Jump to content

Bradford Bulls

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Bradford Northern RLFC)
For other uses, see Bradford Bulls (disambiguation).

Bradford Bulls
Club information
Full nameBradford Bulls Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)The Bulls
Northern
Steam Pigs[1]
Short nameBradford Bulls
Colours Red, amber, black, and white
Founded1907; 117 years ago (1907)
Websitebradfordbulls.co.uk
Current details
Ground(s)
CoachBrian Noble
CaptainMichael Lawrence
CompetitionChampionship
2024 season3rd
Current season
Uniforms
Home colours
Away colours
Records
Championships6 (1979-80, 1980-81, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005)
Challenge Cups5 (1944, 1947, 1949, 2000, 2003)
World Club Challenges3 (2002, 2004, 2006)

The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league.[3]

The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup five times and three World Club Challenge titles. They have also won many smaller things such as The RFL Yorkshire Cup 11 times.

The club was originally founded as Bradford Northern, but were renamed Bradford Bulls in 1995. Bradford's main rivalries are with Leeds, Halifax and Huddersfield. They have played the majority of their existence at Odsal and their traditional kit colours are white with red, amber and black chevrons.

History

[edit]
Main article: History of Bradford Bulls

1863–1907: Bradford F.C.

[edit]
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. Initially the club played at Horton Cricket Ground, All Saints Road but were asked to leave because of damage to the pitch. They then moved to Laisteridge Lane and later North Park Road in Manningham. A nomadic existence continued as they then went on to Peel Park, then Girlington and Apperley Bridge.

Bradford Football Club and Bradford Cricket Club bought Park Avenue in 1879 and this resulted in the club becoming "Bradford Cricket, Athletic and Football Club". The club's headquarters were at the Talbot Darley Street, and later The Alexandra, Great Horton Road. The club achieved its first major success by winning the Yorkshire Cup in 1884.

After the 1890–91 season, Bradford along with other Yorkshire Senior clubs Batley, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Hunslet, Leeds, Liversedge, Manningham and Wakefield decided that they wanted their own county league starting in 1891 along the lines of a similar competition that had been played in Lancashire. The clubs wanted full control of the league but the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union would not sanction the competition as it meant giving up control of rugby football to the senior clubs.

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) and rugby league football was born.

Bradford enjoyed some success in the new competition. In the 1903–04 Northern Rugby Football Union season, 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 County Cup 8–5 against Hull Kingston Rovers.

During this time Manningham F.C. 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. Following the change at Bradford City, a meeting was called of the Bradford FC members on 15 April 1907 to decide the rugby club's future. An initial vote appeared to favour continuing in rugby league, 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 club to continue playing in the Northern Union, appropriately called "Bradford Northern", which applied for and was granted Bradford FC's place in the 1907–08 Northern Rugby Football Union season. Bradford Northern's first home ground was the Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill, to the south of the city. They based themselves at the Greenfield Hotel.

1907–1963: Bradford Northern

[edit]

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 NRFU said the site was too small and the club kept on looking. Before moving to Odsal, Bradford 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 to Bradford in the 1940s with a number of cup wins: the Yorkshire cup in 1940–41, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1948–49 and 1949–50; and the Challenge Cup 1943–44, 1946–47 and 1948–49. In the Championship Bradford found it difficult to win either before the war or after despite being runners up in 1942–43 and 1947–48. 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 Frank Whitcombe scoring the try converted by George Carmichael and lifted the Yorkshire Cup for the fourth time in six seasons.

Bradford defeated Leeds 8–4 to win the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley in 1947. The 1947–48 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. 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 the first time as 95,050 spectators saw Bradford beat Halifax. In 1951–52 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's third round. This was Bradford's highest ever attendance. They also won the Yorkshire Cup final 7–2 against Hull. Bradford 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's support declined rapidly in the 1963 season, attracting a record low crowd of 324 against Barrow. The club went out of business on 10 December 1963, having played just 13 matches; winning 1 and losing 12, scoring 109 points and conceding 284, the results were declared null and void, and expunged from the 1963–64 season's records.

1964–1995: Third club

[edit]

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 County 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 F.C. 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, Bradford finished as runners-up behind Wigan on points difference. Fox left the club in 1995.

1996–2011: Golden era

[edit]

In 1996, the first tier of English rugby league clubs changed from a winter to a summer season and played the inaugural Super League season.[4] Bradford dropped the 'Northern' name to become Bradford Bulls. Australian Brian Smith took over as head coach in 1995, with Matthew Elliott as his assistant. The Bulls won the Super League title in the 1997 season, the last before the Play off/ Grand Final structure was implemented in 1998.

When Smith left, Elliot coached the Bradford Bulls to the 1999 Super League Grand Final and in 2000 the Bulls won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 51 years with victory over Leeds in Edinburgh.

Brian Noble was appointed Bradford head coach in November 2000.[5] Noble took the Bradford Bulls to the 2001 Super League Grand Final in which they defeated the Wigan Warriors. As Super League VI champions, the Bulls played against 2001 NRL Premiers, the Newcastle Knights in the 2002 World Club Challenge. Noble oversaw Bradford's victory. He took the Bulls to the 2002 Super League Grand Final which was lost to St. Helens.

On 20 April 2006, Steve McNamara was promoted to head coach of Bradford[6] following Brian Noble's departure to Wigan. At the time he was the youngest coach in Britain. In his first season in charge, he guided Bradford to the Super League play-offs before the club were knocked out in the grand final eliminator by Hull

Following an eighth consecutive defeat, the Bulls' worst run in Super League, McNamara's contract was mutually terminated on 13 July 2010. Lee St Hilaire was coach for the rest of the 2010 season.

Mick Potter became coach in 2011. Despite the club being placed in receivership in 2012, the team was on the verge of making the semi-finals of Super League as Potter remained as unpaid coach.

2012–2017: Administrations, relegation and liquidation

[edit]

In March 2012 the club announced that it was in financial difficulties and needed £1 million to keep the club afloat.[7] A public appeal saw a lot of new funds pour in from supporters,[7] but following the issue of a winding up petition from HMRC for unpaid taxes the holding company for the club was forced to go into administration on 26 June 2012.[8] The Rugby Football League announced that had the company been wound up then the team would be allowed to complete their fixtures for the 2012 Super League season under the possible ownership of a supporters trust.[9] On 2 July 2012, the club's administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, made sixteen members of staff, including the coach Mick Potter and chief executive Ryan Duckett, redundant, but announced that the club would attempt to fulfill its fixtures.[10] Mick Potter continued as an unpaid coach until the end of the season. On 31 August 2012 a bid for the club from a local consortium, headed by Bradford businessman Omar Khan, was accepted by the administrator[11] and was ratified by the RFL in early September.[12] Days later the RFL also granted the new owners a one-year probationary licence enabling the club to compete in Super League XVIII in 2013.[13]

Francis Cummins was appointed as head coach of the Bulls in September 2012.[14] During the 2012/13 season the Bulls appointed Dr Allan Johnston to the backroom staff to support the players wellbeing and performance. This appointment was thought to be the first of its kind in Rugby League.[15] In late December 2013 it was announced that chairman Mark Moore and directors Ian Watt and Andrew Calvert had resigned.[16]

In 2014, relegation was reintroduced to the Super League with two teams being relegated. Bradford were deducted 6 points for entering administration early on in the season and the Bulls were relegated from the top division of rugby league in Britain for the first time in 40 years. Francis Cummins was sacked around the time of relegation and replaced by James Lowes and won most of their remaining games.

Bradford began their first Championship campaign in 40 years against Leigh away where they narrowly lost the game. By the end of the regular season they entered the Super 8s finishing second. In the Qualifiers Bradford failed to make the top three for automatic entry to Super League for 2016, finishing 5th which meant a trip to Wakefield to play them in the first ever Million Pound Game. Bradford would lose 24–16, condemning them to a second year in the Championship.

In preparation for the 2016 season, Bradford completed the signings of several experienced players, such as Centre Kris Welham from Super League side Hull Kingston Rovers, as well as Oscar Thomas, Mitch Clark, Johnny Campbell, Jonathan Walker and Kurt Haggerty from London Broncos, Doncaster, Batley and Leigh. Bradford started the season strongly, with a win over fellow promotion hopefuls Featherstone Rovers by 22–12. Omari Caro scored a hat-trick in this match. This was followed up by away wins at Whitehaven and Swinton. Bradford's season was ultimately disappointing with failure to reach the Qualifiers,[17] this meant Bradford would miss out on a chance of promotion

On 14 November 2016, Bradford Bulls were placed in administration for the third time since 2012.[18] On 16 November, the Rugby Football League (RFL) cancelled Bradford's membership, making their future uncertain. In the ensuing weeks several bids to buy the club were made but despite one bid being acceptable to the RFL, none were accepted by the administrator and the club went into liquidation on 3 January 2017.[19]

Following liquidation the RFL issued a statement saying:

While a number of alternatives were considered the Board was most mindful of the planning already undertaken by all other clubs in the competition structure, the season tickets already purchased and the players and staff who will now be seeking employment in and around the sport in 2017. Accordingly the Board has agreed that the wider interests of the sport is best satisfied if it offers a place in the Kingstone Press Championship to any new club in Bradford and that such a club start the 2017 season on minus 12 points. The RFL believes that Rugby League needs Bradford and that Bradford deserves a strong and stable professional club and will work with all interested parties to deliver that outcome.[20]

2017–2019: Fourth club

[edit]

After the Bulls went into liquidation in January 2017 the Rugby Football League invited bids to form a new club based in Bradford who would be allowed to take the place of the Bulls in the 2017 Championship but started with a 12-point penalty deduction.

The RFL issued a set of criteria for anyone wishing to bid for the new club and there were 12 expressions of interest of which four were converted into bids submitted to the RFL.[21] On 13 January the RFL announced that a consortium to run the new club had been selected and notified of the decision.[22] The new owner was publicly announced on 17 January as Andrew Chalmers, the former chairman of the New Zealand Rugby League. Also involved is former player and coach, Graham Lowe.[23]

The parent company of the club is registered as Bradford Bulls 2017 Limited at Companies House, and the team continue to be known as Bradford Bulls, also retaining the club colours, stadium and several players from the 2016 squad. On 20 January 2017 Geoff Toovey was named as coach and Leon Pryce as captain.[24] However, a delay in processing his paperwork left Toovey unable to fulfil his role and led to Leigh Beattie being appointed as interim coach.[25]

Before the start of the 2018 season, the Bulls appointed the highly experienced John Kear as coach, and under his guidance, gained promotion to the Championship.[26]

2019–present: Move to Dewsbury and Return to Odsal

[edit]

In August 2019, Bulls chairman Andrew Chalmers announced that the club could no longer afford to play at Odsal and were to relocate to Dewsbury for two years after the preferred alternatives, Valley Parade and Horsfall Stadium were deemed too expensive. On 1 September 2019, Bradford Bulls played the last game at Odsal stadium for the next year and a half, and bade a temporary farewell to the 85-year-old home ground for the team.[27] In November 2019, Nigel Wood, Mark Sawyer, and Eric Perez took over the ownership of the club, although Perez's involvement would only be temporary, as interim chair for a few months.[28] The Bulls returned to Odsal in May 2021. In the 2022 RFL Championship season, Bradford finished a disappointing 9th on the table.[29] The 2023 RFL Championship season and the 2024 RFL Championship season showed that hope was still there as The Bulls managed to get to the semi finals in both seasons but fell short after two losses to Toulouse Olympique.

Stadiums

[edit]

1907–1933: Greenfield and Birch Lane

[edit]

The Bradford Northern club had played at a number of venues including the Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill and Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club's ground in Birch Lane.[30] By the early 1920s, however, Birch Lane's limitations were clear and Northern began to seek another home. Precarious finances prevented the club being able to take up an offer to develop land off Rooley Lane or to upgrade and move back to Greenfield, but in 1933, Bradford City Council gave them the opportunity to transform land at Odsal Top into their home ground.

1934–Present: Odsal

[edit]
Main article: Odsal Stadium

Apart from two seasons in 2001 and 2002 when the Bradford Bulls played their home games at Valley Parade, groundsharing with football club Bradford City A.F.C,[31] prior to leaving Odsal for Crown Flatt, Dewsbury in 2019, Odsal Stadium has been the home ground of Bradford Northern/Bulls since 1934 along with regular speedway and stock car racing meetings over the years, BriSCA F1 Stock Cars and BriSCA F2 Stock Cars.[32] having returned to Odsal since 2021. Odsal Stadium had also hosted many other sports, including association football, American football, basketball, featuring the Harlem Globetrotters, wrestling, show jumping and kabaddi. The stadium's largest attendances was 102,569, when Halifax played Warrington on 5 May 1954 in the Challenge Cup Final replay.

Due to financial concerns amidst rising administration costs of using the single-use RFL-owned stadium, the rent reported to be £450,000 rent per year, the Bradford Bulls left Odsal in 2019, temporarily playing at Crown Flatt in Dewsbury[33] including home matches of the COVID-19 abandoned rugby league season of 2020 plus three league fixtures of the 2021 season, however they returned to Odsal during the 2021 season when stock car promotors YorStox [32] successfully returned professional stock car racing as co-tenants at the now multi-use venue, absorbing stadium hire costs, a flattened shale track laid to re-enable motorsports events. The Bulls' acting chief executive, Mark Sawyer, told Rugby League Live at the time: "Staging motorsport events is the first piece in the jigsaw puzzle towards how we're going to balance the books at Odsal", stressing that he believed Bulls supporters were positive about the return of motorsports, quoted as saying "The feedback we get from our Bradford supporter base is that a number of them are interested in watching motorsport.[34]

In September 2024 it was revealed that the Bradford Bulls had issued a warning surrounding the club's finances, calling for more financial support from the RFL. Despite a £22,000 profit in their latest set of accounts, the chief executive Jason Hirst warned it will take the increasing backing of owners, benefactors, sponsors, supporters and volunteers to keep the Bulls in the black.[35]

Crest and colours

[edit]

Crest

[edit]

Up until the Super League era the club was known as Bradford Northern and used a stylised boar's head similar to the one atop the Bradford city coat of arms. When the club was rebranded Bradford Bulls the crest was changed to a similar design to that of the Chicago Bulls.

Colours

[edit]

Bradford's traditional playing colours are a red, amber and black hoop, on a white background. Bradford's home strips are predominantly white with a red, amber and black hoop or "V". Away strips have had many designs and colours, but usually integrate the traditional red, amber and black into the design. In some cases, Bradford have been known to have a third kit that has had many different designs such as the 2024 season where the third kit pays homage to a shirt, the design of which was 90 years old to celebrate the time they have spent at Odsal.

Kit sponsors and manufacturers

[edit]
Year Kit Manufacturer Main Shirt Sponsor
1980–1986 Umbro SGS Glazing
1986–1987 Wang Computers
1987–1992 Samuel Websters
1992–1995 Ellgreen Vaux Breweries
1996–1997 Mitre Compaq
1998 Asics
1999 Asics
2000 Joe Bloggs Clothing
2001 Skylark
2002 JCT600
2003 BULLSNET.COM
2004–2006 ISC
2007–2012 KooGa
2013–2016 ISC Provident Financial
2017 Utilita Energy
2018 Visionon.net
2019 Kappa Lowe
2020 Sedulo
2021–2023 Steeden
2024– Kappa Varleys Builders Merchant

Rivalries

[edit]
See also: West Yorkshire derbies § In Rugby League

Bradford's main rivals historically whilst playing in the Super League, were the Leeds Rhinos who they have played in multiple finals, especially during the early years of the competition, and also the Huddersfield Giants and St Helens whom they faced in two successive Challenge cup finals during the golden era. Since the Bulls were relegated to the RL Championship in 2014, their main local rivalry is now between themselves and the Halifax Panthers, the Championship a division below the Super League.

They also have a lesser local rivalry with Keighley Cougars, although this was arguably considered a one-way rivalry as competitive fixtures were rare since they mostly played in different divisions.

2024 squad

[edit]
Bradford Bulls 2024 Squad
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coach

Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)

Updated: 10 August 2024
Source(s): First Team Squad


Players

[edit]

Notable former players

[edit]

Harry Sunderland Trophy winners

[edit]

The Harry Sunderland Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the Super League Grand Final by the Rugby League Writers' Association.

Season Recipient
1977–78 England Bob Haigh
1999 New Zealand Henry Paul
2001 England Michael Withers
2002 England Paul Deacon
2003 England Stuart Reardon
2005 England Leon Pryce

Lance Todd Trophy winners

[edit]

The Lance Todd Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the Challenge Cup Final. Introduced in 1946, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was killed in a road accident during the Second World War.

Season Recipient Position
1947 Wales Willie Davis Stand-off
1948 Wales Frank Whitcombe Prop
1949 England Ernest Ward Fullback
1996 New Zealand Robbie Paul Fullback
2000 New Zealand Henry Paul Stand-off

Steve Prescott Man of Steel winners

[edit]

The Steve Prescott Man of Steel Award is an annual honour, awarded by the Super League to the most outstanding player in the British game for that year.

Year Winner Position
1985 England Ellery Hanley Loose forward
1997 England James Lowes Hooker
1998 England Jamie Peacock Second row

Treble winning team

[edit]
Main article: 2003 Bradford Bulls season

This list contains the players who played in the Challenge Cup, Grand Final.

Nat # Name
New Zealand 1 Robbie Paul
Tonga 2 Tevita Vaikona
England 3 Leon Pryce
New Zealand 4 Shontayne Hape
Tonga 5 Lesley Vainikolo
Australia 6 Michael Withers
England 7 Paul Deacon
New Zealand 8 Joe Vagana
England 9 James Lowes
England 10 Paul Anderson
Australia 11 Daniel Gartner
England 12 Jamie Peacock
England 13 Mike Forshaw
England 14 Lee Gilmour
England 15 Karl Pratt
Australia 16 Alex Wilkinson
England 17 Stuart Reardon
England 18 Lee Radford
England 19 Jamie Langley
England 20 Scott Naylor
England 22 Karl Pryce
England 26 Chris Bridge
England 27 Rob Parker
England 29 Stuart Fielden
England 30 Richard Moore

Captains

[edit]

From 1996 -

Staff

[edit]

Past coaches

[edit]

Also see Category:Bradford Bulls coaches

Seasons

[edit]

League history

[edit]

Super League era

[edit]
Season League Play-offs Challenge Cup Other competitions Name Tries Name Points
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Top try scorer Top point scorer
1996 Super League 22 17 0 5 767 409 34 3rd RU New Zealand Robbie Paul 23 England Steve McNamara 170
1997 Super League 22 20 0 2 769 397 40 1st RU England James Lowes 17 England Steve McNamara 299
1998 Super League 23 12 0 11 498 450 24 5th Lost in Elimination Playoffs R5 Tonga Tevita Vaikona 13 England Steve McNamara 170
1999 Super League 30 25 1 4 897 445 51 1st Lost in Grand Final SF Australia Michael Withers 21 England Steve McNamara 221
2000 Super League 28 20 3 5 1004 408 43 3rd Lost in Preliminary Final W New Zealand Robbie Paul 19 New Zealand Henry Paul 404
2001 Super League 28 22 1 5 1120 474 45 1st Won in Grand Final RU Australia Michael Withers 31 New Zealand Henry Paul 457
2002 Super League 28 23 0 5 910 519 46 1st Lost in Grand Final R4 World Club Challenge W Australia Michael Withers 20 England Paul Deacon 336
2003 Super League 28 22 0 6 878 529 44 1st Won in Grand Final W New Zealand Lesley Vainikolo 26 England Paul Deacon 389
2004 Super League 28 20 1 7 918 565 41 2nd Lost in Grand Final R4 World Club Challenge W New Zealand Lesley Vainikolo 39 England Paul Deacon 282
2005 Super League 28 18 1 9 1038 684 37 3rd Won in Grand Final R5 New Zealand Lesley Vainikolo 34 England Paul Deacon 391
2006 Super League 28 16 2 10 802 568 32 4th Lost in Preliminary Final R5 World Club Challenge W New Zealand Shontayne Hape 22 England Paul Deacon 277
2007 Super League 27 17 1 9 778 560 33 3rd Lost in Elimination Playoffs SF New Zealand Lesley Vainikolo 19 England Paul Deacon 244
2008 Super League 27 14 0 13 705 625 28 5th Lost in Elimination Playoffs QF Fiji Semi Tadulala 23 England Paul Deacon 190
2009 Super League 27 12 1 14 653 668 25 9th R4 Fiji Semi Tadulala 14 England Paul Deacon 201
2010 Super League 27 9 1 17 528 728 19 10th QF Australia Brett Kearney/Australia Steve Menzies 14 England Paul Sykes 114
2011 Super League 27 9 2 16 570 826 20 10th R5 New Zealand Patrick Ah Van/Australia Shad Royston 12 New Zealand Patrick Ah Van 242
2012 Super League 27 14 1 12 633 756 23 9th R5 Australia Brett Kearney/England Elliott Whitehead 15 England Luke Gale 143
2013 Super League 27 10 2 15 640 658 22 9th R5 Malta Jarrod Sammut 25 Malta Jarrod Sammut 167
2014 Super League 27 8 0 19 512 984 10 13th QF England Luke Gale 14 England Luke Gale 147
2015 Championship 23 18 1 4 828 387 37 2nd R5 England Danny Williams 25 England Ryan Shaw 286
The Qualifiers 7 3 0 4 167 240 6 5th
2016 Championship 23 13 2 8 717 446 28 5th Won in Shield Final R4 England Kris Welham 29 England Danny Addy 193
2017 Championship 23 6 0 17 500 719 0 12th R4 England James Bentley 18 England Oscar Thomas 139
2018 League 1 26 23 0 3 1197 282 46 2nd Won in Promotion Playoff Final R5 England Ethan Ryan 36 Australia Dane Chisholm 312
2019 Championship 27 16 1 10 717 522 33 6th QF 1895 Cup R2 England Ethan Ryan 20 England Joe Keyes 136
2020 Championship[a] 4 2 0 2 90 60 4 7th None Played R5 England Matty Dawson-Jones 4 England Rowan Milnes 44
2021 Championship 20 12 0 8 514 501 24 5th Lost in Elimination Playoffs R3[b] 1895 Cup R1
2022 Championship 27 11 0 16 523 677 22 9th R5
2023 Championship 27 16 1 10 677 572 33 3rd Lost in Semi-final R5
2024 Championship 26 16 2 8 682 387 34 3rd Lost in Semi-final R4 1895 Cup SF

Honours

[edit]

League

[edit]
Winners (6): 1979–80, 1980–81, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005
Winners (1): 2003
Winners (1): 1973–74
Winners (1): 2016
Winners (1): 2018
Winners (1): 1977–78
Winners (1): 1947–48

Cups

[edit]
Winners (5): 1943–44, 1946–47, 1948–49, 2000, 2003
Winners (2): 1974–75, 1979–80
Winners (11): 1940–41, 1941–42, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1953–54, 1965–66, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1989–90

International

[edit]
Winners (3): 2002, 2004, 2006

Records

[edit]
Main article: List of Bradford Bulls records and statistics

Club Records

[edit]
  • Biggest win:
124-0 v. West Wales (at Odsal, 6 May 2018)
  • Biggest loss:
6-84 v. Wigan (at DW Stadium, 21 April 2014)
  • Highest Super League attendance:
24,020 v. Leeds (at Odsal, 3 September 1999)

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The 2020 Championship was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Statistics shown are those at time of abandonment and are not official.
  2. ^ Officially round 1 due to the competitions temporary restructure in 2021.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Bradford's fog-bound winters give way to glorious summer". The Guardian. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Bulls to return to Odsal after RFL deal". BBC Sport. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Operational Rules". RFL. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  4. ^ Hadfield, Dave (20 December 1995). "Rugby's pounds 87m deal gives Murdoch transfer veto". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Super League Team-by-team guide". telegraph.co.uk. London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. 1 March 2001. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  6. ^ "McNamara is Bulls new head coach". Bradford Bulls. 20 April 2006. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Bradford Bulls 'need £1m' to stay in business, as support pours in". BBC Sport. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Bradford Bulls go into administration and face 'extinction'". BBC Sport. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  9. ^ "Bradford Bulls can finish season – even if liquidated". BBC Sport. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  10. ^ Laybourn, Ian (2 July 2012). "Bradford Bulls make 16 redundancies, including head coach Mick Potter". The Independent. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Future of Bradford Bulls resolved as Omar Khan buys club". The Guardian. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Bradford Bulls: Omar Khan takeover ratified by RFL". BBC Sport. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Bradford Bulls: RFL grants club Super League licence". BBC Sport. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  14. ^ Laybourn, Ian (17 September 2012). "New Bradford Bulls head coach Francis Cummins is ready to work with limited resources". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  15. ^ "BULLS APPOINT PSYCHIATRIST". Bradford Bulls. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Bradford Bulls directors quit Super League club", BBC Sport, 24 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013
  17. ^ "Bulls star Mellor targeting unbeaten end to campaign". Telegraph & Argus. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Bradford Bulls: Championship club placed in administration for third time". BBC Sport. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Bradford Bulls: Former Super League champions liquidated". BBC Sport. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Bradford Bulls go into liquidation – MP Judith Cummins demands an investigation". Telegraph & Argus. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  21. ^ "RFL assesses four bids to set up new club after Bradford's liquidation". The Guardian. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  22. ^ "RFL finalises deal with unnamed bidder for Bradford Bulls replacement". The Guardian. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Andrew Chalmers and Graham Lowe named new Bradford club owners". BBC Sport. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Geoff Toovey: Australian named coach of new Bradford Bulls". BBC Sport. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  25. ^ "'Things are starting to fall into place' – Leigh Beattie on Bradford Bulls progress". Telegraph & Argus. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  26. ^ "John Kear". Archived from the original on 17 February 2018.
  27. ^ "Bradford Bulls bid farewell to 'spiritual home'". BBC News. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Bradford Bulls' new ownership group". Last Word on Rugby. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  29. ^ "Bradford Bulls to return to Odsal Stadium after RFL deal". BBC Sport. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  30. ^ Delaney 1991, pp. 44–45.
  31. ^ "Top Facts About Valley Parade". 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  32. ^ a b "Yorstox Odsal". 2021.
  33. ^ "Bradford Bulls Leave Odsal". 2019.
  34. ^ Heppenstall, Ross (12 February 2021). "Bradford Bulls May Form Motorsport Racing Team". Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  35. ^ Thomson, Doug (30 September 2024). "Bradford Bulls issue warning and call for more financial support from RFL". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 2 October 2024.

Bibliography

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bradford Bulls.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bradford_Bulls&oldid=1254388672"