McNamara left to rue errors as Giants cash in on generosity (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

We did ok ! is that it ? I rest my case.Well here`s to another long season never mind its only saints next week.

I could be reading the same script he used numerous times last year. I was optimistic going into the season but that seems to have been a little misplaced based on this performance & result!!

It is only week one for goodness sake ! Lets not get carried away ! It wasn't brilliant by any stretch of the imagination and to have the giants pinned on their line as often as we did in the second half and fail to convert it into points is unacceptable.
But the signs were there that we will come good and it will come right in the end. Lets not start piling on the pressure already after one result. We did luck very one dimensional at times but lets stick with it at least for another few weeks before jumping on the players and Macca's backs.
One thing of concern was the missed conversions. Scoreline would have been a lot closer then. COME ON YOU BULLS !!!!!!!!

The bulls used the same 1 attacking move all night. 1st man runs through, man behind gets the ball, next man runs through, the full back got the ball. I have seen better attack in the pennine league. McNamara has 3 games. after that its time for a change. this year there are no excuses. he has been backed by the board with a lot of spending money. Graham Murry for the bulls

SAME OLD STORY!!! TOO MANY ERRORS, DROP BALL, PENALTIES,WHERE WAS REARDON WEN THEY GOT THE FIRST TRY(NO WHERE!). HOPE WE IMPROVE!!!!!!

It's not Macca's fault that we kept spilling the ball. It's going to take a while for the team to gel, remember we have a new hooker and halves at the club, they just can't play together straight away these things need time.

I can't believe worrincy gets in ahead of whitehead though and I'd have liked to have seen more of young Donaldson.

I'd also like to see Crossley getting a run out, seems a good player from what I've seen of him.

Last season we beat Rhinos and Saints. Did that make us the best team last year? The only match I got to see in the UK was the loss to Crusaders. Did that make us the worst team last year?

Of course not!

If one result defines the whole season then based on last nights' results Castleford are top of the league!

But as we saw last year (and as Rhinos saw last night), the better teams playing poorly will still lose to the poorer teams playing well.

I saw the game on Sky, and it seemed to me that Huddersfield were very clinical, punishing the very few key Bulls errors every time with a try.

The bulls on the other hand were still trying to find their feet and get to know each other. Orford when he had the ball in hand seemed to be looking for runners while the rest were waiting to see what he might do with it.

It will come with time.

I thought all the Ozzies looked promising and will love it when the conditions improve over the summer. Great game from Langley. Would have liked Godwin to have had more of a chance.

Last night Huddersfield were the better team and deserved their win, but I saw enough to have optimism that we will be competing in the next few weeks.

After so much hysteria what a refreshing and sensible post from Bull on a Canary.
I'm wondering how many people really expected the Bulls to win last night? I said time and time again they would be lucky to come away with anything and begged people not to jump to conclusions after one game, but don't you just know they are waiting to jump on the sack Macca waggon.
Giants defence was excellent and whilst Bulls spent long spells hammering their line there was no way through. I remember well when Bulls had such a defence people were praising them for their quality but when it's the other team defending well it goes unnoticed and Bulls are accused of lack of ideas. I saw in Giants a team to be reckoned with this season. They finished 3rd last time and Rhinos had better watch out this season. Nathan Brown was a fantastic hooker and he has now turned his talent to coaching with the same amount of success.
People fail to realise Giants are a season or two further on than Bulls with their team rebuilding and it showed. I thought Orford looked real class. His kicking was lacking due to the way Giants marked and closed him down but his passing was superb and there were many times when he held the ball waiting for the runner that never came. Let's not overlook the fact this guy has only got one friendly under his belt prior to this game after arriving here a few short weeks ago from 35deg tropical climes. He has never played in a competitive game for the Bulls or with his partner Kearney.
I for one am looking forward to this season. I liked a lot of what I saw last night. Yes there were some areas where improvement is needed but nothing we didn't already know of before. Macca should have played Whitehead in place of Koppy who whilst once again knocked by many, did amazingly well to play at all after his nasty injury last week. The Centres are going to be a problem but on the bright side Reardon(despite still in some discomfort from his dead leg) is the finisher of old and Sherriffe showed some promise with a really well taken try and a couple of very good runs.
Halley still looks lightweight against a side as big as the giants.
But for me the positives were there and although it will sound like clutching at straws to the pessimist I am convinced this side will improve weekly and be even better on firmer grounds.

Hi im new to the site, supported Bulls/Northern for 30+ years just got a laptop and read the commnts with interest. Most comments seem valid and fair although howard talks a lot nonsense but i think he is a closet bulls fan as he seems to spend more time reading about the bulls than his whinos. As for last night we made too many un-forced errors. Like Bull in canery says it is not steve macs fault they drop the ball however this seems to be a constant problem so as coach he should address this. When i played we had the same problem so our coach made us train using a beach ball and we found you had to be far more accurate with your passing teqnique then when we went back to using a proper ball it was far easier. I do agree with people about our 3/4 line dont know why we ever go rid of Ryan Atkins and we desperately need a goal kicker. on the plus side i thought Ox looked like he is going to give us direction (que wise crack howard) on the field that we have lacked. i think once we gel and learn to catch the ball and defend better close to the line things will be on the up. We should remember though Huddersfield are a good side and have been building a side for the past few years and well done to them, we have just had a massive overhalul of 15 players going in and out of the squad it will take time so lets not panic. Oh and well done Cas lets see what howard has to say about the almighty string of beeds who had Peacock and webb back last night!!

Hi Sid, welcome you'll already have seen the cross section of opinions on here. It all helps to make life interesting!! No doubt someone will tell you to stick to yer cockle picking so I'll get it in first and out of the way!!Goal kicking shouldnt be a problem mate as Sykes is not bad but I believe Orford has over 600 goals to his name too. He kicked for Manly and they weren't too bad. We always knew we'd miss Deacs goal kicks. Lets hope we get the improvement as we've mentioned and theres a fair yardstick to measure by when they play Saints next week!! COYB!!

I said, before the season even kicked off, we lose one game and everyone puts the cue on the rack.
We lost Round 1...if we went on to win the next 26 Rounds would everyone be complaining? NO....course not. Its a marathon not a sprint. Has anyone seen the Leeds fans calling it quits after losing to Cas? Get a grip you so-called fans. Yes, they lost, but they only conceded one try more than the Giants which means defence isn't a million miles away. Sliding defence didn't move quick enough which is why Reardon had to cover so much space, yet managed to sneak over for a couple of tries himself. Kearney & Orford were getting more and more of a threat in the second half and yes, the hooking role should be "shared" not left until L'Estrange keels over. Like I said, we're a prop light off the bench, Worrincy can hit a good line but isn't a good defender, Donaldson deserves more game time and Kopczak has just come back from injury. They've been training with no scrum half until January and he only got one run out with them before last night. Once timing comes, the halves figure out where the runners are coming and they cut the error count, then we'll be just as clinical. It's a setback not a catastrophe!

It will be great to put the doubters to the sword by turning over Saints, next week. But, it's the coach's job to choose the right side and tactics for the conditions. It's not going to be top of the ground conditions until May (if you're lucky). It's a tough start for the Bulls with the first two games against sides who will be in the shake-up at the end of the season. Now is not the time to panic but to build on the positives of last night. There are enough old heads in the side to lift the other lads. It was pleasing to hear that Jamie Langley had a good game. I thought he was going to be the Bulls 'wunderkind" a couple of seasons ago but better late than never. I'm looking forward to the game next week. Odsal should become the fortress it was. And remember, we have only lost as many games as Leeds this season and have not lost one at home. We owe it to ourselves to put 70 points past an ageing Saints side but I'll be happy with a win.

One game gone 26 to go. To be fair They never gave up which was nice to see even at 24-12 they were still getting to set the scrums quickly. With less handling errors, better defending from Readon (to be fair he did score two) and goal kicking who knows what could have happened. The the signs do look good though. Credit has to go to hudds defence which were pretty good (crap kicking though) even when they were a man down at times!

Yet again I am hearing the usual morning and people calling Steve Mcnamara and the players.
It was game one! with a reasonable performance. The team are still getting used to the new players and learning new thing.
Macca and the team have my full support whatever the outcome of a game.
I hate to read abd hear people call others.

Macca is a grate coach and has signed some grate players.
"Lets get behind them"
instead of giving up at the first hurdle.

I saw some good rugby and does anyone just not think well maybe other teams have improved like us. Instead they live in the past.

Rikki scored and made some good breaks some good confidence shown.

Lets see some support sunday when we play the saints

Keep The Faith Macca & the Bulls
****

haitch wrote:
After so much hysteria what a refreshing and sensible post from Bull on a Canary. I'm wondering how many people really expected the Bulls to win last night? I said time and time again they would be lucky to come away with anything and begged people not to jump to conclusions after one game, but don't you just know they are waiting to jump on the sack Macca waggon. Giants defence was excellent and whilst Bulls spent long spells hammering their line there was no way through. I remember well when Bulls had such a defence people were praising them for their quality but when it's the other team defending well it goes unnoticed and Bulls are accused of lack of ideas. I saw in Giants a team to be reckoned with this season. They finished 3rd last time and Rhinos had better watch out this season. Nathan Brown was a fantastic hooker and he has now turned his talent to coaching with the same amount of success. People fail to realise Giants are a season or two further on than Bulls with their team rebuilding and it showed. I thought Orford looked real class. His kicking was lacking due to the way Giants marked and closed him down but his passing was superb and there were many times when he held the ball waiting for the runner that never came. Let's not overlook the fact this guy has only got one friendly under his belt prior to this game after arriving here a few short weeks ago from 35deg tropical climes. He has never played in a competitive game for the Bulls or with his partner Kearney. I for one am looking forward to this season. I liked a lot of what I saw last night. Yes there were some areas where improvement is needed but nothing we didn't already know of before. Macca should have played Whitehead in place of Koppy who whilst once again knocked by many, did amazingly well to play at all after his nasty injury last week. The Centres are going to be a problem but on the bright side Reardon(despite still in some discomfort from his dead leg) is the finisher of old and Sherriffe showed some promise with a really well taken try and a couple of very good runs. Halley still looks lightweight against a side as big as the giants. But for me the positives were there and although it will sound like clutching at straws to the pessimist I am convinced this side will improve weekly and be even better on firmer grounds.

Haitch- Good post again but it is not about the loss its the way we lost, last year was a disaster & this season is starting the same way. These players have player together many times before at Manly. Macca is not good enough to coach at this level thats the sad truth. Its not about one game its about what has not changed from 4 seasons of this type of play.I am a loyal supporter of the bulls & will remain as such but how many will turn up for the saints game. We need to start playing to entertain to attract the crowd.

Thanks for the wlcome Haitch, like you im an ex-pat you can take the man out of Bradford but not the Bradford out of the man! I agree with the coments about not panicing, i think we came up against a diciplined side who in large have play together for the past few seasons and yes the heads didnt go down even with seconds to go the pack formed in seconds for a scrum while the giants messed around wasting time. i also liked the enthusiasm from Donaldson and he should be given more gametime, glad also to see for once people getting penalised for slowing the play of the ball down just hope its consistant. As for last night im still optomistic about the new season and given time we will be in the mix at the business end of the season. Bring on Saints. COYB

bullybullman wrote:

haitch wrote: After so much hysteria what a refreshing and sensible post from Bull on a Canary. I'm wondering how many people really expected the Bulls to win last night? I said time and time again they would be lucky to come away with anything and begged people not to jump to conclusions after one game, but don't you just know they are waiting to jump on the sack Macca waggon. Giants defence was excellent and whilst Bulls spent long spells hammering their line there was no way through. I remember well when Bulls had such a defence people were praising them for their quality but when it's the other team defending well it goes unnoticed and Bulls are accused of lack of ideas. I saw in Giants a team to be reckoned with this season. They finished 3rd last time and Rhinos had better watch out this season. Nathan Brown was a fantastic hooker and he has now turned his talent to coaching with the same amount of success. People fail to realise Giants are a season or two further on than Bulls with their team rebuilding and it showed. I thought Orford looked real class. His kicking was lacking due to the way Giants marked and closed him down but his passing was superb and there were many times when he held the ball waiting for the runner that never came. Let's not overlook the fact this guy has only got one friendly under his belt prior to this game after arriving here a few short weeks ago from 35deg tropical climes. He has never played in a competitive game for the Bulls or with his partner Kearney. I for one am looking forward to this season. I liked a lot of what I saw last night. Yes there were some areas where improvement is needed but nothing we didn't already know of before. Macca should have played Whitehead in place of Koppy who whilst once again knocked by many, did amazingly well to play at all after his nasty injury last week. The Centres are going to be a problem but on the bright side Reardon(despite still in some discomfort from his dead leg) is the finisher of old and Sherriffe showed some promise with a really well taken try and a couple of very good runs. Halley still looks lightweight against a side as big as the giants. But for me the positives were there and although it will sound like clutching at straws to the pessimist I am convinced this side will improve weekly and be even better on firmer grounds.

Haitch- Good post again but it is not about the loss its the way we lost, last year was a disaster & this season is starting the same way. These players have player together many times before at Manly. Macca is not good enough to coach at this level thats the sad truth. Its not about one game its about what has not changed from 4 seasons of this type of play.I am a loyal supporter of the bulls & will remain as such but how many will turn up for the saints game. We need to start playing to entertain to attract the crowd.

Cheers mate! Its still too soon to rush to conclusions. Ox has only played the once and to be honest he never played with Kearney before that. At times he linked well with Beaver and that will be a feature I believe as the season progresses. I also believe the likes of Orford and Menzies will have a big influence on correcting things now that they are seeing where the short comings may be. We've two choices mate Pessimism or positive. It's a bit early to get pessimistic. Keep posting bullman as you have as much right to your opinion as any of us but for chr*st sake cheer up!!

Rarely have I looked forward with such optimism, only to realise that after 20 mins I was watching the same clueless outfit as have been sporting Bulls' shirts these last 4 years. Totally lacking in cohesion - the trademark of McNamara's reign as coach. The only bright spot was I read that Macca is due to team up with Brian Smith in Australia at the end of the season - his departure cannot come soon enough. Anyone who watches the Bulls knows that we regularly get done out wide by the winger coming in off the wing - it cost us 10 points (that is a coaching problem). The sooner we have an Aussie coach, the sooner we will improve.

Well I'm not down yet, although a bull I was lifted after our defeat by news of a cas win. As far as I could see when the main 4 creators have played together a couple of times and people run into the gaps that ox created then we will see the bulls of old. Lets hope they click inside the 1st 10 next sunday. get ox taking the kicks in training this week to get used to the swirl round the bowl. I would start with Godwin against saint & bring L'strange on after about 30 when ther forwards start to jade a bit

we're so disappointed.
How many times did we hear that last season. is it going to be the same excuse every week this term?
Believe me they are not half as disappointed as the poor sods who travelled and payed to watch the same old lack of ideas. dropped passes and aimless kicking.
as was said earlier our two H/B's couldn't even find space with thier kicking when giants were a man short, it was woeful.
poeple say langley made some good yards for bulls. yes he did,but not as many as he made for giants with the penalties he gave away. when will he learn? reardon went missing twice early on and it cost us 2 tries.
I know it's early days and the team can improve as a unit. but canthe goal kicking improve? if not it will cost us games.(who said we wouldn't miss deac's).
And so next saints, word is they are not as good this term, lets hope so because on last night's form it could be humilliating.

For crying out loud its the first game of the season and it was only 4 tries to 3 hardly a whitewash. The bulls did very well, Rearden quite understandable is rusty but what a great finisher! Huddersfield could even finish top or 2nd on this performance. What's all this sack McNamara after one game you should be ashamed we are not like football we are Rugby League

A lot of words posted so far. The Yorkshire Post described the Bulls as "poor". That's an independent and accurate description.

The reasons? Poor coaching, poor ball control, poor set of three-quarters. The forwards look much weaker without Morrison and Burgess. There was a lack of leadership (Lynch is a good player with a big heart, but he is no leader). Orford, Kearney and Menzies are the only players with class on this display.

If there isn't a huge improvement by next week, the first home game is going to be very quiet.

bullinrhinoland wrote:
A lot of words posted so far. The Yorkshire Post described the Bulls as "poor". That's an independent and accurate description. The reasons? Poor coaching, poor ball control, poor set of three-quarters. The forwards look much weaker without Morrison and Burgess. There was a lack of leadership (Lynch is a good player with a big heart, but he is no leader). Orford, Kearney and Menzies are the only players with class on this display. If there isn't a huge improvement by next week, the first home game is going to be very quiet.

Trust me, LEEDS Yorkshire post are neither accurate nor independent. They don't even say who wrote the article though we know it could have been a certain someone who wrote for T&A last season and who is a one eyed Leeds Fan!!
What they should be concentrating on is their own team and asking themselves how a star studded Rhinos with Buderus ,Delaney, JP, Sinfield, Macguire Burrows, Webb Donald, Eastwood Lautiiti etc., can fail to beat a lowly Cas side who's stars you could count on one hand with fingers to spare.
Lets cut out this nonsense of saying one game defines the whole season and allow a few games to elapse before we start spitting out the dummies.

Right guys, lets have a reality check here.
It was only the 1st game of the season and already we have a countdown of how many games Macca has got until he gets the chop.
This is totally unacceptable and we have to be patient. As the old adage goes, Rome wasn't built in a day !!
As I said last night, it wasn't a fantastic evening on the field and off the field with the weather as is was however, there were some positives to take away from it as well.
We could have easily capitulated, shut up shop and been absolutely battered for want of a better expression but we carried on and the score was a respectable one. Yes, I do think that the fans have been hyped up a bit by the media and to be fair, to go to the galpharm and to come away with the win ( espeacially with a strong Giants squad ) was asking a bit too much.
As I said, we have to be patient and last night I thought that the fans were brilliant in getting behind the team and I thought we out-shouted the Fartowners.
I can understand the frustration from a number of fans but fro goodness sake, don't write them off just yet and keep the faith
COYB

Richard Byram writes for the Yorkshire Evening News (same owners as Yorkshire Post?) and is also biased. He forgot to mention that Castleford won the second half 18 - 0 Only two sentences were given to the report after Cas went into the lead!

Oh and I forgot to mention as well, as a team, we came through our 1st game pretty unscathed which is a bonus, so we should have a strong squad to pick from next week.

Stalybridge, I'm not calling for macca to be sacked after one (awful) game, this is coming after 3 woeful years. We were up against a Giants' team who played with 4 front-line players out injured and spent a quarter of the game down to 12 players. Without doubt, the scoreline flattered the Bulls as we were markedly second-best. The reason ? Because the Giants have a good coach and we don't.

If the Bulls were so bad I would be dreading next week against Saints.But I'm not - I can't wait for it to come!
If anyone recorded the game could they look and see how much Reardon was out of position in their two tries scored against him and how much he was just hopelessly exposed by the poor defensive line. And how good was it to see him drive over the line only to be held on his back towards the end. After 18 months out that pretty much impressed me.
We can look forward to a good season.

Hi
Firstly I'd like to say that any team playing so close to a WCC match is not going to play full bloodedly once the opposition starts to knock them about, but well played Cas this is what we want to see Leeds getting beat especially at home.
To get on to the Bulls, Sherriffe played his best game for a long time well done to him. I think perhaps they were all a little nervous after all the expectations put on them with the new players, they were trying too hard at times and came up with errors (dropped ball Etc). But I think with a little of the pressure off after the first game and result the little things will work leading to nerves settling and confidence will make them play better. Menzies is still a class player even at his age wish we had a few more of his talent and vision. Kearney was definitely trying too hard to impress hence the injury 2nd half which he recovered well from out on the wing even though Robinson spotted it and put a high kick across he was covered by his team mates. The Giants defence was tremendous and with lesser opposition I think Bfd. would have scored more albeit "up the middle" rugby once again. Let's hope we can get some better moves and approach rugby this season with our halves getting to gel better with the team as well as each other.
Good Luck for the season.

haitch wrote:

bullybullman wrote:

haitch wrote: After so much hysteria what a refreshing and sensible post from Bull on a Canary. I'm wondering how many people really expected the Bulls to win last night? I said time and time again they would be lucky to come away with anything and begged people not to jump to conclusions after one game, but don't you just know they are waiting to jump on the sack Macca waggon. Giants defence was excellent and whilst Bulls spent long spells hammering their line there was no way through. I remember well when Bulls had such a defence people were praising them for their quality but when it's the other team defending well it goes unnoticed and Bulls are accused of lack of ideas. I saw in Giants a team to be reckoned with this season. They finished 3rd last time and Rhinos had better watch out this season. Nathan Brown was a fantastic hooker and he has now turned his talent to coaching with the same amount of success. People fail to realise Giants are a season or two further on than Bulls with their team rebuilding and it showed. I thought Orford looked real class. His kicking was lacking due to the way Giants marked and closed him down but his passing was superb and there were many times when he held the ball waiting for the runner that never came. Let's not overlook the fact this guy has only got one friendly under his belt prior to this game after arriving here a few short weeks ago from 35deg tropical climes. He has never played in a competitive game for the Bulls or with his partner Kearney. I for one am looking forward to this season. I liked a lot of what I saw last night. Yes there were some areas where improvement is needed but nothing we didn't already know of before. Macca should have played Whitehead in place of Koppy who whilst once again knocked by many, did amazingly well to play at all after his nasty injury last week. The Centres are going to be a problem but on the bright side Reardon(despite still in some discomfort from his dead leg) is the finisher of old and Sherriffe showed some promise with a really well taken try and a couple of very good runs. Halley still looks lightweight against a side as big as the giants. But for me the positives were there and although it will sound like clutching at straws to the pessimist I am convinced this side will improve weekly and be even better on firmer grounds.

Haitch- Good post again but it is not about the loss its the way we lost, last year was a disaster & this season is starting the same way. These players have player together many times before at Manly. Macca is not good enough to coach at this level thats the sad truth. Its not about one game its about what has not changed from 4 seasons of this type of play.I am a loyal supporter of the bulls & will remain as such but how many will turn up for the saints game. We need to start playing to entertain to attract the crowd.

Cheers mate! Its still too soon to rush to conclusions. Ox has only played the once and to be honest he never played with Kearney before that. At times he linked well with Beaver and that will be a feature I believe as the season progresses. I also believe the likes of Orford and Menzies will have a big influence on correcting things now that they are seeing where the short comings may be. We've two choices mate Pessimism or positive. It's a bit early to get pessimistic. Keep posting bullman as you have as much right to your opinion as any of us but for chr*st sake cheer up!!

Your right again Haitch I think its my hangover getting the better of me ! gloom & doom over

pontebull wrote:
Right guys, lets have a reality check here. It was only the 1st game of the season and already we have a countdown of how many games Macca has got until he gets the chop. This is totally unacceptable and we have to be patient. As the old adage goes, Rome wasn't built in a day !! As I said last night, it wasn't a fantastic evening on the field and off the field with the weather as is was however, there were some positives to take away from it as well. We could have easily capitulated, shut up shop and been absolutely battered for want of a better expression but we carried on and the score was a respectable one. Yes, I do think that the fans have been hyped up a bit by the media and to be fair, to go to the galpharm and to come away with the win ( espeacially with a strong Giants squad ) was asking a bit too much. As I said, we have to be patient and last night I thought that the fans were brilliant in getting behind the team and I thought we out-shouted the Fartowners. I can understand the frustration from a number of fans but fro goodness sake, don't write them off just yet and keep the faith COYB

good post pontebull when you mention the bradford fans getting behind the team, i was getting the beers in when the players came out for warm up and the roar from the bradford fans was awesome and echoed round the stadium! my only worry was goalkicking but has haitch has said sykes is a quality kicker especially when he was at quins, now with deacon gone im sure he will be getting plenty of practise in. i remember when henry paul played for us he used to spend hours up at shawcross goal kicking. cant wait for saints!

So, what do we think of the report from Dave Parker in the Sun today about Macca heading down under at the end of the year to be smith's assistant. Do we think it will happen?
Macca has had a torrid time as a coach at Bradford and a bloke can only take so much!
The chairman is allowing our coach to enter his last 10 months without extending his contract - this doesn't happen too often as contracts are usually extended earlier than this to stop them leaving. I have always been a supporter of Macca because I really do believe he is a very good coach. I have at the same time wondered if he is better as an assistant where he can simply coach players and let another "stronger" person motivate the team. I understand the comments from those above who want a change after 3 - 1/2 years but Macca is here for this season and we need to get behind him and the lads if we are real supporters in the true sense of the word. The coaching position will sort itself out in a few months as the chairman isn't stupid and has spent some money this year. He will need to decide by May what is happening. I hope Macca proves me right and shows us he is a top coach and a motivator - but I wouldn't be surprised if he decides he has had enough of doing those awfull interviews at the end of a game where he looks totally P***ed off and not sure what to say. If he does go down under he needs to tell the chairman early so we can start the search early and find a suitable replacement who could have Beaver as his assistant. Now, what about that as an idea?

The only fools here are those that read the hype and believed we just had to turn up, our halves rip them shreds and rack up a cricket score. Its a tough sport, with tough opposition and the videos this week will improve the team for next. how about less knives in backs and we all get behind the TEAM!

don't understand all the elation over whineo's loosing. all it shows is cas' have improved more than we have.
Never mind there's still salford and crusaders.

As has been said already - first game of the season. New players getting used to each other - sort out the errors and I think we are looking at a good season.
Don't forget, the best time to be hitting peak form is when the Play-offs are looming and that is the END of the season.
COYB and leave Macca alone.

If "Mac for the sack" then why not Rhinos and Saints manager's for the sack, after all they were favourites to win and finished 1st and 2nd last year. Bradford were not favourites to win and only conceded one more try to a very good defensive team. PS Why not sack Noble as well after all Crusaders lost their first game. Can't wait for Bulls next games COYB

Lets have some more logic here guys. Best not get carried away.
So, we got Leeds finishing bottom this season as it was a pretty bad loss at home to Cas. Saints will finish second bottom as they have lost at home to Hull .....Bulls should finish around halfway as they scored 3 tries to 4 away from home but their Coach should be sacked as he didn't get a win. Crusaders will finish just above Saints an Leeds as they performed better than expected against Leeds and Wigan. So...is there any need for a season to be any longer than 1 game? May as well wrap it up now and just use logic to decide the Cup and GF winners?

the anglian wrote:
As has been said already - first game of the season. New players getting used to each other - sort out the errors and I think we are looking at a good season.
Don't forget, the best time to be hitting peak form is when the Play-offs are looming and that is the END of the season.
COYB and leave Macca alone.

Totally agree with you
COYB

Wonder who will be for the sack after tomorrow's results?
Can't wait for the Saints game and even if the Bulls lose I will still look forward to the rest of the season, watching Bradford through thick and thin. Macca all the best for this season, I hope you win over your critics COYB

"it's only the first game"..."it's only week one".....etc etc. Heard all that past 4 seasons !!! (btw most bookies have bulls to place 9th/10th and they aren't usually that far wrong).

lifelongnorthernfan wrote:
"it's only the first game"..."it's only week one".....etc etc. Heard all that past 4 seasons !!! (btw most bookies have bulls to place 9th/10th and they aren't usually that far wrong).

Pop down the road to the Giants or Rhinos then. With such defeatist fans who needs enemies?

With you Adey,
and as for the bookies 'lifelong'
it would have been difficult to be that far wrong, but they also have Leeds top and Stains 2nd.But then anyone with the IQ of a chimp would have B4 the season kicked off.
But hey ho, Leeds were uninspired in the Crusader game and followed it up with a 24 - 10 loss.
Saints too, going down 32 - 12 against Cas'.
If you want a tip, get down to the bookies B4 the odds drasticly change. Better still lifelong, just own up that the only lifelongnorthern thing your a fan of is northern soul#*

Lol, did I say Saints went down to Cas' instead of FC? (and thats when I'm sober 8).

I too watched Hull game and liked the look of the Kiwi/Samoan back rower, seems a handful. Think if Bulls can complete sets of 6 Saints are there for the taking, they just have to be patient and the points will come no need to force things. On a different note does anyone know how big Sam went on in the friendly against Parramatta? I see he has been called into the squad for the NRL all-stars replacing Ellis who's wife has given birth. Hehe rumbull thats the kind of thing i do when i've had the odd drink or two lol.

It appears Brownies Aussies were better than your Aussies, still the Ox will need time to settle into the slower game style once he does he will pay dividends. The friendly game Souths played was mainly reserve grade players so Burgess should have stood out but cant find a report of the game. Him being picked for the all stars game has got every body stuffed here, how any body who can play for an NRL All Star team when they have never played a game in Aus. is beyond me, same goes for Bird whose in the other side. The rules of selection went out the window.
Inglis is out and my bet is he wont be coming to Yorkshire for the Leeds game. No coverage of Super League again cant find out why, do you lot get our NRL games still.
Have not put my bets on the Bulls or Wakefield yet will wait till next week.

It is a good job some of our fans don't also support Saints as they would be throwing themselves off the nearest office block today. Saints look as though they are starting the process that the bulls did three years ago. They have lost key players and others are in their last season and look like they are. We have a great chance to put it up them next week and we will get better each week. When you watch the game again we did make a few mistakes but it was only a few - which happened to be key errors. Cut these out and we will be a much different proposition for Saints. Hope last night doesn't spur Saints on though!!
One thing about being a Bulls fan is that it keeps us all entertained either by watching it or talking about it. It would be very dull if we all had the same boring opinion.

Nice one Prycey, I reckon its after the Bulls beat Saints it will be as if they've thrown themselves off office blocks as you won't hear a word from any of them. Agree though it's a wounded Bulls v Wounded Saints and if we can get beyond all the doom and gloom there's a helluva game due next up. I just hope the weather holds as a return to hard frost and maybe a bit of snow has been forecast.( See! the doom and gloom has rubbed off on me!) There should be quite a build up and atmosphere at that game. COYB!!

Giants and Bulls, was a team against individuals-compound
ed by listening to Jeffries and Morrison outstanding today for Wakefield. Granted we have new players but the next ten or so games will either make or break Macca's credibility.

Adey wrote:

lifelongnorthernfan wrote: "it's only the first game"..."it's only week one".....etc etc. Heard all that past 4 seasons !!! (btw most bookies have bulls to place 9th/10th and they aren't usually that far wrong).

Pop down the road to the Giants or Rhinos then. With such defeatist fans who needs enemies?

Deafeatist fan??Lol Supported/worked there for over 40 years mate. Just saying it as it is.

I deliberately refrained from making comment after the game on Friday evening because of the mood i was in but i think having had time to reflect and having watched the game back, i can make reasoned comment.

The first thing to say is that Huddersfield were very good and the attacking play most often instigated by Brett Hodgson (who has to be the best player in the league) was just too good for us.

My biggest worry, without going overboard, is the number of mistakes we made in all areas of the game but especially the basics. The number of missed tackles was astonishing to see, particularly in the first game of the season when energy levels and adrenaline should be close to their peak. We were very easily undone by dummy running and the kicking game was absolutely abysmal.

In mitigation, it has to be said that this was the first competitive game that the halves have played in combination with each other and clearly there is also still an understanding to be developed between the backs and the playmakers. However, i have to say that we looked like we were trying to replicate the all powerful forwards game of old, simply expecting to steam roll the opposition up front. If that is the plan we need to very quickly change it.

I understand that McNamara had said again (as he did last year and look where that got us) that we would be playing a different kind of game in the early weeks to adapt to conditions etc but i have to say i think that sets a negative precedent to the players before they even take to the pitch.

Apart from the fog, i think the conditions were there to play a little bit of creative, flowing rugby league but we didn't seem to want to do that and the predictability of our one up game was frankly embarasing especially as we continually failed to open up 12 men!

On the positive side it is clear that Orford has something special in the locker and you have have faith that if we can get the timing and the structures right we have the basis to do good things and that is what i will hold on to for the time being. I would also like to eat a little bit of humble pie too and say that i thought Sheriffe showed plenty of quality on attack and it would be great to see him continue in the same vein for the rest of the year.

I agree that it is too early to call for the coaches head but having watched the last two seasons and in particular last season's turgid efforts, it has to get much better and quickly because no amount of excuses is going to save him if we have the same poor start that we did last year. I really hope it doesn't happen but our attacking efforts gave me much cause for concern.

Craig. In my opinion your post was worth waiting for. The points you make are a good reflection of just how it is. I agree with most of your comments. I would like to emphasise the point of how good Huddersfield were and to some extent that made parts of the Bulls play look worse. You can only play as well as your opponents let you and all that!!.


The kicking skills of Matty Orford were obviously well known to Nathan Brown and he played a game to nullify those kicks by closing him down, It worked a treat for them but as you say Ox is class and twice he made plays which led to trys.



Your comments on Macca are also valid points. He will not be able to come on week in week out saying it's not good enough or that they are in good shape for the next game.



After a short period this season he will have to have a team playing with style and conviction which gives a clear indication the Bulls are at last moving in the right direction, otherwise even the most ardent fans will be calling time on his career.



It is indeed too early to call for Maccas head. I anticipated if they lost it would be roundly criticised on here but even I was surprised at the unrecognisable user names of those who came on to criticise. It was as if they had bided their time for an opportunity to put the boot in. Sad really.
Those of us who are tolerant and are old enough to have a little more patience realise that after one game we can not judge. To say we are hearing the same excuses as last year after that one game, shows a lack of understanding in so far as Macca has never commented on this particular team after a game, it is a different side to last year and he must be given time with it before the comparisons are made.


Looking at the weather forecast and with increasing frosts and a likelyhood of snow the lads may not get a quick chance to put things right and this will of course act as a platform for many to continue criticising for some while yet.

Gutted about loseing but have to say the new players that have come in do look good, I think the team needs a little time to gel together then we can judge Mcnamara. The biggest moan i have is that the team play so flat, get players running on to the ball from deep and maybe we will beak a few lines

Werent the players and fans dressed nice,shame the players are still crap and the manager if he has any brains (which i doubt) should do a McCall,strange game cant see why they even think of putting it on sky sports,because its only watched by a minority on and around the M62 corriodor.Lets face it its a very poor sport.

Is the Dally M as Meaningless the Man of Tin? Lets Face it the Backs cannot play any worse......Or Could they?