BRADFORD Dudley Hill are “in a better place” now than they have been over the last few years, as they get set for a final at Featherstone Rovers today.

They are competing at the Yorkshire Men’s League finals day, with their Trophy showpiece against Greetland All Rounders at Post Office Road kicking off at 3pm today.

And with the club currently top in Division Two of the YML and on course for a double, it seems dropping down from the National Conference League has been a success.

Club secretary Steve Wright said: “We’d taken that step back from the NCL and were trying to get that good feeling back at the place and we’ve made a decent start so far.

“We’re hoping to get a bit of silverware this weekend and to all eight clubs involved (including Keighley Albion), it’ll be a great day.

“At Dudley Hill, we’ve not had a big game like this since we beat Wigan St Judes in an NCL play-off final in 2017, and it’s always nice to have a big occasion.”

The game can be streamed via the Our League App too, but Wright recalled: “The last time we were on TV we faced York Acorn and the referee thought it’d be a good idea to add 11 minutes of stoppage time.

“We then conceded in the last minute and lost by two points, so it’s not gone well before.

“But it’ll be a good occasion, we’ll see what team Greetland bring, and hopefully we can get the job done.”

Now we are well into the YML season, Wright reflected: “It’s a decent place to be at the moment, and we’ve got a couple of lads back like Joe Newell, who’s been hands down one of our most consistent performers this season.

“He’s a former junior of ours but shied away a little from the NCL, even though he’d have done well.

“The YML maybe does need to look at its structure though because you can go weeks without a game, unlike in the NCL, and we’ve had a couple of walkover wins.

“It means you can’t really pick up momentum but we’re doing well considering, and it’s testament to the lads that they’re still putting in the performances they have done.”

As for the club as a whole, Wright said: “The last couple of seasons had been a bit of a slog but a lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes and we’ve got our pride back.

“The club is in a better place and we’ve got our Under-6s playing juniors and we’re building up our U10s and U11s now.

“We’d only have five or six back in the day and now 20-odd turn up.

“It’s really good to see so many kids’ faces here and if they’ve got a first team to look at who are doing well, it’ll hopefully mean they want to play first-team rugby in the future.”

Meanwhile, across the city, West Bowling head coach Dean Muir has confirmed he is staying put in his role at the club.

His duties at Keighley Cougars have been increased after the appointment of Matt Foster as head coach earlier this week.

But he told the T&A he is also "100 per cent" with Bowling, as they close in on the NCL Division One title.