MATT Diskin has stressed the importance of educating his aspiring young stars off the pitch as well as on it as the Bulls' under-19s prepare for this weekend's season opener.

The former Leeds hooker hung up his boots at the end of last year, bringing the curtain down on a glorious career which saw him win four Grand Finals.

Now he is nurturing the next generation of potential Odsal stars and his under-19s side, despite the club's relegation from Super League, will play in a competition against top-flight teams.

Ex-Bulls captain Diskin said: "Bradford have always had a proud record of producing their own players and our young lads need to be competing against the best in their age group, so being in the top division is key to that.

"Where we probably lack a little at the moment is physical maturity as we have some late developers.

"There has been a decent overhaul and we've had ten new faces come in as 16-year-olds, so we've got a very young side too.

"But we've got some really talented kids with a great work ethic and I couldn't have asked for any more from them.

"The majority of my time is taken up with the academy and we have to take care of the educational side of the players' development too.

"I've made quite a stance regarding education and told the lads that if they are not delivering in the classroom then they won't be available for selection.

"They've been made aware of that from the start because, while we want to develop footballers for the first team, what's more important to me is developing all-round good people.

"Therefore, whether they stay with us or leave, they're basically going to be set up for life."

The young players are on the AASE (Achieving Academic and Sporting Excellence) scheme, so they actually study at the ground, and the Bradford Bulls Foundation work hard in delivering the programme.

"It's all-inclusive for them, which is good for us as it allows us to have some control over them and make the players accountable for what they do away from training as well," said Diskin.

"I'm very demanding of these young players – and I've got to be. It's my chance to make sure they get into good habits for the rest of their career.

"I can't thank the boys enough because they have embraced everything I have asked of them and they work harder than any group I've seen for a few years.

"Hopefully their tactical brains and what they have learnt in training will bear fruit for us this coming season."

Under-19s players Ethan Ryan, Liam Kirk and Ross Oakes all got a taste of first-team action against Leeds in Jamie Peacock's testimonial recently.

Diskin, whose side open their campaign at Widnes on Saturday, said: "They're all talented and they all have a chance.

"Ethan has a little bit of pressure on him as this is his last year in the under-19s and he's got to really step up to push for a place in the first team.

"Liam and Ross have got a little bit more time as second years and they are also very talented, so they need to make the most of that talent."