BEN Kavanagh admits the Championship Shield victory was not the ultimate goal in 2016 but he was still glad to sign the season off on a high.

The Bulls missed out on the top four and a place in the Qualifiers before they ended their decade-long wait for silverware by beating Sheffield in the Shield final.

Kavanagh, who is preparing for the Four Nations tournament with Scotland, was pleased that the raft of players departing Odsal were able to do so on a positive note.

"It was definitely good to finish last season on a high because at the end of the day, a trophy is a trophy – and even though it's not we wanted as a club at the start of 2016, it was good to finish on that note," said Kavanagh.

"A lot of the boys left at the end of the season and I think these probably are the best set of lads I've ever played with, so to send them off with the Shield win was good."

Phil Joseph became the latest addition to Rohan Smith's side for 2017 as the Bulls look to build on a disappointing year by pushing back into the top four.

Kavanagh is particularly looking forward to playing alongside the new additions to the side and the growing competition for places.

"I've got another two years here at Bradford and Rohan is getting a good squad together for next year and we'll push on and hopefully make that top four and the Qualifiers next season," he said.

"Rohan has added some decent players with the likes of Leon Pryce, Ross Peltier and Phil Joseph, so things are looking good."