is very meticulous.
“He takes the lead on actual coaching a lot of the time and I’ll put brakes on or ramp things up when it’s needed.
“Keith is a new voice coming in and will help with what we’re trying to do. He will add a lot verbally to the group and brings a vast knowledge of the game.
“The great thing here is that we are all allowed an opinion, but for us all, it’s always about the players improving most weeks.
“If we can install that willingness within the players to get better each week, then we can only be on to a good thing.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 504 (January 2025)
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