Bradford Bulls early season Super League grading as standout signing and realistic goals assessed

Ten rounds in and Super League comes to a natural stop for the Challenge Cup so what better time to assess how each club has performed so far, starting with Bradford Bulls.

The Bulls secured promotion to Super League via the IMG rankings with 2026 marking the first Super League season that Bradford had competed in since 2014.

That 2014 relegation marked the club’s first time outside the top flight in 40 years and whilst few imagined it would last so long, after a decade it had reached the point that some questioned if they ever would return.

Thankfully for the Odsal faithful the Bulls did return and after ten rounds of Super League, most neutrals will be glad to have Bradford back with Kurt Haggerty’s side offering plenty to the competition despite their own injury crisis.

We’ve graded their season so far based on a number of categories including pre-season expectations, progress or regression from last year, and generally if they have been value for money in Super League.

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Grading Bradford Bulls on their Super League return

League comparison to 2025

As a promoted side, there’s no natural comparison to see where they rank in the Super League table compared to in 2025 but the Bulls were sitting in third-place in the Championship, which would be the position they finished the season in.

They were tied at the top alongside Toulouse and Halifax, boasting a record of seven wins and two losses through ten rounds with the Bulls having a bye early in the season.

By contrast, they now sit 11th in Super League with three wins and seven losses, tied with fellow promoted clubs Toulouse and York Knights.

Many would have expected the Bulls, as well as their fellow promoted clubs, to occupy the bottom three places but that’s not the case and you could make a strong argument that were it not for their torrid injury issues then Bradford may have got over the line in a couple of other games.

Standout players

Bradford were one of the clubs to have a massive overhaul of their playing squad with 16 players signed and they’ve since added Phoenix Steinwede, who is another to have fallen foul of their injury issues.

Among the standout signings are veteran duo Ryan Sutton and Joe Mellor, who were both excellent prior to their injuries, with both men topping the Super League tackle charts when fit.

Getting bodies back on the field is the priority if Bradford are to make a dent this season with the Bulls already down to just one ever-present in Caleb Aekins, who has proven to be a smart pick-up from Featherstone Rovers.

Realistic goals

Kurt Haggerty has not set goals along the way but the Bulls will obviously see the play-offs as the promised land, though it seems too early in their process for that to be realistic. Instead, placing top of the group of clubs who currently occupy the bottom five (the three promoted clubs plus Castleford and Huddersfield) would be a clear goal.

They could even catch up with play-off hopefuls such as Hull FC and Catalans Dragons, which would be a brilliant achievement, however, goals don’t simply have to be on-field.

The biggest goal and aim should be to keep building their strong fan base and uphold attendance figures to an average of above 10,000. Bradford are a sleeping giant and can go on to become a true force in Super League once again in the coming years but they need to keep building off the field first, and that includes their fan base.

Grade – B

On-field, the Bulls have shocked many, even if they do only have three wins. Their style of play has entertained many and they’ve made Odsal a very tough place to come with three wins from five and their only losses against Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR.

If they can land an away win to get over that ‘hoodoo’ then there’s no reason they can’t make what has already been a successful Super League return into a platform for something truly special.