NEW Bradford head coach Eamon O’Carroll will be hoping he can pick up where Lee Greenwood left off at the end of the 2023 season.
Greenwood helped steer the Bulls to a third-place finish and a semi-final play-off game, with former Newcastle boss O’Carroll since picking up the reins.
The Bulls have lost the likes of Myles Lawford, Brad England and Dec Patton whilst Tom Holmes will likely not play in 2024 following his diagnosis with a rare form of cancer. But the Odsal outfit have recruited shrewdly, bringing in highly-rated Mitch Souter from the NRL as well as Featherstone pair John Davies and Daniel Smith.
Off the field, the Bulls are growing, with the club expressing an interest in bringing Odsal back under their control, whilst on it they have been building for a number of seasons. Could 2024 be the season Bradford finally establish their dominance in the second tier?
Watch out for… MITCH SOUTER has earned considerable praise already during the 1895 Cup, Challenge Cup and pre-season games with his sniping from dummy-half and tenacity in defence striking a chord with the Bradford fans. Having only signed a one-year deal, he will want to impress if he hopes to stay longer.
2024 squad: 1 Tom Holmes, 2 Ben Blackmore, 3 Joe Arundel, 4 Kieran Gill, 5 Jorge Taufua, 6 Lee Gaskell, 7 Jordan Lilley, 8 Jordan Baldwinson, 9 George Flanagan, 10 Ebon Scurr, 12 Chester Butler, 13 Michael Lawrence, 14 John Davies, 15 Daniel Smith, 16 Keven Appo, 17 Eribe Doro, 18 Mitch Souter, 19 Sam Hallas, 20 Billy Jowitt, 21 Jayden Myers, 22 Will Oakes, 23 Dan Okoro, 24 Aidan McGowan, 25 Corey Johnson, 30 Eliot Peposhi – Zac Fulton.
Rugby League World predicts: 3rd
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 494 (March 2024)
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