Bradford Bulls were forced to re-draw their pitch markings just hours before Sunday’s game against Featherstone Rovers after the RFL expressed concerns about the pitch dimensions in the interests of player and spectator safety.
The Bulls, who are currently tenants of Dewsbury’s Tetley’s Stadium this year after a dispute surrounding Odsal Stadium, were told by the RFL at lunchtime on Sunday that their pitch did not comply fully with its regulations.
League Express has been told that there must be a three-metre area between the dead-ball line and the fencing to ensure maximum safety for all those in attendance. That was not in place when the match commissioners arrived at Dewsbury on Sunday.
That then prompted a dramatic eleventh-hour discussion between all parties, which saw both coaches, John Kear and James Webster, reportedly have to agree to new pitch dimensions just two hours before kick-off.
As the Bulls are tenants of the stadium, it was reportedly an issue for the stadium management team to resolve, and it is understood that the in-goal areas were subsequently reduced in order to meet the regulations required to get a game staged without any concerns.