Bradford Bulls will return to Super League for the first time in 12 years this weekend, as they travel to the MKM Stadium to take on Hull FC.
The Bulls only found out they were in the t0p flight in mid-October, so their preparations for the new season have been far from perfect, but Kurt Haggerty’s side are not one to sit and moan about their adversity.
Bradford were arguably given the short straw in the Challenge Cup, too, as they were drawn against London Broncos – the hardest team, on paper, they could possibly face in the third round.
However, Haggerty turned that negative into a positive, and has revealed that a tie against the Championship favourites was a brilliant way to prepare for their Super League campaign.
Speaking to the media ahead of their round one clash, the boss reflected on their 26-8 victory, a game he described as “bizarre”.
That is because London picked up a number of injuries through the contest, and ended up playing the final quarter with 12 men, due to their lack of available interchanges.
“I thought it was a bizarre game, a crazy game in regards to the situation, what happened with London,” said Haggerty.
“I thought we dealt with it really well. There were times where it was a little bit chaotic, but overall I thought it was a really good hit out for us and really good preparation for round one.
“They’re very much a Super League team, ready for Super League, so we couldn’t have had any better prep leading into Hull.
“We’re getting closer to nailing down what our 17 and 13 in particular look like.”
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Jayden Okunbor, Andy Ackers, Ethan Ryan, Dan Russell and Waqa Blake all crossed for tries in the win, and whilst the Bulls were far from their best, their ability to grind through the game and come out of the other side with some late tries will no doubt have pleased Haggerty.
However, it wasn’t a try-scorer who impressed the boss the most, it was in fact someone who is yet to play Super League.
Caleb Aekins joined the Bulls from Featherstone Rovers this off-season, and after being part of Leigh’s 2022 Championship-winning squad, will finally get his chance to play in the top flight.
The Australian capitalised on some quick rucks and was a key attacking threat for the Bulls. His efforts earned the praise of Haggerty, who said:
“I was really happy with Caleb’s performance. I thought he was really good around the ruck, I thought he was good in regards to shapes and the way we play.
“You’ve got to have energy and got to be fit, and I thought he was really, really good again, like you said, in the second half in particular.
“I thought he found the balance of knowing when to push around the middle, but then also knowing when to service the edge.
“I think he ran for over 200 metres, and there was a set in particular when he set up Andy Ackers for his try but he’d actually carried the ball two or three times in that set, so it’s a testament of how fit he is, and the style of rugby that we play.
Former Salford man Joe Mellor was also in Haggerty’s good books, and after being highlighted immediately after the game, he was mentioned by the boss again this week.
He said: “I thought [Mellor] in particular linked us up, especially the two pivots and Andy Ackers getting out and engaging.
“Overall I was really happy with what the spine delivered, especially when the game got a little bit quick. I thought it really showed what kind of team we can look like on the front foot.”
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