Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty has addressed the club’s need to be adaptable in light of their current injury crisis.
Three of the Bulls’ preferred starting XIII are out injured with winger Jayden Okunbor and second-rower Dan Russell both expected to be sidelined for around three months due to injuries sustained in round one.
Half-back Jayden Nikorima is still a couple of weeks way from returning after a calf injury, whilst his replacement Joe Keyes missed out against Catalans Dragons due to a back injury.
As such, versatile back Luke Hooley played in the halves alongside Rowan Milnes and Kurt Haggerty has now hailed the former Leeds Rhinos man, whilst also praising the squad for their adaptability.
After a first win in Super League for well over 10 years, Haggerty admitted: “We’re still finding which version works best for us. With the game plans and detail that we play with, we do play slightly different so things change week to week.
“I think the biggest compliment that I can give the group at the moment is their adaptability, which is going to be massive, especially when things like injuries hit.
“We have a couple of tough games so it’s just the adaptability and the belief that we can still keep competing.”
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The major reshuffle and case of adaptability in the win over Catalans Dragons saw Luke Hooley move into the halves to partner Rowan Milnes but Haggerty revealed that Hooley has trained all throughout the back-line over pre-season, ensuring he’s ready for such situations.
He said: “I think it’s a credit to Luke. He’s been getting his reps at full-back, wing, centre and at half so he’s been multi-skilling himself.
“We have this next man up mentality, we were more than happy to play Luke at half. He’s a big boy who can defend on an edge and he’s a runner as well, so the shapes we put in place to help Luke run were off the back of what usually would work for a full-back.”
It did mean tweaks to the system, but Haggerty hailed what the 27-year-old came up with: “We really dumbed it down for Luke in regards to his performance and what he needed to do and I thought he was really good. He was really competent, he took the line on still and he did some things that we’re all really happy with in the group.
Sunday’s game is set to be played in front of another bumper crowd with tickets just £10 for the clash with Toulouse Olympique, a team that the Bulls are familiar with after playing them three times in 2025.
It’s no surprise who Haggerty has prepped his team for though, with the coach revealing: “We’ve had to do a lot of around Ashall-Bott in particular, I think they’re a very good team and they deserve the respect they get at the moment.”
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