Bradford Bulls have signed former Warrington Wolves player Riley Dean with the half-back released from Championship club Oldham to land another shot at Super League.
Head coach Kurt Haggerty has now challenged Dean to impress in order to earn a deal beyond the current six-month contract that the 24-year-old has signed with the Bulls.
Dean debuted at Warrington in late 2019 and would go on to make a total of 10 appearances for the Wolves across four seasons before joining Featherstone Rovers for the 2023 season, then heading down under to play for Mackay Cutters.
Since his mid-season return to England in 2024, Dean has been an impressive member of the squad at Oldham but the playmaker now gets another shot at Super League after signing his six-month deal with Bradford Bulls.
A club statement confirming the signing with Dean ‘buzzing’ to join the club, where he will add depth to a position group that has been hit hard with injuries to the likes of Joe Keyes and Rowan Milnes.
Dean said: “The lads and the coaching staff have been really welcoming, I have enjoyed my first session this morning and hopefully I get selected for the weekend, the coaching staff have been getting the boys prepared so I am just focusing on training well and hopefully getting in the team.
“I just want to be a sponge and take everything in I can, there’s some NRL experience and a lot of Super League experience so I just want to take as much information in as I can and build on my game.”
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Bradford Bulls boss explains Riley Dean signing
Being a sponge is something that Kurt Haggerty has challenged Dean with, tasking him to adjust to full-time once again and try to prove himself to land a deal beyond the end of the 2026 season.
Haggerty admitted: “It’s now a big learning curve for Riley being back in full-time, it’s on him a little bit to earn a contract moving forward but ultimately I just want him to come in, work hard, have fun, enjoy the environment and show to Super League that he’s a Super League player.”
On the signing, he said: “It’s really exciting for us, Riley is a good player and is an exciting young pivot. He’s been lighting up the Championship and we’re a bit short in that position with injuries to Joe Keyes and Rowan Milnes, so he adds value in there and he’s certainly an exciting, young prospect.
“He has had that experience at Super League level, he went away and studied the game a little bit in Australia and came back to Oldham and played some of his best rugby. It was an opportunity that became available to bring him in for the rest of the year so we jumped at that.”
🤝 | We’re delighted to announce the signing of exciting half-back Riley Dean on a deal until the end of the season!
📖 | Details: https://t.co/5XVOrlf7pO#RunWithTheBulls pic.twitter.com/xxQR59Rzle
— Bradford Bulls (@OfficialBullsRL) May 20, 2026
