AHEAD OF Bulls' first home league game of the season against Sheffield this afternoon, the club's general manager Tracey Erby has been giving her thoughts.

In her weekly address to the T&A, she had this to say:

Welcome to a brand new season of Championship Rugby League, here at Odsal Stadium. Everyone at the club is excited to be back in league action in what will prove to be a thoroughly compelling 2022.

The team got out of the starting blocks in great fashion last week with an inspiring performance.

So many people came up to me afterwards to say they couldn’t remember a performance like that, full of adventurous and expansive rugby league, posting eight tries to boot.

With Dec Patton re-committing to the club this week, we all hope that we can move forward powerfully this season.

This weekend we welcome Sheffield Eagles for their first visit here since that fateful day in September 2019, when the Bulls vacated Odsal into a very uncertain future.

Now, less than 30 months later and with a pandemic thrown in on top, the club is back where it belongs at, as Trevor Foster said, our own heaven on earth.

Much has been done by friends, colleagues and business partners to bring the Grand Old Lady back to life and rarely can the mood around the club be quite as positive as it seems to be now.

This puts a spring in the step and a smile on the face of everyone and we are all looking forward to the season that is upon us.

Many thanks to all who have helped and all who have stepped forward to offer assistance, in whatever capacity.

We are always looking for match day volunteers. We can’t offer you a lot other than being part of a great team and the satisfaction of knowing you are making a very positive difference to the club.

Details of all the opportunities are available at volunteers@bradfordbulls.co.uk. We held a thank you night for the volunteers this week and thanks to the 39 Steps Consulting for sponsoring the occasion.

Around the stadium you will be seeing further improvements over the next couple of weeks.

The track is being reconstructed and the access to and from the field and barrier pitch protection will be improved considerably.

We are upgrading the sound system and hopefully supporters will notice this once it is finished.

Our commitment is to continue to invest in the stadium on a weekly basis.

It may only be modest, but it is real and we are doing it.

The bigger prize though remains a more substantial upgrade to at least start to build the kind of facility we believe everyone deserves in the 21st century.

We listened with interest Michael Gove’s announcement on the government’s Levelling Up Agenda.

We believe Odsal Stadium and its environs are precisely what the government has in mind as a project that will lift standards and opportunities for the people of Bradford.

We will continue to push for our ambitions to have a facility appropriate to play in the highest level of rugby league.

We hope and believe that our civic leaders have the same scale of ambition.

A feature of this season is Monday Night Rugby League on Premier Sports TV.

Earlier this week it was York v Featherstone which came across really well on TV.

Our fixture at Leigh a week tomorrow is our first experience and we hope for a large following to cheer the lads on.

It really does make the difference as all the players have recently commented upon.

However if you can’t get there and want to enjoy the game in company of other supporters, the Academy fundraisers are holding a Pie n Peas night in the AJJB Lounge for fans to watch the game.

Also, next weekend we welcome the new team Midlands Hurricanes team to Odsal.

With so many first teamers available for that fixture, we are hoping for a great crowd on a Saturday afternoon.

Come along and see some great talent.

Finally, we are hoping to confirm a fixture against Greece in October immediately before the Rugby League World Cup in a rare glimpse of international action.

There is plenty going on and plenty to look forward to.

Thank you so much for your support,