Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty has admitted that the club have targeted toughness and aggression in their 2027 signings so far, with latest recruit Ligi Sao a prime example of those facets.
Hull FC prop Sao became Bradford’s fifth signing, joining Wakefield’s Cam Scott and three other forward pack signings in Wigan’s Sam Eseh, Warrington’s James Bentley, and former Bulls academy star John Bateman.
All four can be characterised as players who play on the edge and bring bite, and when asked if that was a trait that he wanted in his pack for 2027, Haggerty agreed: “It is. To add alongside of Eribe Doro and Loghan Lewis, we’ve got a nice blend of experience, toughness, aggression, everything you need to be successful in this competition.”
Specifically on Sao, he added: “We’ve done a lot of homework around Ligi. He’s experienced the environment at Hull. He’s very much seen as a leader. We need more leaders in our environment.
“He’s big, he’s aggressive and he’s everything that we’re looking for.”
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Bradford Bulls close in on completed pack for 2027
With those four forwards now recruited, Haggerty has admitted that the Bulls have almost boxed off their 2027 forward pack, though he did admit that he’d prefer to get some more locked in.
“We’re very close to being finalised,” Haggerty said.
“Maybe once we get maybe one or two more over the line, I’ll be sleeping a lot better when the final few are done.”
Pushed further on what positions that could entail, Haggerty kept his cards close to his chest and simply said: “There’ll probably be no more prop forwards coming.”
Currently contracted for 2027 at prop are the likes of Ebon Scurr, Jamie Gill, Brandon Douglas, Loghan Lewis, Eribe Doro, Ligi Sao, Ryan Sutton, Sam Eseh and Will Gardiner.
