T'Other Side: Bradford Bulls

 

Head Coach: Lee Greenwood

 

Bradford Bulls started the season with Mark Dunning as their head coach but parted ways with him in May and Lee Greenwood has taken over as caretaker coach until the end of the year. Eamon O’Carroll has been appointed for 2024.

Lee Greenwood was the head coach of Gloucestershire All Golds from 2015-2017 and then Dewsbury Rams from 2019 until June 2012.

His playing career (which ran from 1999-2010) started at Sheffield Eagles and he subsequently played for Halifax, London Broncos, Huddersfield, Leigh, Oldham and Batley.

Captain: Michael Lawrence 

Michael Lawrence played well over 300 games for Huddersfield Giants, his hometown club, between 2007 and 2022. He was the Giants captain in 2021 and 2022.

This is his first season with Bradford Bulls.

He has also played for the Jamaica national team and for England Knights. For Jamaica he was a starting prop in all their matches in the last World Cup.

 

Loans and Dual Registration

Bradford currently have Connor Wynne on loan from Hull FC. They signed a dual-reg agreement for 2023 with Leeds Rhinos and as a result James Donaldson, Corey Johnson, Luis Roberts, Fenton Rogers, Leon Ruan, Liam Tindall and Sam Walters have played for them.

 

The Fev Connection 

 

  

We have found no less than 113 players who have played for both clubs. That is partly a consequence of geography and several players moved between the clubs as a result of Peter Fox coaching both teams.

That list of 113 includes some very notable players.

Steve Evans, who was Rovers club chairman from 2004 to 2006 began his career with Fev in 1976 and played 140 games between then and 1982. While he was at Fev he played for Yorkshire, England and Great Britain. Later in his career he played 9 games for Bradford during the 1986-87 season.

Jeff Grayshon only came to Featherstone at the age of 39, in 1988 but still managed to rack up 100 appearances. He, earlier, had two spells with Bradford: 1978-85 and 1987-88.

He also played for Yorkshire, England and Great Britain.

Charlie Stone played 262 games for Fev between 1970 and 1978 and again in 1983-84. He was a member of Fev’s Challenge Cup winning team at Wembley in 1973. He played for Yorkshire and England while at Fev. He spent the last year of his career in 1984-85 at Bradford.

Jimmy Thompson played 282 games for Rovers between 1966 and 1967. During that time he played for Yorkshire, England and Great Britain and, in 1970 was a member of the last Great Britain World Cup winning team.

He was a member of Fev’s Challenge Cup winning teams in 1957 and 1973.

He played for Bradford from 1977 to 1981 and made 145 appearances for them.

Jeff Grayshon, Charlie Stone and Jimmy Thompson all played for both clubs under Peter Fox as head coach. Jeff Grayshon also played under him at Leeds.