Brian McDermott's decision to retire as a player did not come in the wake of October's controversial Grand Final defeat by St Helens at Old Trafford. It seeped into the head of the 32-year-old former marine over the early weeks of the 2002 season.

Wakefield-born McDermott explained: "I made up my mind in pre-season really.

"I always found pre-season hard, but last season I found it particularly hard.

"Normally that feeling would level itself out over the course of the first couple of months of play, and you got used to playing with constant niggling injuries.

"But this time I was working hard merely to get myself on the field rather than to make an impact when I got out there."

That was when the talismanic former Great Britain prop decided that 2003 would be a season too far.

McDermott said: "I didn't even think about dropping down a division either.

"I had been playing at top level for ten years, and had fitted a lot into that both emotionally and physically.

"And I didn't want to dilute that by going down a notch. Mind you, I am not certain that it would be any easier playing at prop in National League One.

"I would have been a target there for some people who are trying to make a name for themselves."

Having decided to call time on his playing career, McDermott now needed to finalise what he was going to do in 2003.

There seemed two basic choices - stay at the Bulls in some capacity or take up a conditioning role with Huddersfield Giants, who are newly promoted to the Super League.

Eastmoor ARLFC product McDermott admitted: "I could see reasons for doing either, and I was involved in the longest discussions ever with coach Brian Noble about staying with the Bulls.

"My eventual role was never really defined, but it would have involved a bit of conditioning work, a bit of coaching and a bit of community work.

"However, I couldn't really see myself shouting at Jamie Peacock or Stuart Fielden when I had moaned at the self-same things myself only last season.

"So I decided to go for the Huddersfield job. Yes, conditioning is new to me, but I have been in rugby league a long time and have always been a good listener."

And while McDermott could see both sides of staying with the Bulls, the same could be said of his opinions on the Odsal v Valley Parade debate.

He lists Odsal as his favourite ground, but says of the home of Bradford City: "Some people never really gave Valley Parade a chance.

"We attracted 16,572 for our first league match there after leaving Odsal - against St Helens in March, 2001 - and it only seemed about half full.

"I thought it would have been a good venue to play at, but factors came into being like it being the wrong side of town from Odsal and that the matches were on Friday nights etc.

"And it never really kept that momentum from the first match."

Now McDermott's first loyalty is to the Giants, and he obviously doesn't agree that they are the

1,000-1 outsiders to win Super League VIII.

Reunited with former Bulls Brandon Costin and Steve McNamara at the McAlpine Stadium, McDermott said: "We will probably be in the bottom half of the table.

"But, knowing Tony Smith as I do, the players have now had three years' worth of his coaching, and his work will come to fruition with a lot of them in the 2003 season."