Bradford Bulls forward Ryan Sutton is the subject to plenty of interest, according to head coach Kurt Haggerty, who has provided an update on the club’s efforts to keep hold of the former NRL man.
Sutton was a big-name signing for the Bulls with the ex-Wigan Warriors and NRL player returning to England to sign with Bradford in a move that caught everyone by surprise.
Since arriving back in Super League, Sutton has established himself as one of the competition’s top props and despite the Bulls slipping to a heavy 38-12 defeat against Leigh on Saturday, the prop forward was one of the standout performers.
Sutton is averaging 44 tackles per game in Super League and he could have added to his game-high tally of 55 on Sunday if Haggerty had not subbed him off, with the head coach joking that the 30-year-old ‘falls out’ with him when subbed off.
Speaking post-match on BullsTV and asked about their efforts to try and keep hold of Sutton for 2027, Haggerty noted: “Apparently he has got a lot of interest and we’re doing a lot of work behind the scenes to keep Ryan at the club.”
Sutton had initially signed a one-year deal with the option of a second year and Haggerty added: “I think if we secure Ryan, it shows where we want to go to as a club, quickly.
“Hopefully, we’ll have some news in the next week or so.”
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Bradford Bulls injury round-up with forward ‘not in a great place’
A new deal for Sutton would be a major boost for a side who suffered several injuries in the defeat to Leigh with Eribe Doro one player who will miss out on the trip to Catalans after failing a HIA.
Despite failing the HIA automatically because of the fact he does not wear an automated mouthguard, Haggerty revealed that the prop forward was shaken up by the tackle that left him clutching his neck.
“He’s pretty dazed, actually, he’s not in a great place at the moment,” Haggerty said, before noting what a big loss the forward will be as he shed light on a prior chat with the former Hull KR man.
“Eribe tasked me and said he wanted to start and I said, ‘I don’t think you’re a starter, you’ve got to prove to me when you get the opportunities that you can start’, and he’s been great.
“He’s took the bull by the horns in a way, excuse the pun, but he’s got to be better in his minutes and more tidy in his defence, which he’s showed he can do.
“I think in the adverse times before this round, Eribe playing at starter has really helped us and helped him develop into a starting Super League player.”
Haggerty also confirmed that Jayden Nikorima missed out on featuring by a matter of days so he will hopefully return to face Catalans, whilst a worry for Dan Russell was revealed.
Caleb Aekins was another to pick up a knock, with Haggerty explaining: “He’s been struggling with his abductor all week. He was really in a lot of pain so having Luke on the bench freed him up to potentially have a rest in the game.
“I’d have liked it in different circumstances if we were winning the game and I could have given Luke a bit of game time but it just didn’t pan out that way.”
