Getting dropped was the best thing that could have happened to Ian Sibbit.

It didn’t seem that way at the time – far from it – but the Bulls back-rower now admits it was a necessary evil.

Sibbit paid a heavy price for a slow start to his Odsal career, given the axe by no-nonsense coach Mick Potter for failing to meet expected standards.

After featuring in four of the opening five Super League fixtures, the off-season signing from Salford suddenly found himself lining up alongside rookies more than ten years his junior in the under-20s.

Sibbit said: “I was in the first 17 for the first game against Leeds at the Millennium. Then I found myself out of the team a couple of times, which I took on the chin. It just makes you refocus and have a look at yourself.

“When you do get dropped, Mick’s really good. He’s really clear in what you need to improve because there’s always things you can be working on. Even when you’re in the team, there’s things you can be working on.

“I’ve got my head down, worked hard and in the last couple of weeks I’ve been in the starting line-up and played a couple of long spells.

“I played 80 minutes a couple of games on the bounce, so I’m enjoying that. But I need to keep improving and the team need to keep improving.”

Sibbit’s performances have been one of the few encouraging signs during a dismal run of results in the league.

The 30-year-old has reined in a tendency to concede penalties and begun to make an impact at both ends of the field.

Coaches and team-mates alike have recently praised his effort in defence and Sibbit believes he can continue to improve, despite his advancing years. Merely leaving Salford could help prolong his top-level career.

“I was in a massive comfort zone at Salford so this move was good for me,” said Sibbit.

“I’ve got a lot fitter than I have been before. I’ve worked really closely with Geoff (Evans), our conditioner, and he tailored a program a lot more specifically to me than I’ve had in the past.

“Rather than just a general forwards program, he designed things specific to me, including a lot of extra sessions. There’s always things you can be doing on the side and things you can do at home.

“Bradford is everything I expected plus a little bit more. It’s a really good set-up, a great set of lads and really good coaches.

“It’s a change from where I came from but a change for the better. From that point of view I’m really enjoying it, although the results have been disappointing.”

Sibbit is aiming to address that disappointment when he comes face-to-face with Salford for the first time since leaving the club.

Overlooked for selection in the Bulls’ 56-16 defeat at the Willows last month, the former Melbourne and Warrington workhorse hopes he has done enough to earn a place in Sunday’s clash at Odsal.

He said: “It’ll be good playing against them. I’ve still got some good mates at Salford and I keep in touch with a lot of them.

“I think we’ve got to be confident of winning all our home games. You always want to get your home form right and build on the back of that.

“It’s definitely a game we’ll be going into thinking we’ve got to get the two points.

“They’re two points we’ll be desperate for, although I wouldn’t label it as a must-win game because that just puts undue pressure on us.”

Expectation is huge ahead of Sunday’s game, with Salford sitting just one point and two places above Bradford in the table.

But looking longer-term, Sibbit knows the Bulls will have to spring a few surprises if they are to snatch a place in the play-offs.

He said: “I always knew it was going to be tough. I’m more surprised with how many shock results there have been this year.

“You’ve had situations where the bottom team in the league has beaten the top team and there have been more shocks.

“We need to start shocking a few teams and beat some of the big teams so we can get some confidence.”