Chris Nero hopes to use last season as a springboard to future success.

Although the Bulls would rather leave 2009 in the past, thanks to a disappointing ninth-place finish, Nero hopes to carry on the momentum developed by a string of solid personal performances.

Following a difficult first campaign in Bradford colours, when the Aussie centre suffered with injuries and a loss of form, last year represented something of a breakthrough.

The 28-year-old former Hudders-field star proved to be one of the Bulls’ most consistent performers while appearing in all but four of his side’s games.

Now he hopes to keep that roll going and transfer it into a flying start to Super League XV.

Nero said: “My first year was pretty tough because I had a few injuries and was trying to get into the new system but there was definitely no excuses, I just wasn’t where I wanted to be.

“Last year I managed to start off the season pretty well and just build on the top of that. It was a bit of a confidence thing, just building up good performances.

“I definitely want to use last year as a springboard into this year, although we’re starting all over again so it’s all about training hard and getting going.

“For me and for everybody it’s all about putting in some good performances early and building on top of that. Hopefully I can do that and hopefully I can be even better than I was last year.”

The past will be a strong theme for Nero when the Bulls open their new campaign on Friday night.

A trip to former team Hudders-field Giants is in the offing for the Aussie and his team-mates and should provide a stern test, with the Giants looking to build on last year’s third-place finish.

Nero said: “They had a great season last year and they’ve built up again over the off-season so they’re going to be a tough side to beat.

“We’re going to have to work hard to get anything out of the game.

“You look through the fixture list and you can’t look at any fixture and think ‘there’s a win’. Week in, week out, it’s tough footy these days.

“It’s imperative that we start the season well and build some momentum.

“With the way the competition is now you have to really work hard at it, you can’t just automatically think you’re going to step out on the field and it’s going to work for you.

“You have to work hard and we feel like if we do that and have a bit of luck and everything falls into place, we can do well.”