KEVEN Appo is packed and ready to jet into the Bulls season - as soon as his papers are stamped.

The Papa New Guinea international has relocated to the capital Port Moresby so that he can jump onto the first flight after clearing the red tape.

Mark Dunning has kept in regular contact with Appo, who is keeping to his own training schedule to make sure he can hit the ground running in England.

The Bulls coach said: “He’s still stuck in Port Moresby and is literally waiting for somebody to stamp a piece of paper before he can jump on the plane.

“It’s out of our control and Keven’s, so there’s no point anybody getting stressed about it.

“He’s travelled to Port Moresby to get his visa application done. Instead of going back to the village where he lives, he’s just staying there ready.

“He’s got his bags in one hand and just waiting for the other to be filled with a piece of paper and then he’s on his way.”

The 23-year-old second-rower, who impressed as the Kumuls reached the World Cup quarter-finals, could arrive in time for the Championship’s opening weekend against Whitehaven.

Dunning has predicted Appo will become an Odsal crowd favourite with his hard-hitting style. But he hinted that he would not be thrown straight in with plenty of competition fighting for the starting jerseys.

“He’s got to come and tick some boxes first,” added Dunning. “Nobody is guaranteed anything in this team anymore.

“That’s probably where we felt a little bit short last year. Certain people knew they were in the team no matter what happened.

“That’s not the case this year. There’s strong competition all across the field.

“We’ve got some hungry players, some hungry young players, who are chomping at the bit to put their head above the parapet. It creates a really good work ethic.

“We’ll wait until Keven lands and welcome him with open arms. It’s going to be great to see him.

“He’s been training hard over there. He texts me every couple of days to say that he’s ready to go and sent me a few pictures of things he’s been doing.

“We’ll take it as it comes and when he lands, we’ll do a full medical and strength and conditioning assessment and then put some things in place to get him up to speed as soon as possible.

“We’ll settle him in and look after him and get his family over as soon as possible, so he can have his home comforts in West Yorkshire.

“The playing side will take care of itself once he’s been in and around the boys for a bit and got used to everything.”