An Australian superstar swelled the Bulls’ ranks at their Lanzarote training camp.

In the week Matt Orford finally headed to Canberra Raiders, a true world-class talent made the reverse switch to offer his services at half-back.

Strangely, that man was Mark Webber – the motor racing icon making a shock guest appearance as Bradford were put through their paces at La Santa.

Despite being a Raiders nut, the Red Bull Formula One driver temporarily donned the red, amber and black to run through a series of warm-up drills before diving into a game of touch rugby.

A third-place finisher in last year’s drivers’ championship, Webber quickly convinced Bulls boss Mick Potter he would have been just as handy steering play around the ruck.

“Being an avid rugby league supporter, Mark warmed up with us and then played a bit of touch,” said Potter.

“He had good evasion skills and a good pass on him. He also spent a lot of time around the ruck during the game so I reckon he might have made a good, strapping five-eighth (stand-off).

“We just met him by chance. Mark was at La Santa doing some personal fitness work and he already knew (Bulls scrum half) Marc Herbert from his time at Canberra.

“The training regime he’s been doing is pretty intense. He trains more like a triathlete than a rugby player and, although he’s 6ft 3in, he only weighs 70kg.”

A Raiders ballboy during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Webber was patrolling the sidelines at Seiffert Oval and Canberra Stadium while Potter was plying his trade as a full back for Canterbury and St George.

Born and raised in Queanbeyan – a New South Wales border town that counts current Raiders half-back Terry Campese and coach David Furner among its famous sons – the 34-year-old now spends much of his time in England and intends to keep a close eye on the coming Super League campaign.

Potter added: “Mark was very good to talk to, very open and not at all caught up in his fame.

“He reminded me he was a ballboy at Canberra when I was still playing so that made me feel really old. Apparently he was quite an old ball boy at the time but I think he just said that to make me feel better.

“He loves rugby league and he’s going to pay a little bit more attention to Super League because he knows a few of the players over here now.

“It would be good if he became a Bradford fan!”

When not talking rugby league, Webber was only too happy to let Potter in on his formula for success.

Meticulous preparation and a single-minded dedication to training have fuelled Webber’s trip to the top, qualities the Bulls would do well to keep in mind.

“In his sport, attention to detail is crucial and every minute detail needs to be covered so nothing is left to chance,” added Potter.

“His physical preparation is so important and he does a lot of tests to measure all aspects of physical performance and make sure he’s in peak condition for when the competition starts.

“He said it’s important never to get ahead of yourself. You can’t afford to start thinking ahead of the next corner.

“On the straights it’s easy and you can just put your foot on the gas but you always need to have that next corner in mind.

“We can learn from that too in that we need to concentrate on the next play, instead of trying to think too far ahead.”