IT’S been compared to the year Rangers spent in the bottom league in Scotland.

For Annan Athletic, Peterhead or East Stirling read future opponents Hemel Stags, Gloucester All Golds and Oxford.

The 2018 season in League One will be a huge eye-opener for the Bulls and a fan-base brought up on Super League showdowns with the Rhinos, Warriors and Saints.

But the relegated Bulls’ misfortune is the rest of the division’s massive gain.

For them, as it was with the Scottish football minnows rubbing shoulders with Rangers, this represents a glorious opportunity to make money and spread the word.

“To be playing a club as big as Bradford Bulls is absolutely fantastic from our point of view,” said Hemel chief executive Bob Brown.

“It would be a great marketing exercise to try to introduce new people to the sport, just coming along out of curiosity.

“The Bulls are up there with Wigan and Leeds in people’s perception of the game.

“For all the League One clubs, it’s an opportunity to promote it to a new audience. Hopefully they will come back for more.

“If we didn’t market it properly, we really should get a kick up the backside.”

Only 118 saw Keighley’s visit to Pennine Way, Hemel’s home, this season – the record attendance is 480 against neighbours London Skolars.

But Brown added: “We can handle it logistically if the Bulls do come here. Our ground’s got a capacity of 2,000.

“Capacity-wise it’s similar to London Broncos – theirs is just a little bit more posh. But we’ve got a bigger grandstand with more seats.

“We would reckon on four figures if Bradford came down. We own our own ground so whatever revenue we generate, it’s all ours.”

Gloucester All Golds fondly recall a Challenge Cup meeting with Salford in 2013. For them, the prospect of facing the Bulls on a level playing field is the stuff of dreams.

Club official Chris Wilson said: “We’ve played Keighley and Hunslet and see them as the fixtures we want to prove ourselves in.

“We’d be looking at Bradford as a game that will grab the attention of the rugby public in Gloucestershire.

“Will it be a culture shock for the Bulls? It depends how they set themselves mentally.

“It’s a new ground and an opportunity rather than playing the likes of Hunslet and Swinton every other week, it’s something different.

“You could treat it, not as a day out, but as a fresh challenge.

“They won’t know a lot of the players or the grounds. But that’s kind of the beauty of the season and seeing if the players can raise themselves to perform in the unknown.

“In a way it’s going back to the early 2000s when Bradford were the team to beat. They knew that the opposition would raise their game.

“Potentially it’s going to be the same again. Even though the standard may not be quite as all-conquering now, it’s the same kind of mind-set.”

A dual-registration link-up between the Bulls and Coventry Bears failed to get off the ground in 2015. But next season they will be sharing a pitch.

Bears coach Tom Tsang said: “We spent some time visiting their staff up at Odsal when Jimmy Lowes was in charge, having a look round and thinking this is something we ought to aspire to.

“I’m from Huddersfield myself and grew up watching the Bulls in the 2000s. That was one of the things that kept me involved in the game seeing how successful they were in Super League.

“It is a bit surreal to think that we were just an amateur club in the Midlands League when the Bulls were in their heyday and now we’re playing in the same competition.”

But their presence will spread the word in another area where union dominates the rugby landscape.

“You stop someone on the street in Coventry and they might not know the likes of Keighley and Oldham,” added Tsang. “But they definitely will know Bradford, Leeds or Wigan.

“It’s not great what’s happened to Bradford. I really feel for their fans and hopefully they are not in our league for too long.

“But what it will do for the league itself and the interest will be huge.

“You’ve seen the amount of coverage with Toronto. Having a famous name like Bradford in our league will be unimaginable.

“It’s Bradford’s misfortune to come down but all the other clubs will be very happy in the short term.”