FORMER Bulls star Kris Welham is not surprised their opening opponents Hull KR are firm favourites to finish top of the Championship.

The Rovers trip to start the season on Sunday could not be a more difficult test for the newly-formed Odsal club as they look to reduce their 12-point penalty.

And Welham, who left Bradford for Super League Salford following the Bulls' liquidation, believes his home-town side look in great shape to mount a strong promotion challenge as they bid for an immediate return to the top tier.

He said: "Hull KR away is certainly a tough start to the season. I don’t know if they will come straight back up when Super League teams join them (in the Super 8s qualifiers) but I see them winning the league.

"With all that’s happened at Bradford, where a lot of the senior players with experience have left, Hull KR have got a very strong squad and I can see them winning that competition fairly easily.

"They’ve signed some Aussie lads (full back Adam Quinlan, centre Andrew Heffernan and former Bulls team-mate Kieren Moss) but they have kept a lot from last year who have all played Super League for a long time.

"They are experienced and keeping them is going to be massive for them."

Hull KR have also signed former Bulls Danny Addy, Mitch Clark and Ben Kavanagh, who all played alongside Welham in his one season at Odsal last year after joining from Rovers.

The centre became a fans favourite in his short Bradford career, scoring 30 tries and scooping four player of the year awards, including the T&A prize.

Despite the team failing to make the top four, he looks back fondly on his time at Odsal before things turned sour off the field with administration and subsequent liquidation.

"I had a good year at Bradford," said the 29-year-old. "I enjoyed it with a good set of lads and a good couple of coaches in Jimmy (Lowes) and Rohan (Smith).

"The fans took to me and were singing my name all the time – at one time they were even wearing ginger wigs!

"I appreciated the support massively. It helped me settle in and made my time there very enjoyable and I thank them for that.

"It was sad the way things ended and not as anyone would want."

Welham admitted he had to put his family first when Salford came in after Bulls folded and he became a free agent.

He said: "As much as I just love playing rugby league, it is about paying the bills and having security for your family.

"Towards the back end at Bradford I wasn’t getting that. The only option was to move on and luckily Salford have offered me a deal."

Despite the upheaval at Odsal, which has seen a host of senior players depart, Welham believes his former club can turn things round on the field.

He said: "I still think they’ve a decent team. A lot of players have left but they still have a lot of good young players and a couple of senior ones who have been around.

"The quicker the club gets sorted out, the players there can get their heads round it and I’m sure they can still do fairly well."