JORDAN Lilley admits 2022 is a year he ‘wants to forget’, as he relishes the chance of competing with Dec Patton and Bulls’ new signing from Sheffield, Tom Holmes, for a place in the halves.

But he is even willing to play at hooker if needs be.

Lilley told the T&A: “It’s good that we’ve brought Tom in, as I’ve always wanted competition, which was something we lacked at half-back last year.

“Now, if one of us doesn’t play well when starting there, it’s likely we’ll be dropped the following week.

“I think in general, what we’re doing in terms of putting together a squad for next year, the competition for places at the club will be better.

“As for Dec, Tom and I, we’ll all push each other, and all of us have played at hooker in the past, Tom only last year.

“We’ve obviously still got George (Flanagan) at nine, but Tom Doyle is a big loss for us there, so maybe the three of us are an option for (head coach) Mark Dunning in that position.”

Asked why he seemingly struggled to connect with Patton on the field last term, Lilley said: “You could say that about Dec and I, but to be honest, our whole team weren’t very good, and we never really hit our straps.

“The calibre we had within that squad was good enough to finish in the top four, but a poor back end to the the year just rounded off a miserable season for us.

“The fans and the board understandably weren’t pleased with us and that’s something we have to rectify.

“Injuries didn’t help, but other teams had them and adapted better than us.”

Lilley himself had a bad time with injuries, a knee issue seeing him miss the start of the campaign, and an ankle problem ending his season in late July.

The scrum-half said: “It was a year to forget for me, because I didn’t play at my best, and I struggled with injuries.

“I want to put 2022 behind me now and I’ve worked hard in rehab to get ready for pre-season.

“It’s eight weeks since my operation and I no longer need any ankle support.

“I’m just building my strength up now and I should hopefully be back straight line running in about a month.”

Lilley will be in a new-look 2023 squad, and said: “You can look at that as scary, as a lot of high calibre players are leaving, and need replacing with good ones.

“But you can also view it as a fresh start with a new team, and a chance for Mark to implement his philosophies and ideas from pre-season, rather than midway through the campaign.

“Talking to Mark and the board, there could be some exciting things coming in terms of new signings too.

“The lads that have left, they’re just taking on a new challenge, and we have our own challenge now at the club, to get Bradford back to where they belong.

“The fans have had enough turmoil and bad news over the last few years, and we’ve got to give them something back.

“We want Bulls to be talked about in a positive way again, not negatively like we have been spoken of lately.”