ADRIAN Morley won a Grand Final winners’ medal with Bradford in 2005, is a long-standing friend of Jimmy Lowes and would love to see the Bulls back in Super League.

But none of that will deter the 38-year-old prop from the task in hand when Salford arrive at Odsal on Sunday.

“If we get the win then it’s another step towards securing our Super League status,” says Morley, who is due to retire at the end of the season.

“We want that at all costs and will be going out there pretty confident after two good victories against Wakefield and Leigh.

“I think this new structure is a fantastic concept and people are actually paying a lot more interest to the middle eights than the Super 8s.

“The pathway to Super League is a lot better than what it was and I’d definitely love to see Bradford back up there one day, but certainly not at Salford’s expense.”

Morley is the only current top-flight player to have featured in the inaugural Super League season in 1996.

He was a Leeds player then and played alongside Lowes at Headingley.

“As a young lad it was quite daunting and intimidating to be alongside the likes of Ellery Hanley and Garry Schofield, who were real superstars of the game,” remembers Morley.

“I had a couple of seasons with Jimmy and 1994-95 was my debut year when I only played three games.

“Jimmy was a fantastic player but he always made time for me and looked after me as a skinny young forward.

“We get on well and that friendship has been maintained.

“But the following year in 1996 I got to play most games with Jimmy and I was amazed that Leeds let him go.

“He was one of our better players and a Leeds lad, but the Rhinos’ loss was certainly Bradford’s gain.

“He had a fantastic career with Bradford, winning the Man of Steel as well as a host of trophies.

“Jimmy went out of his way to try and help me and I just remember him being very in your face as a player.

“He never took a backward step and he was always there.

“I played with him for Great Britain too. It’s always an honour to play for your country but to do it with someone like Jimmy was great.

“Then I was coached by him at Warrington, when he was the head coach for a number of weeks, so I know Jimmy inside out as a player, as a coach and as a person.

“I’ve got a lot of time for the man and it’s no surprise to me that he’s doing really well at Bradford.

“Sunday is a big game and we’re certainly not underestimating Bradford just because they are in the Championship. It doesn’t mean Odsal isn’t going to be a very tough place to go.”

When Morley played a cameo role in helping Bradford to win the Super League title in 2005, he carved his own slice of history at Old Trafford.

It saw him add the Super League title to the 2002 NRL crown he won with Sydney Roosters and the 1999 Challenge Cup final victory with Leeds to become the first British player to claim all three trophies.

“It was a very strange time in my career,” says Morley.

“I had played all year with the Sydney Roosters and then came in to play the last six games for Bradford.

“I certainly wouldn’t have changed it because it was a fantastic experience, although I felt a little bit of an impostor coming in at the end when everyone else had done all the work.

“To play in a Grand Final was great and the Bradford club couldn’t do enough for me and my wife.

“They really looked after us and it has been sad to see the Bulls decline, but hopefully they are on the rise now.

“The Bulls once epitomised what Super League was all about.

“They had a lot of success on the field but they didn’t get it right with the finances off the field, so it just goes to show that not everyone is immune to those kind of problems.

“The crowds are still great considering they’re a Championship club and there is no doubt they would boom if they got back up.”

Salford have endured a traumatic season on and off the field with the departure of Iestyn Harris and their bottom-four finish placing them in danger of relegation.

Morley, who is due to take on an ambassadorial/general manager role at Salford when he retires, said: “We’ve set ourselves a goal of finishing top in the middle eights, so we just need to keep winning.

“There will be a number of roles and responsibilities in my role, so it’s great that I get to stay involved in the game with my home-town club. Apart from playing, it’s the next best thing.”