James Donaldson likens Leeds Rhinos vs Bradford Bulls to huge Super League derby

From 2003-05, Leeds Rhinos vs Bradford Bulls was the biggest fixture of the lot.

However, as Leeds became the leading force at the top of Super League, Bradford Bulls slipped down the table and ultimately suffered relegation in 2014.

On Sunday, they meet again in a pre-season friendly and Leeds star, former Bradford man and ex-Hull KR forward James Donaldson has likened the game to the Hull derby.

“I’ve probably played in like 10 or 15 of them, a lot as preseason friendlies as well but there’s some great memories of them especially to the back end of my time at Bradford when they were in trouble we got some great crowds and a great atmosphere. They’re  a great occasion to play in, there’s a lot of passion, I’ve played in the Hull FC and Hull KR one as well but it’s definitely a great occasion and there’s a lot of people who still now love that rivalry.”

He has also said that Bradford are a loss to Super League: “Without a doubt, Bradford were an amazing club at the time but obviously money issues and problems out of the players hands drove them down. It’s a massive loss to be fair and I suppose Super League misses them games.”

Donaldson has played in both pre-season fixtures alongside Sam Walters and Tom Holroyd through the middle and praised both: “Brilliant, yeah he’s doing a great job. He’s a big man and when he carries the ball it’s quite scary as well, I’ll throw Tom Holroyd in there as well. He’s come back from his injury and he’s fit as a fiddle and I think we’re going to see some exciting stuff from them this year.”