THE Bulls insist Phoenix Hunapo-Nofoa's contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

The 22-year-old had become frustrated over the delay and Bradford have admitted they were unable to secure a work visa for the Auckland-born half-back.

The sticking point seemed to be that Hunapo-Nofoa had played rugby union sevens for Samoa, rather than being a full 15-a-side international.

A Bulls spokesman said: "We applied to (the) RFL for a governing body endorsement but unfortunately Phoenix did not meet the requirements laid down by the UK Border Agency for players coming into the sport from rugby union."

Hunapo-Nofoa signed with the Bulls at the beginning of February but has not travelled to the UK.

Interim coach Geoff Toovey is also waiting for his visa but the Bulls are much more optimistic here.

The club tweeted: "The visa application is still in process. We hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible."

Hunapo-Nofoa was one of the first signings under the new Bradford regime of co-owner Graham Lowe and wanted to learn from coaching legend Toovey.

Formerly with the Auckland Warriors development squad, Hunapo-Nofoa represented New Zealand in the 2015 Touch Football World Cup.

Lowe had expected Hunapo-Nofoa to become a star over here, saying when he signed: "Phoenix will quickly become a favourite of our fans.

"His instinctive attacking and running style will be very exciting to watch. He's been a great player for Samoa on the World Rugby Sevens circuit.

"We have managed to sign him, despite a great deal of interest from several NRL clubs. He is very excited about being coached by Geoff Toovey and I know Geoff is the type of coach who will get the very best out of him."