SAM Hallas is hungry to help the Bulls prove the haters wrong next year.

The highly-rated hooker became the latest member of John Kear’s squad to sign a new deal.

And then he turned his focus on the army of critics who have been kicking the club while they are down.

Hallas said: “You see it on Twitter and Facebook, people saying this and that is going wrong at Bradford. You read all that kind of nonsense.

“People will say a lot this year. I don’t think they realise how much we get thrown at us like that.

“When a team’s going through a bad time, everyone likes to put in their two penneth. You hear it on Podcasts and things, it's everywhere.

“That’s fine as long as they know that the players couldn’t really give two hoots about what’s being said.

“Once we walk into that changing room, we’re a good, close-knit group and we have been for a few years.”

Hallas turned down other offers to stick with the club and revealed coach John Kear played a key role by keeping in regular touch during the off-season turmoil when the Bulls were blocked from signing players.

“There have been offers that peaked my interest but I think I’ve made the right decision staying at Bradford,” he added. “It’s a club I love playing for.

“John’s been excellent with me even though he was in a tough position because nobody knew exactly when the club would be out of special measures.

“We were talking about next year and what we wanted to achieve.

“John’s record and reputation speaks for itself. He’s a legend in the game and to be able to learn from him again and have another season under him is an honour.”

Despite the big-name departures, Hallas is confident that Kear can assemble another side capable of backing up last season's sixth-placed finish.

He said: “We’ve obviously lost some quality so it’s going to be a different squad.

“But ever since John, Mark (Dunning) and Leigh Beattie have been there, they’ve brought in quality players.

“We’ve had successful seasons so their track record of buying players is good and you can only expect them to carry that on.

“They will sign talented players and, more importantly, good blokes as well.

“We’ve got every faith as players that we’ll have a more than competitive squad and hopefully we’ll be in that play-off picture again."

Meanwhile, Mark Sawyer has confirmed that Stuart Duffy will be staying at the club. But general manager Russ MacFarlane is leaving next month.