STEVE Crossley reckons the new breed of teen talent will stamp their mark on the Bulls this season.

The 28-year-old is one of the figureheads in John Kear's squad for League One as he builds up to his third spell at Odsal.

Having emerged through the club's academy system himself, Crossley is thrilled to see the latest wave of promising youngsters from the production line looking to impose themselves on the forthcoming promotion push.

Crossley said: "I'm really excited about it.

"I came through the Bradford system and you only have to look at the England squad – there's something like six academy products in there from the club.

"We're never short of bringing good young prospects through and that includes these boys, the likes of Reiss Butterworth, Evan Hodgson and Rowan Milnes.

"I'm sure they will all definitely feature and are going to have a great year."

Kear has also used the Bulls pre-season programme to run his eye over trialists and Crossley was impressed with fellow forward Jordan Andrade in Friday's 34-0 loss to Toronto.

He said: "I thought Jordan went really well. He's a big, strong boy and he was a handful carrying the ball."

Crossley did not expect to be locking horns so soon with the team that he helped win the League One title last season.

He is tipping the Wolfpack to continue that progress in the Championship – but felt the Odsal defeat was a valuable exercise for the Bulls in their build-up to the February 18 kick-off.

Crossley said: "I knew it was going to be a good test for us – and it was. It's probably going to be our toughest challenge of the year.

"I know how Toronto play. They are an expansive team with really good skills.

"Any balls go down or errors and they know they can back it up with their defence.

"I wasn't expecting to play them again this early but I was really happy to see a lot of the old faces who I practically lived with all of last year.

"I think we came out of it with a lot more positivity. We got a good learning experience.

"There was no lack of effort. Toronto were just too big, too strong and too fast for us and were all over us straight from the get-go.

"We've got a really young squad and there's a lot to build on for this year. But it can only stand us in good stead.