Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty assessed a ‘crazy week’ when speaking after his side’s 26-14 win over Huddersfield Giants, with key topics including returning star Jayden Nikorima, his boredom at the video referee, and the club’s latest recruits.
Whilst the scoreline may suggest a comfortable game, that was far from the case for the Bulls who trailed at one point in the second-half with their final ten points coming inside the last five minutes.
One man who was key to the victory was Jayden Nikorima with the playmaker making his Super League debut for the Bulls, scoring two tries and assisting another in a performance that saw head coach Kurt Haggerty describe him as ‘comfortably the best player on the field’.
“I didn’t expect much magic from him tonight, I just wanted him to defend well and take the line on but he’s a first-class player,” Haggerty said post-match in his presser.
“He’s been chomping at the bit to play, he’s brought the energy this week so we’ve been desperate to get him in there and he was the difference tonight for me.
“We’ll improve as a team off the back of what Jayden does.”
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Bradford Bulls boss hails impact of new signing
Whilst Nikorima brought plenty to the Bulls, so too did new signings Chris Atkin and Jack Ormondroyd with the former a permanent recruit and the latter a season-long loan.
Both are players who are familiar with Haggerty having played at Salford where he was assistant coach and their showings, particularly that of Atkin, were praised.
On Atkin, Haggerty said: “I just think we needed something different offensively to play our shape on shape and Chris knows the style. Luke is still learning it but Chris knows it and he fell straight into sequences. I thought he nailed his objective of what I needed from him tonight and he’ll get better in the system.”
As for Ormondroyd, Haggerty tipped more to come: “It’s been a crazy old week. To get Jack over the line was important. I just thought we needed another big body in the middle.
“He’s come in and done his job tonight, he’ll get better. He’s been playing in the Championship for a little while so I’ve challenged him to quickly to get up to the speed of Super League but I know what Jack can do and he’ll be great for this team.”
One negative from the game was the video referee process, which was again very time-consuming and when asked, Haggerty explained that he switches off when the process begins.
He said: “Please don’t take this the wrong way, I switch off. I do. I talk to Lee Greenwood, I’ll have a quick chat with Nobby, I’ll walk about a bit at the back and I’ll wait for a decision.
“Yeah, for sure (it is too long).”
⏲️ FULL-TIME | Four second half tries sees us maintain our 100% home record! GET IN!#RunWithTheBulls pic.twitter.com/6GxlCaRdn1
— Bradford Bulls (@OfficialBullsRL) March 20, 2026
