Five months after Championship strugglers Bradford Bulls confirmed legendary NRL boss Geoff Toovey would be their new coach, the Australian has finally been granted a visa to begin the daunting task of hauling the Bulls out of relegation trouble.
The Bulls have been in limbo for months waiting on a visa application for Toovey, repeatedly saying the delay was due to be sorted.
And, with Bradford still on minus points and facing a race against time to avoid relegation to League 1, Toovey admits he’s just pleased he can begin work at long last.
He told the Telegraph and Argus: “It’s not exactly a relief, but it’s pleasing that it’s out of the way now. It’s one less question that always gets answered – or doesn’t get answered!
“It was a procedural thing and we had to do the right thing by the laws – we’ve done that and now we can crack on.
“It was frustrating knowing that it was going to happen but having to go through that time process which dragged on a fair bit.”
And Toovey insists he never once considered leaving the Bulls and the challenge of avoiding relegation.
He continued: “My history tells people that I don’t walk away from a challenge. This is a very big challenge and we’ve got a fair task ahead of us unfortunately.
“The last couple of months has been very difficult with injuries and now suspensions, so this is one positive step and hopefully we can take another one by winning at the weekend.”