BRADFORD Bulls academy coach Leigh Beattie praised players and supporters and hailed a 'great day' for the club despite a pre-season defeat against local rivals Huddersfield Giants.

The Bulls were beaten 28-10 at the John Smith's Stadium but the result paled into insignificance in light of the chaos that has surrounded the club over the last three months.

With new owners in the shape of New Zealanders Graham Lowe and Andrew Chalmers, and new coach Geoff Toovey arriving this week, the Bulls are bouncing back after the nightmare of liquidation earlier this month.

Beattie said: "It's been a great day for the supporters and the club. It really showed the spirit in this club that those fans turned out in numbers today.

"We had a load of young kids in the side but the effort was absolutely outstanding," he added. "The players have been through a lot but that has made them stronger as a group.

"We were still signing players on Saturday and we had trained only twice properly in six weeks. But they were buzzing out on the field and one of them even said the buzz was that good, he thought we were winning!"

Toovey will be in place for this weekend's final pre-season game at Keighley but Beattie revealed his pride at getting the opportunity to take charge of the Bulls, even if only for one game.

"It's been a great day for me (personally) and I am thankful I got the opportunity to do it," he said. "It's a proud moment for me being a Bradford lad who has been here for 20 years. I was chuffed to lead those boys."

Scrum half Joe Keyes scored the first try for the newly-formed Bulls while Ross Oakes added the second late on.