Bradford Bulls man says he was unfazed by Dewsbury Rams call

Head coach Eamon O’Carroll was not planning to name the youngster in his squad for the 1895 Cup Group 2 clash with Dewsbury, so the former St Helens prospect was not involved in the team’s preparations.

But with illness ruling Dan Smith out, and a back problem keeping Michael Lawrence on the sidelines, O’Carroll called Peposhi at the 11th hour to let him know he would be 18th man at the FLAIR Stadium.

Not being in the 17, the 18th man rarely gets called upon to take to the field, but the rules state that he can be used if a team loses a player to injury as a result of a foul from an opponent.

Ben Blackmore was helped off with a leg problem early on, which came as a result of a poor tackle by Ronan Dixon, for which the Dewsbury man was sin-binned, meaning Peposhi was available for use.

It was a brutal afternoon for Bulls, with both Ben Blackmore and Ebon Scurr (above) having to go off injured after poor tackles by Dewsbury players. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

He did little wrong either in his time on the field, a sterling effort given he had no real expectation of playing until around 3:15pm on Sunday afternoon.

After the game, Peposhi told the T&A: “I’m really happy with how it’s worked out today.

“First of all, the team result is the main thing, we got that and put ourselves in a good position to make the quarter-finals.

“But personally, I’m very happy to have got some minutes in.”

As for his unusual build-up to the game, Peposhi insisted: “I’m always ready to play.

“You always prepare for that, and if you do you do, if you don’t you don’t.

“But I’m always ready if I’m required and Eamon needs to call on me.”

Tactics and combinations would have been practiced without Peposhi all week, but the 19-year-old said: “You’ve just got to get in and play your game.

“You know how to play rugby league, so you have to just do that.

“You hope for the best, try your best on the field, and just see what happens.”

Peposhi is the youngest player in Bulls’ first team squad, but the likes of Jayden Myers, Aiden McGowan, Mitch Souter and Billy Jowitt are all only in their early twenties.

But Michael Lawrence, John Davies and George Flanagan had already begun their careers in the elite game before back row Peposhi was barely even out of nappies.

Mitch Souter and George Flanagan are two hookers at opposite ends of the age scale, but both offer their own valuable role within the current Bulls squad. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Talking about the contrast between young and old in the Bulls squad, the teenager said: “I think we’ve got a really good balance this year.

“We’ve got good, experienced lads, who bring real brains to the squad, then you’ve got hungry youngsters like Mitch working non-stop.”

Peposhi knows he will have to work hard to make himself a regular fixture in Bulls’ matchday squads this year.

But he said: “I’m going to push myself to try and get in that 17, but even if I’m 18th man like today, I’m always going to be ready.

“Like today, you never know what’s going to happen, so you’ve got to stay ready.”

And, reflecting on his introduction to first-team rugby league with Bulls, Peposhi said: “I’ve been loving it, it’s a lot better than only playing academy or reserves matches.

“I feel that really good team spirit here and obviously the game’s tougher, but I enjoy that.

“I’m up for the challenge and I love it.”