Bradford Bulls

Bradford Bulls

Club information
Full name	Bradford Bulls Rugby League Club
Nickname(s)	The Bulls, The Steam Pigs
Founded	1907
Current details
Ground(s)	Odsal Stadium (27,491[1])
CEO(s)	Ryan Duckett
Coach(s)	Mick Potter
Manager(s)	Stuart Duffy
Captain(s)	Andy Lynch
Competition	Super League
2010	10th
Home colours		Away colours
Records
Challenge Cups	1943-44, 1946-47, 1948-49, 2000, 2003

Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league. They are five times Challenge Cup holders, six times League / Super League champions, three times World Club Challenge champions and eleven time winners of the Yorkshire Cup.

Since 1934 (with the exception of the 2001 and 2002 seasons) Bradford has played its home games at Odsal Stadium to the south of the city centre. The team jersey is white with red, black and amber hoops.

Bradford formed as a rugby league club under the name Bradford Northern in 1907, from a split within Bradford F.C. (itself a 1895 founder club of the Northern Union which switched to playing Association Football).

The 1940s and early 1950s were very successful for the club, but in the following decade its fortunes and attendances declined to an all time low, with Northern going out of business in 1963. It was reformed the following year with the financial support of fans and former players. The revived club had a mixed career over the next 3 decades as it struggled to replicate its former glories. Despite winning the Championship twice in the 1978-79 and 1980-81 seasons, financial problems resurfaced in the mid eighties, forcing the club to transfer list many of its players.

Renamed the Bradford Bulls in 1996 on the advent of Super League, with an injection of talent from New Zealand and Australia they became one of the major success stories of the summer season era. The highlight was the 2003 season, when the Bulls won all of the major rugby league honours, (Challenge Cup, Super League Championship, World Club Championship, and Minor Premier).

Bradford's main historical rivalry is with the Leeds Rhinos, although their traditional derby is with Halifax RLFC and they have a lesser rivalry with the Huddersfield Giants.

History

Further information: History of the Bradford Bulls

Bradford FC: 1863-1907

Main article: Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.

The original Bradford Football Club was formed in 1863 and played rugby football, subsequently joining the Rugby Football Union. Park Avenue was established as the home ground in 1880 and the club achieved its first major success by winning the Yorkshire Cup in 1884. In 1895, along with cross-town neighbours Manningham F.C., Bradford was among 22 clubs to secede from the Rugby Football Union after the historic meeting at the George Hotel in Huddersfield in response to a dispute over "broken time" payments to players who were thus part-time professionals. These 22 clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union, which eventually became the Rugby Football League.

Bradford enjoyed some success in the Northern Union. In 1903-04, the team finished level on points with Salford at the top of the league and then won the resulting play-off 5-0. In 1905-06, Bradford beat Salford 5-0 to win the Challenge Cup and were runners up in the Championship. In 1906-07, Bradford won the Yorkshire Cup 8-5 against Hull Kingston Rovers. Meanwhile, Manningham had run into financial difficulties and, despite a summer archery contest that generated enough money to ensure their survival, its members were persuaded to swap codes and play association football instead. Manningham was invited to join the Football League in 1903, in an attempt to promote football in a rugby-dominated region, and the newly renamed Bradford City A.F.C. was voted into full membership of the Second Division without having played a game of football, having a complete team or even being able to guarantee a ground.

The creation of Bradford City led to demands for association football at Park Avenue too. The ground had already hosted some football matches including one in the 1880s between Blackburn Rovers and Blackburn Olympic F.C.. In 1895, a Bradford side had beaten a team from Moss Side, Manchester, by 4-1 in front of 3,000 spectators. With becoming successful at Bradford City, a meeting was called of the Bradford FC members on April 15, 1907 to decide the rugby club's future. An initial vote appeared to favour continuing in the Northern Union, but then opinion shifted towards rugby union and the Chairman, Mr Briggs, used his influence to swing the committee behind the proposed move to association football. This act, sometimes referred to as "The Great Betrayal", led to Bradford FC becoming the Bradford Park Avenue association football club. The minority faction decided to split and form a new Northern Union club, appropriately called Bradford Northern, which applied for and was granted Bradford FC's place in the Northern Union for the 1907-08 season. Bradford Northern's first home ground was the Greenfield Athletic stadium in Dudley Hill, to the south of the city.

Bradford Northern: 1907-1963

Northern moved to Birch Lane in 1908. Bradford council offered the club a site for a new stadium between Rooley Lane and Mayo Avenue in 1927. However the RFL said the site was too small and the club kept on looking. Before moving to Odsal, Northern had had two other homes at Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill and at Birch Lane which was part of the Bowling Old Lane cricket ground, although at times they also had to hire Valley Parade as the capacity at Birch Lane was insufficient for large matches.

On 20 June 1933 Bradford Northern signed a ten-year lease with Bradford council for a former quarry being used as a waste dump at Odsal Top. It was turned into the biggest stadium outside Wembley. The Bradford Northern team played its first match there on 1 September 1934. Success came in the 1940s with a number of cup wins: the Yorkshire cup in 1940-1, 1942-3, 1944-5, 1945-6, 1948-9 and 1949–50; and the Challenge cup 1943-4, 1946-7 and 1948-9. In the championship Bradford found it difficult to win either before the war or after despite being runners up in 1942-3 and 1947-8. On Saturday 3 November 1945, Bradford Northern met Wakefield Trinity in the final of the Yorkshire Cup held at Thrum Hall, Halifax. Wakefield began the match as favourites, they had lost only one of thirteen matches thus far in the season. However, Bradford won 5-2 and lifted the Yorkshire Cup for the fourth time in six seasons.

Bradford defeated Leeds 8-4 to win the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 1947. The 1947-8 Challenge Cup final was notable as it was the first rugby league match to be attended by the reigning monarch, King George VI, who presented the trophy. It was also the first televised rugby league match as it was broadcast to the Midlands. Unfortunately Bradford lost 8-3 to Wigan and Frank Whitcombe became the first player to win the Lance Todd trophy on the losing side. The 1949 Challenge Cup final was sold out for first time as 95,050 spectators saw Bradford beat Halifax. In 1951-2 Bradford were runners up in the league but beat New Zealand at Odsal in the first floodlit football match of any code in the North of England.

In 1953, a crowd of 69,429 watched Bradford play Huddersfield in the Challenge Cup third round. This was Northern’s highest ever attendance. Northern also won the Yorkshire Cup final 7-2 against Hull. Bradford Northern and Leigh were the first rugby league clubs to stage matches on a Sunday in December 1954, although there was opposition from the Sunday Observance lobby. Bradford Northern's support declined rapidly in the 1963 season, attracting a record low crowd of 324 against Barrow. Northern went out of business on 10 December 1963 having played just 13 matches; winning 1 and losing 12, scoring 109 points and conceding 284.

1964-1995

A meeting on 14 April 1964 saw 1,500 people turn out to discuss the formation of a new club, and those present promised a £1000 to help get plans for the new organisation underway. Amongst those who led proceedings were former players Joe Phillips and Trevor Foster. On 20 July 1964, Bradford Northern (1964) Ltd came into existence. The club's new side had been built for around £15,000 and had Jack Wilkinson as coach. On 22 August 1964, Hull Kingston Rovers provided the opposition in the reformed club's first match and 14,500 spectators turned out to show their support, as Odsal hosted its first 10,000 plus gate for a Bradford Northern match since 1957.

The reformed club won its first cup in 1965-66 by beating Hunslet 17-8 in the final of the Yorkshire Cup. In 1972-73 Bradford lost the Challenge Cup final against Featherstone Rovers 33-14. In 1973-74 Bradford won the Second Division Championship and were promoted back to the First Division. During this season Keith Mumby made his début, becoming the Bradford's youngest player at only 16 years of age, kicking 12 goals and scoring a try in the match against Doncaster. He went on to make a record 576 appearances for the club. In 1974-75 Bradford won the Regal Trophy 3-2 against Widnes.

Peter Fox joined Bradford as coach for the first time in 1977-78. Bradford won the Premiership final 17-8 against Widnes and were also Championship runners-up.

In 1978-79 Bradford appeared in another Premiership final this time losing 24-2 to Leeds. A year later Bradford won the Championship and Regal Trophy, Peter Fox winning the award for Coach of the Year. In 1980-81 the club made it back-to-back championships. In 1981-82, Bradford lost the Yorkshire Cup final 10-5 against Castleford and lost again in 1982-83, this time 18-7 against Hull. Keith Mumby won the award for First Division Player of the Year while Brian Noble won the Young Player award.

In 1985, Ellery Hanley left Northern to join Wigan for a then record transfer deal, worth £80,000 and a player exchange involving Steve Donlan and Phil Ford. By November 1987, Bradford had cash-flow problems and the local council refused to help financially, but appointed a special committee to administer the clubs' finances. In December 1987, desperate for cash, Bradford transfer-listed 22 players for a total of £210,000 plus Phil Ford for £120,000.

In 1987-88 Bradford won the Yorkshire Cup final replay against Castleford 11-2 after drawing 12-12. Ron Willey coached Bradford Northern for a short stint in 1989-90 and led them to the Premiership final and success in the Yorkshire Cup final when they beat Featherstone Rovers 20-14.

David Hobbs became coach at Northern in 1990 until he left for Wakefield Trinity in 1994. Bradford lost the Regal Trophy against Warrington 12-2 in 1990-91. Peter Fox returned to Bradford for a second spell as coach in 1991, and in 1993-94 the last Championship before Super League, Bradford finished as runners-up behind Wigan on points difference. Fox left the club in 1995.

Summer era: 1996-present

In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to a summer season.^[2] As the sport in Britain entered a new era, Bradford rose to prominence. The club won the Super League championship in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005, the Challenge Cup in 2000 and 2003 and the World Club Challenge in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

Season summaries

P=Premiers, R=Runner-Ups, M=Minor Premierships, F=Finals Appearance, W=Wooden Spoons
(Brackets Represent Finals Games)

Competition	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Position	P	R	M	F	W	Coach	Captain	Main Article
Super League 1	22	17	0	5	3/12						Brian Smith	Robbie Paul	Bradford Bulls 1996
Super League 2	22	20	0	2	1/12	X					Matthew Elliott		Bradford Bulls 1997
Super League 3	23	12	0	11	5/12				X				Bradford Bulls 1998
Super League 4	30	25	1	4	1/14		X	X	X				Bradford Bulls 1999
Super League 5	28	20	3	5	3/12				X				Bradford Bulls 2000
Super League 6	28	22	1	5	1/12	X		X	X		Brian Noble		Bradford Bulls 2001
Super League 7	30	24	0	6	3/12		X		X				Bradford Bulls 2002
Super League 8	30	24	0	6	1/12	X		X	X				Bradford Bulls 2003
Super League 9	28	20	1	7	2/12		X		X				Bradford Bulls 2004
Super League 10	28	18	1	9	3/12	X			X			Jamie Peacock	Bradford Bulls 2005
Super League 11	28	16	2	10	4/12				X			Iestyn Harris	Bradford Bulls 2006
											Steve McNamara
Super League 12	27	17	1	9	3/12				X			Paul Deacon	Bradford Bulls 2007
Super League 13	27	14	0	13	5/12				X				Bradford Bulls 2008
Super League 14	27	12	1	14	9/14								Bradford Bulls 2009
Super League 15	27	9	1	17	10/14						Lee St Hilaire	Andy Lynch	Bradford Bulls 2010
Super League 16	27	9	2	16	10/14						Mick Potter		Bradford Bulls 2011
Super League 17	27												Bradford Bulls 2012

Statistics and records

Main article: Bradford Bulls statistics

Honours^[3]

• World Club Championship
  • Winners: 2002, 2004, 2006

• Super League
  • Champions: 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005
  • Minor Premiers: 1999, 2001, 2003
  • Grand Finalists: 1999, 2002, 2004

• Challenge Cup
  • Winners: 1943-44, 1946–47, 1948–49, 2000, 2003
  • Runners-up: 1944-45, 1947–48, 1972–73, 1996, 1997, 2001

• RFL Championship
  • Champions: 1979-80, 1980–81
  • Beaten Finalists: 1947-48, 1951–52

• Second Division
  • Champions: 1973-74

• War Emergency League
  • Championship Winners: 1939-40, 1940–41, 1944–45
  • Beaten Finalists: 1941-42

• Regal Trophy
  • Winners: 1974-75, 1979–80
  • Runners-up: 1990-91, 1992–93

• Premiership
  • Winners: 1977-78
  • Runners-up: 1978-79, 1979–80, 1989–90

• Middlesex Rugby Union 7s
  • Winners: 2002

• Yorkshire Cup
  • Winners: 1940-41, 1941–42, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1953–54, 1965–66, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1989–90
  • Runners-up: 1913-14, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1991–92

• Yorkshire League
  • Winners: 1939-40, 1940–41, 1947–48

Stadium

For more details on this topic, see Odsal Stadium.

Odsal Stadium is a stadium situated in Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The venue is used for rugby league and has been the home ground of Bradford Bulls since 1934. Odsal has also hosted many other sports, including association football, speedway, stock car racing, basketball featuring the Harlem Globetrotters, wrestling, show jumping and kabaddi. The stadium boasts one of the largest attendances of all time for any UK sports event (102,569) when Halifax played Warrington on 5 May 1954.

2012 Squad

2012 Bradford Bulls Squad
First team squad								Coaching staff
1 Brett Kearney - FB, SO 2 Shaun Ainscough - WG 3 Paul Sykes - CE, FB 4 Keith Lulia - CE, SR 5 Adrian Purtell - WG 6 Luke Gale - SO, SH 7 Jarrod Sammut - HB, FB 8 Nick Scruton - PR 9 Heath L'Estrange (c) - HK 10 Manase Manuokafoa - PR 11 Olivier Elima - SR 12 Elliott Whitehead - SR 13 Jamie Langley (vc) - LF		14 Matt Diskin - HK 15 Bryn Hargreaves - PR 16 Craig Kopczak - PR 17 Ian Sibbit - SR 18 Chev Walker - SR, CE 19 Michael Platt - CE 20 James Donaldson - LF, SR 21 Danny Addy - LF, SR, SO 22 Ben Jeffries - SH 23 Tom Olbison - SR 24 Jason Crookes - WG 25 Tom Burgess - PR 26 Cain Southernwood - SH		27 Adam O'Brien - HK 28 Elliot Kear - WG 29 Kyle Briggs - SO 30 Liam McAvoy - PR 31 John Bateman - LF				Head coach Michael Potter Assistant coaches Francis Cummins Lee St Hilaire Legend: (c) Captain (vc) Vice captain

2012 Transfers

Ins

Nat	Name	Signed From	Fee	Date
	Keith Lulia	Newcastle Knights	2 Years	July 2011
	Luke Gale	Harlequins RL	2 Years	July 2011
	Adrian Purtell	Penrith Panthers	3 Years	August 2011
	Jarrod Sammut	Crusaders RL	1 Year	September 2011
	Elliot Kear	Crusaders RL	3 Years	October 2011
	Manase Manuokafoa	Parramatta Eels	1 Year	October 2011

Outs

	Name	Sold To	Fee	Date
	Dave Halley	Keighley Cougars	3 Month Loan	June 2011
	Patrick Ah Van	Widnes Vikings	2 Years	August 2011
	Marc Herbert			August 2011
	Shad Royston	Pia Donkeys	2 Years	August 2011
	Gareth Raynor	Released		September 2011
	Andy Lynch	Hull FC	2 Years	September 2011
	Vinny Finigan	Sheffield Eagles	1 Year	October 2011
	Steve Crossley	Dewsbury Rams	2 Years	October 2011
	Cain Southernwood	Dewsbury Rams	1 Year Loan	October 2011

Sponsorship

• 1980-1986 - SGS Glazing
• 1986-1987 - Wang Computers
• 1986-1992 - Websters
• 1993-1995 - Vaux Breweries
• 1996-1998 - Compaq
• 1999, - Asics
• 2000-2001, - Skylark
• 2002–present - JCT600

Kit supplier

• 1992 - 1995 - Ellgren
• 1996 - 1997 - Mitre
• 1998 - 1999 - Asics
• 2000 - 2002 - Joe Bloggs
• 2003 - Bulls.net
• 2004 - 2006 - ISC Sportswear
• 2007–Present - Kooga

Captains

From 1996 -

• Robbie Paul 1996 - 2004
• Jamie Peacock 2005
• Iestyn Harris 2006
• Paul Deacon 2007 - 2009
• Andy Lynch 2010–Present

Coaching register

For more details on coaches, see Bradford Bulls coaches.

See also

• Bradford Bulls statistics
• Bradford Bulls Academy
• Former Bradford Bulls Players
• Bradford Bulls Officials
• Bradford Bulls 2007
• Bradford Bulls 1997
• 2000 Challenge Cup
• 2003 Challenge Cup
• 2001 Super League Grand Final
• 2003 Super League Grand Final
• 2005 Super League Grand Final
• 2002 World Club Challenge
• 2004 World Club Challenge
• 2006 World Club Challenge

References

1. ^ "Stadiums in England". World Stadiums. http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/united_kingdom/england/yorkshire_humber.shtml. Retrieved 26 April 2011. 
2. ^ Dave Hadfield (1995-12-20). "Rugby's pounds 87m deal gives Murdoch transfer veto". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/rugbys-pounds-87m-deal-gives-murdoch-transfer-veto-1526582.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06. 
3. ^ "HONOURS BOARD". Bradford Bulls. http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/content/History/3581/HONOURS%20BOARD. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 

External links

• Bradford Bulls Website
• Bradford Bulls in T&A
• Bradford Bulls on Sky Sports
• Bradford on Super League Site
• Red Amber and Black
• BBC Sport-Rugby League
• Bradford Bulls Pro Club Page