The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, England. It has been one of the major success stories of the Super League era, with the 2003 season being its best where the club successfully won all of the major rugby league honours, (Challenge Cup, Superleague Championship, World Club Championship, and Minor Premier) The team jersey is white with red, black and amber hoops. The club plays its home games at Grattan Stadium (formerly called Odsal Stadium) which is located to the south of the city centre.
File:BradfordBullsLogo.png | |||
Full name | Bradford Bulls Rugby League Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | Bulls | ||
Founded | 1881 | ||
Region | Bradford, Yorkshire, England | ||
Ground(s) | Grattan Stadium (Capacity: 27,000) | ||
Chairman | Peter Hood | ||
Coach(es) | Steve McNamara | ||
Captain(s) | Paul Deacon | ||
League(s) | Super League (Europe) | ||
2007 | 3rd | ||
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Official website | |||
www |
History
1863 - 1907: In the Beginning
The Bradford Rugby Club was formed in 1863. Park Avenue was established as their home ground in 1880. It achieved its first major success by winning the Yorkshire Cup in 1884. In 1895, along with cross-town neighbours Manningham, Bradford was among 22 clubs to secede from the Rugby Football Union after a historic meeting at The George Hotel in Huddersfield, in response to a dispute over "broken time" payments to players. These 22 clubs formed the Northern Rugby Union. In 1903-4 Bradford finished level on points with Salford at the top of the league and then won the resulting play-off 5-0. Manningham ran into financial difficulties and, despite a summer archery contest that generated enough money to ensure their survival, its members were persuaded to change to Association football. The club was invited to join the Football League in 1903, in an attempt to introduce the soccer to the rugby-dominated region, and the newly renamed Bradford City A.F.C. was voted into full membership of the Second Division without playing a game of soccer, having a team or being able to guarantee a ground.
There was also a demand for Association Football at Park Avenue, which played host to soccer matches as well as Northern Union games. The first game of Association Football played at Park Avenue is believed to have been between Blackburn Rovers and Blackburn Olympic F.C. and in 1895 a Bradford side beat a team from Moss Side, Manchester 4 -1 in front of 3,000 spectators. In 1905-6 Bradford beat Salford 5-0 to win the Challenge Cup and were runners up in the Championship. The following season winning the Yorkshire Cup 8-5 against Hull Kingston Rovers.
With soccer already successful at Bradford City, a meeting was called of the club members on April 15th 1907 to decide the club's future. An initial vote appeared to favour continuing in the Northern Union, then opinion shifted towards rugby union but the Chairman, Mr Briggs, used his influence to swing the committee behind Association football. This act, sometimes referred to as "The Great Betrayal", led to Bradford becoming a soccer club, Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. and a new team Bradford Northern was created to take the available place in the Northern Union. Bradford Northern's first home was Greenfield Athletic Ground.
Bradford Northern
Bradford moved to Birch Lane in 1908. Bradford council offered Bradford a site for a new stadium between Rooley Lane and Mayo Avenue in 1927. However the RFL said the site was too small and the club kept on looking. On 20 June 1933 Bradford Northern signed a ten-year lease with Bradford council for a former quarry being used as a waste dump at Odsal Top. It was turned into the biggest stadium outside Wembley. The Bradford Northern team played its first match there on September 1st 1934. Before moving to Odsal Bradford had had two other homes, Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill and Birch Lane which was part of Bowling Old Lane Cricket ground, although at times they also had to hire Valley Parade as the capacity at Birch Lane was not sufficient enough for large matches.
1940s
Success came in the 1940s with a number of cup wins: the Yorkshire cup in 1940-1, 1942-3, 1944-5, 1945-6, 1948-9 and 1949-50; and the Challenge cup 1943-4, 1946-7 and 1948-9. In the championship Bradford found it difficult to win either before the war or after despite being runners up in 1942-3 and 1947-8.
On Saturday 3rd November 1945, Bradford Northern met Wakefield Trinity in the final of the Yorkshire Cup held at Thrum Hall, Halifax. Wakefield began the match as favourites, they had lost only one of thirteen matches thus far in the season. However, Bradford won 5-2 and lifted the Yorkshire Cup for the fourth time in six seasons.
Bradford defeated Leeds 8-4 to win the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 1947.
The 1947-8 Challenge Cup final was notable as it was the first rugby league match to be attended by the reigning monarch, King George VI, who presented the trophy. It was also the first televised rugby league match as it was broadcast to the Midlands. Unfortunately Bradford lost 8-3 to Wigan. The 1949 Challenge Cup final was sold out for first time as 95,050 spectators saw Bradford beat Halifax.
1950s
In 1951-2 Bradford were runners up in the league but beat New Zealand at Odsal in the first floodlit football match of any code in the North of England. In 1953, a crowd of 69,429 watched Bradford play Huddersfield in the Challenge Cup third round. This was Northern’s highest ever attendance. Northern also won the Yorkshire Cup final 7-2 against Hull. Bradford Northern and Leigh were the first rugby league clubs to stage matches on a Sunday in December 1954, although there was opposition from the Sunday Observance lobby.
1960s
Bradford Northern's support declined rapidly in the 1963 season, attracting a record low crowd of 324 against Barrow. Northern went out of business on 10th December 1963 having played just 13 matches; winning 1 and losing 12, scoring 109 points and conceding 284. In 1964, the Bradford Northern club reformed through the efforts of such people as Trevor Foster and Joe Phillips and were accepted back into the Rugby League. The reformed club won its first cup in 1965-66 by beating Hunslet 17-8 in the final of the Yorkshire Cup.
1970s
In 1972-3 Bradford lost the Challenge Cup final against Featherstone 33-14. In 1973-4 Bradford won the Second Division Championship and were promoted back to the First Division. During this season Keith Mumby made his debut, becoming the Bradford's youngest player at only 16 years of age, scoring 12 goals and a try in a match against Doncaster. He went on to make a record 576 appearances for the club. In 1974-75 Bradford won the Regal Trophy 3-2 against Widnes. Peter Fox joined Bradford as coach for the first time in 1977-78. Bradford won the Premiership final 17-8 against Widnes and were also Championship runners-up. In 1978-79 Bradford appeared in another Premiership final this time losing 24-2 to Leeds. A year later Bradford won the Championship and Regal Trophy, Peter Fox winning the award for Coach of the Year. In 1980-81 the club made it back to back championships.
1980s
In 1981-82, Bradford lost the Yorkshire Cup final 10-5 against Castleford and lost again in 1982-83, this time 18-7 against Hull. Keith Mumby won the award for First Division Player of the Year while Brian Noble won the Young Player award. In 1985 Ellery Hanley left Northern to join Wigan for a then record transfer deal, worth £80,000 and a player exchange involving Steve Donlan and Phil Ford. In 1987-8 Bradford won the Yorkshire Cup final replay against Castleford 11-2 after drawing 12-12. Ron Willey coached Bradford Northern for a short stint in 1989/90 and led them to the Premiership final and success in the Yorkshire Cup final when they beat Featherstone 20-14. Bradford lost the Regal Trophy against Warrington 12-2 in 1990-91. In 1993-4, the last Championship before Super League, Bradford finished as runners up behind Wigan on points difference.
The Super League era
Bradford Bulls Became very successful in the Super League, they have won the title in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005
Season Summaries
Stadium
Odsal Stadium is a stadium situated in Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The venue is used for rugby league and has been the home ground of Bradford Bulls since 1934. The official name of the stadium is currently "Grattan Stadium" due to corporate sponsorship. Odsal has also hosted many other sports, including association football, speedway, stock car racing, basketball featuring the Harlem Globetrotters, wrestling, show jumping and kabaddi. The stadium boasts one of the largest attendances of all time for rugby league (102,569) when Halifax played Warrington on the 5th of May, 1954.
2008 Squad Stats
- Appearances and Points include all matches (As of Rd 10, April 4th 2008)
No | Nat | Player | Position | Weight & Height | Age | Previous Club | Contracted Until | App | Tries | Goals | DG | Points |
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1 | Michael Platt | Full Back | 93 kg, 6 ft 2 in | 24 | Castleford Tigers | 2008 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |||
2 | Dave Halley | Winger | 78 kg, 5 ft 9 in | 21 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2008 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |||
3 | James Evans | Centre | 89 kg, 6 ft 0 in | 29 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 2008 | 10 | 4 | 16 | |||
4 | Shontayne Hape | Centre | 104 kg, 6 ft 2 in | 26 | New Zealand Warriors | 2008 | 10 | 2 | 8 | |||
5 | Tame Tupou | Winger | 110 kg, 6 ft 4 in | 25 | Brisbane Broncos | 2010 | 4 | |||||
6 | Iestyn Harris | Stand Off | 92 kg, 6 ft | 31 | Cardiff Blues | 2008 | 8 | 1/1 | 2 | |||
7 | Paul Deacon (c) | Scrum Half | 80 kg, 5 ft 9 in | 29 | Oldham Bears | 2008 | 10 | 1 | 42/49 | 1 | 89 | |
8 | Joe Vagana | Prop | 120 kg, 6 ft 3 in | 33 | New Zealand Warriors | 2008 | 4 | |||||
9 | Terry Newton | Hooker | 98 kg, 5 ft 10 in | 29 | Wigan Warriors | 2008 | 7 | 3 | 12 | |||
10 | Andy Lynch | Prop | 108 kg, 6 ft 2 in | 28 | Castleford Tigers | 2008 | 10 | |||||
11 | David Solomona | Second Row | 108 kg, 6 ft 0 in | 30 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 2009 | 4 | 1 | 4 | |||
12 | Glenn Morrison (vc) | Second Row | 97 kg, 6 ft 0 in | 31 | Parramatta Eels | 2008 | 5 | 2 | 8 | |||
13 | Jamie Langley | Loose Forward | 108 kg, 6 ft 2 in | 24 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2010 | 7 | |||||
14 | Chris Feather | Prop | 114 kg, 6 ft 4 in | 26 | Leeds Rhinos | 2009 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |||
15 | Matt Cook | Second Row | 95 kg, 6 ft 0 in | 21 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2009 | 4 | 1 | 4 | |||
16 | Sam Burgess | Prop | 111 kg, 6 ft 3 in | 19 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2009 | 10 | 3 | 12 | |||
17 | Matt James | Prop | 100 kg, 6 ft 2 in | 20 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2009 | 7 | |||||
18 | Craig Kopczak | Prop | 98 kg, 6 ft 4 in | 21 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2008 | 3 | |||||
19 | Simon Finnigan | Loose Forward | 95 kg, 6 ft 4 in | 26 | Salford City Reds | 2008 | 9 | 3 | 12 | |||
20 | Wayne Godwin | Hooker | 13 st, 5 ft 6 in | 26 | Hull F.C. | 2008 | 10 | 2 | 8 | |||
22 | Ben Jeffries | Stand Off | 14 st, 5 ft 9 in | 27 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 2009 | 8 | 2 | 8 | |||
23 | Chris Nero | Second Row | 15 st, 6 ft 1 in | 27 | Huddersfield Giants | 2010 | 10 | 2 | 8 | |||
24 | Paul Sykes | Centre | 92 kg, 5 ft 10 in | 26 | Harlequins RL | 2010 | 9 | 6 | 24 | |||
25 | Semi Tadulala | Winger | 14 st 10 lb, 6 ft | 30 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 2008 | 7 | 4 | 16 | |||
26 | Jason Crookes | Centre | 83 kg, 5 ft | 17 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2008 | ||||||
27 | Richard Johnson | Centre | 80kg, 5 ft | 17 | Bradford Bulls Academy | 2008 |
Players used | Average Age | out of contract at end of 2008 | Tries | Goals | DG | Points | ||||||
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24 | 26 | 16 | 38 | 43/50 | 1 | 243 |
Run-on Team 2008
Bradford Bulls Run-on Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Subs
- 6 Iestyn Harris
- 14 Chris Feather
- 15 Matt Cook
- 17 Matt James
- 18 Craig Kopczak
- 19 Simon Finnigan
- 26 Jason Crookes
- 27 Richard Johnson
Injured
- 1 Michael Platt - Undisclosed
- 5 Tame Tupou - Undisclosed
- 8 Joe Vagana - Out until May
- 12 Glenn Morrison - Out until June
Banned
- 9 Terry Newton - 1 more game
2008 Fixtures/Results
2008 Engage Super League
Date | Competition | Rd | Home Team | Score | Away Tesm | Result | Tries | Goals | Attendance | TV | Report |
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10/02/2008 | Super League XIII | 1 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 26-24 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Newton 2, Platt, Sykes | Deacon 4/5 | 9,851 | Highlights | Report | |
16/02/2008 | Super League XIII | 2 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | 38-12 | Huddersfield Giants | Won | Newton,Finnigan(2),Evans,Sykes,Morrison | Deacon 7/7 | 10,124 | Sky Sports | Report |
22/02/2008 | Super League XIII | 3 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | 16-22 | St Helens | Evans, Sykes (2) | Deacon 2/3 | 10,756 | Sky Sports | Report | |
01/03/2008 | Super League XIII | 4 | Wigan Warriors | 28-14 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Godwin, Feather | Deacon 3/3 | 15,444 | Sky Sports | Report | |
08/03/2008 | Super League XIII | 5 | Catalans Dragons | 18-20 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Won | Morrison, Hape, Finnigan | Deacon 4/4 | 7,485 | Highlights | Report |
16/03/2008 | Super League XIII | 6 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | 23-10 | Warrington Wolves | Won | Sykes, Burgess, Jeffries | Deacon 5/6 (1dg) | 11,838 | Highlights | Report |
20/03/2008 | Super League XIII | 7 | Leeds Rhinos | 44-2 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | - | Deacon 1/1 | 19,296 | Sky Sports | Report | |
24/03/2008 | Super League XIII | 8 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | 32-24 | Harlequins RL | Won | Burgess,Halley,Solomona, Evans,Deacon | Deacon 6/6 | 8,428 | Highlights | Report |
30/03/2008 | Super League XIII | 9 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | 50-4 | Castleford Tigers | Won | Godwin,Evans,Tadulala(3) Sykes,Jeffries,Hape,Nero | Deacon 6/8 Harris 1/1 | 10,119 | Highlights | Report |
06/04/2008 | Super League XIII | 10 | Hull FC | 8-18 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Won | Nero, Cook | Deacon 2/5 | Att | Highlights | Report |
13/04/2008 | Super League XIII | 11 | Hull KR | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Highlights | Report | |||||
19/4/2008 | Challenge Cup | 4 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Toulouse Olympique | Highlights | Report | |||||
27/04/2008 | Super League XIII | 12 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Wigan Warriors | Highlights | Report | |||||
3/05/2008 | Super League XIII | 13
Cardiff |
File:Bullscolours.png Bradford Bulls | Leeds Rhinos | Sky Sports
Highlights |
Report | |||||
10 or 11/5/2008 | Challenge Cup | 5 | Highlights | Report | |||||||
18/05/2008 | Super League XIII | 14 | Castleford Tigers | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Highlights | Report | |||||
23/05/2008 | Super League XIII | 15 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Leeds Rhinos | Highlights | Sky Sports | Report | ||||
1,2,3/6/2008 | Challenge Cup | QF | BBC Sport
Highlights |
Report | |||||||
08/06/2008 | Super League XIII| | 16 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Catalans Dragons | Highlights | Report | |||||
13/06/2008 | Super League XIII | 17 | St Helens | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Sky Sports
Highlights |
Report | |||||
21/6/2008 | International Break | ||||||||||
22/06/2008 | Super League XIII | 18 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Hull FC | Highlights | Report | |||||
29/06/2008 | Super League XIII | 19 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Hull KR | Highlights | Report | |||||
06/07/2008 | Super League XIII | 20 | Huddersfield Giants | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Highlights | Report | |||||
26 or 27/7/2008 | Challenge Cup | SF | Highlights | BBC Sport | Report | ||||||
13/07/2008 | Super League XIII | 21 | Warrington Wolves | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Highlights | Report | |||||
20/07/2008 | Super League XIII | 22 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Highlights | Report | |||||
03/08/2008 | Super League XIII | 23 | Harlequins RL | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Highlights | Report | |||||
08/08/2008 | Super League XIII | 24 | Leeds Rhinos | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Highlights | Report | |||||
23/8/2008 | Challenge Cup | Final | BBC Sport
Highlights |
Report | |||||||
17/08/2008 | Super League XIII | 25 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Hull FC | Highlights | Report | |||||
24/08/2008 | Super League XIII | 26 | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Hull KR | Highlights | Report | |||||
07/09/2008 | Super League XIII | 27 | Castleford Tigers | File:Bullscolours.pngBradford Bulls | Highlights | Report | |||||
12/09/2008 | Super League XIII | PO1 | 3rd | - | 6th | Highlights | Report | ||||
13/09/2008 | Super League XIII | PO2 | 4th | - | 5th | Highlights | Report | ||||
19/09/2008 | Super League XIII | PO3 | 1st | - | 2nd | Highlights | Report | ||||
20/09/2008 | Super League XIII | PO4 | Winner of Play-off 1 | - | Winner of Play-off 2 | Highlights | Report | ||||
26/09/2008 | Super League XIII | PO5 | Loser of Play-off 3 | - | Winner of Play-off 4 | Highlights | Report | ||||
04/10/2008 | Super League XIII | ***SLGF | Winner of Play-off 3 | - | Winner of Play-off 5 | Highlights | Report |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St. Helens (L) | 27 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 940 | 457 | +483 | 43 | Semi-final |
2 | Leeds Rhinos (C) | 27 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 863 | 413 | +450 | 42 | |
3 | Catalans Dragons | 27 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 694 | 625 | +69 | 34 | Elimination semi-finals |
4 | Wigan Warriors | 27 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 648 | 698 | −50 | 29 | |
5 | Bradford Bulls | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 705 | 625 | +80 | 28 | |
6 | Warrington Wolves | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 690 | 713 | −23 | 28 | |
7 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 27 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 564 | 713 | −149 | 23 | |
8 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 27 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 574 | 760 | −186 | 22 | |
9 | Harlequins | 27 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 569 | 763 | −194 | 22 | |
10 | Huddersfield Giants | 27 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 638 | 681 | −43 | 21 | |
11 | Hull F.C. | 27 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 538 | 699 | −161 | 17 | |
12 | Castleford Tigers | 27 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 593 | 869 | −276 | 15 |
Rules for classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners
Captains
Name | Started | Ended | Notes | |
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Robbie Paul | 1996 | 2004 | Peacock took captaincy | |
Jamie Peacock | 2005 | 2005 | Moved to Leeds Rhinos | |
Iestyn Harris | 2006 | 2006 | Deacon took captaincy | |
Paul Deacon | 2007 | Present | N/A |
Coaching Register
From 1930 -
Name | Contract Started | Contract Ended | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dai Rees | 1936 | 1960 | Sacked | |
Trevor Foster | 1960 | 1961 | Sacked | |
Doug Greenall | 1961 | 1961 | Sacked | |
Jimmy Ledgard | 1961 | 1962 | Sacked | |
Harry Beverley | 1962 | 1963 | Sacked | |
Jack Wilkinson | 1963 | 1963 | Sacked | |
Gus Risman | 1964 | 1971 | Sacked | |
Harry Street | 1971 | 1972 | Sacked | |
Ian Brooke | 1973 | 1975 | Sacked | |
Roy Francis | 1975 | 1977 | Resigned due to ill health | |
Peter Fox | 1977 | 1985 | end contract | |
Barry Seaborne | 1985 | 1989 | Resigned | |
David Hobbs | 1989 | 1989 | Caretaker Role | |
Ron Willey | 1989 | 1990 | Sacked | |
David Hobbs | 1990 | 1993 | Sacked | |
Peter Fox | 1993 | 1995 | Sacked | |
Brian Smith | 1995 | 1996 | Moved to Parramatta Eels | |
Matthew Elliott | 1996 | 2000 | Moved to Canberra Raiders | |
Brian Noble | 2001 | 2006 | Moved to Wigan Warriors | |
Steve McNamara | 2006 | Present |
Player Records
All-time Top 5 Bradford Bulls Tryscorers
Name | Tries | |
---|---|---|
Jack McLean | 261 | |
David Redfearn | 240 | |
Tommy Winnard | 167 | |
Eric Batten | 156 | |
Robbie Paul | 156 |
All-time Top 5 Bradford Bulls Point Scorers
Name | Points | |
---|---|---|
Paul Deacon* | 2,000 | |
Keith Mumby | 1985 |
All-time Top 5 Bradford Bulls Appearances
Name | Appearances | |
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Keith Mumby | 588 | |
George Carmichael | 473 | |
David Redfearn | 470 | |
Trevor Foster | 433 | |
Ernest Ward | 391 |
Former Super League Players
Team of the Century
As announced in Bradford's T&A Paper on 31 August, 2007 :Bradford's Team of the Century
Bradford Bulls Team Of The Century |
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Head Coach
- 00 Brian Noble
Kit man
See also
- Bradford Bulls statistics
- Bradford Bulls Academy
- Former Bradford Bulls Players
- Bradford Bulls Officials
- Bradford Bulls 2007