THE latest wave of talent has entered the Bradford Bulls scholarship system following the conclusion of the most recent recruitment drive on Friday evening.

Bulls have pulled in a number of youngsters into their development system from the surrounding areas, and Friday night saw them officially induct the latest batch of players.

The youngsters involved are all under the age of 15 and training commenced for the group yesterday evening.

It once more emphasises the great work that goes on behind the scenes at Bradford into recruiting young and hungry players for their ever-growing scholarship system.

And Ryan Hunkin, scholarship head coach at Bradford Bulls, spoke of his delight with the club's recruitment and was full of praise for the work done by the scouting team.

He said: "Alex Stephens and his scouting team have done a fantastic job in recruiting some outstanding talent from the community game.

"They've done a lot of work with the England Talent Pathway programme, in line with the Bradford Bulls Foundation and it's been a great journey looking at these youngsters.

"We've been looking at these players since 12 years old, which is when we filter them into the England Talent Pathway programme, meaning we've had a good amount of time to look at the individuals' level of talent and skill.

"Alex is out a lot of the time working with the scouts at local games, so he can see how they're getting on."

Hunkin added: "It's vital for Bradford Bulls to be able to pull talent in from the local area. Bradford Bulls want Bradford born players to play in their scholarship programme, reserves and first team.

"That's what we aim and strive for as a club and we believe our latest group of scholars are very talented."

"And even more so, we've been able to pull this group from surrounding areas, however we've managed to stretch our radius on this occasion. We've got lads coming from Halifax, Birstall and Farnley, so it shows that we are able to pull players from further afield."

A number of players to have come through the club's programme over the years have gone on to feature on the game's biggest stage - with the likes of Elliot Whitehead, Sam Burgess and John Bateman followed by more recent examples of Ethan Ryan, James Bentley and Oliver Roberts.

And Hunkin is expecting big things from the current crop of arrivals.

He said: "They're an extremely talented group and I feel they've got a good future in rugby-league. They've had to play in smaller sides games throughout their recent years, meaning they've had a lot of ball in hand during their playing time. Their talent should be second to none and I'm convinced they'll be a great asset to the club."