CONGRATULATIONS to all the Bulls England players

What an outstanding win for England last week in Denver, the rugby league gods must be pleased.

Being a proud Kiwi I was of course rooting for New Zealand, but no reasonable observer could deny the merit of the victorious England side.

I am sure many Bulls supporters will have looked wistfully at the contribution former Academy players Sam and Tom Burgess, Elliott Whitehead, and John Bateman made in securing a memorable victory. One of the most pleasing factors since I joined this proud club has been the truly outstanding work done by our hard working colleagues in the Academy as they continue to produce the stars of tomorrow.

From all the manoeuvring pre-game, clearly, the Test match in Denver took some getting on with the NRL, the NRL clubs and would you believe it even the RLPA (that is the players union for NRL players) doing their very best to prevent it happening.

How the RLPA found themselves on the wrong side of the argument and were persuaded to stand against the event taking place, when the players, almost unanimously wanted to take part in such a historic event, is quite a mystery. There are clearly some complex relationships at play.

The NRL and its own clubs have their own reasons for attempting to frustrate the game as they have harboured their own ambitions in the US themselves.

Watch this space for signs that some of those most vocally against the event suddenly pop up wanting to play there themselves.

The whole unsavoury campaign by the NRL clubs demonstrates once again, the perils of clubs having too much power to suit themselves.

The RFL needs to take note in the current discussions with the Super League clubs.

International sport is of course gripping the nation with the England football team showing great promise of finally delivering on the world stage.

I have been warned, repeatedly warned for that matter, that there has been numerous false dawns when it comes to England’s football team performance in world events. I truly hope the team continue to perform. Fingers and toes crossed.

The feel good factor that is generated when a national team succeeds is phenomenal and everyone walks about with a spring in their step.

We at the Bulls, will be getting into the spirit and the mega screen will in operation for all England’s future World Cup games for fans to enjoy the matches in a community of Bulls and sports fans. We are just happy to be able to step in and help offer these games for everyone to enjoy for free.

This week the Championship and League One clubs met to discuss and update the latest position for our clubs.

We had a full and wide agenda to get through and we delivered some strong messages to the RFL, the principle one being we are not interested in change in 2019, unless a compelling proposition is put forward.

One interesting idea beginning to gain momentum is the expansion of Super League to 14 clubs.

With Toronto and Toulouse challenging for inclusion and Catalans already members of the Super League, the competition could conceivably have three non-British teams in what is currently a 12-team competition.

I think a 12-team competition isn’t sustainable, and certainly 14 teams would start looking a better more viable proposition.

The pressure and investment from Championship clubs is drawing players into the English competitions, and the fact that four Super league clubs are genuinely at risk of relegation shows the gap between the bottom of Super League and the top of Championship has now effectively disappeared.

I know Super League clubs will deny this, but as we have shown the real fear of relegation is now occupying the attention of the likes of Hull KR, Salford and Widnes, not to mention Catalans and Huddersfield.

Let’s face it, the 2018 Qualifiers is going to be a cracker. No doubt the best most viewed ever.

We of course are entering the second half of the season in decent shape.

Our visit to Coventry today represents another first for the club and we will treat the Bears with the respect they deserve.

We then have Newcastle at Odsal on Friday, July 6, in the evening before that undoubted League One game of the year against promotion challengers York City Knights.

It would be wonderful if we can attract a record League One crowd for 2018 against the Knights, for what will be a mouth-watering clash, sending a strong signal to the RFL and to Super League that the Bulls club and faithful are alive and well.

The support the team gets is magnificent and appreciated and off the field.

We are surely but steadily rebuilding strong foundations and trust in this great club.

The positivity and vibe around Odsal and Tong, is the best it has been in 18 months.

Let’s stick together, rebuild this fine club and continue to bring the feel good factor back into rugby league in Bradford. Thank you all for your support. #jointhestampede