1996 Bradford Bulls season

The 1996 Bradford Bulls season was the 90th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Robbie Paul the newly branded Bradford Bulls competed in Super League I. The Bulls finished the regular season in 3rd place and made the semi final, losing 36-42 to Wigan Warriors. The Bulls also competed in the 1996 Challenge Cup, reaching the final which they lost 32-40 to St. Helens.

1996 Bradford Bulls season
Super League Rank3rd
Play-off resultSemi Final
Challenge CupRunners Up
1996 recordWins: 21; Draws: 0; Losses: 7
Points scoredFor: 997; Against: 545
Team information
ChairmanChris Caisley
CoachBrian Smith
Captain
  • Robbie Paul
StadiumOdsal Stadium
Avg. Attend.10,346
High. Attend.17,360 vs. Wigan Warriors
Top scorers
TriesRobbie Paul (23)
GoalsSteve McNamara (82)
PointsSteve McNamara (170)
< 1995–96 List of seasons 1997 >

Season review

February 1996

The 1996 season started off well for the Bradford Northern club newly re-branded as the Bradford Bulls. In their first competitive match they defeated Batley 60–18 in the 4th Round of the 1996 Challenge Cup. Australian import Jeremy Donougher scored the club's first try under the Bulls brand. Bradford's form in the Cup continued after beating Division 1 side Leigh 44–12 at Hilton Park. The Bulls success continued as they hosted Wakefield Trinity in the quarter-finals, however after a brief scare Bradford managed to overcome Wakefield and win 30–18.

March 1996

March started off with a great performance in the Challenge Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Leeds, the Bulls played some brilliant rugby to ensure a 28–6 win earning them a place in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final. Bradford also kicked off the brand new Super League I with a 30–18 win over Castleford Tigers in front of a 10,027 crowd.

April 1996

A trip to Sheffield Eagles was on the cards for the Bulls first away trip of the Super League season, however the Eagles were just too powerful for Bradford and the Bulls were soundly beaten 24–40. However April got a little brighter as the Bulls bounced back to beat London 31–24 to take them up to 5th in the league table. The Bulls were brought back down to earth after their win against London as St. Helens beat Bradford 26–20 at Knowsley Road. Bradford suffered back to back defeats for the first time this season, losing 22–6 to Wigan. Bradford narrowly lost in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final against St. Helens, Bradford went 26–12 at one point but Saints halfback Bobbie Goulding peppered the Bradford fullback Nathan Graham with bombs which turned out to be fruitful for the Saints who scored 3 tries of Goulding's kicks to win the match 40–32 leaving the Bradford players and fans feeling dejected.

May 1996

Bradford started off May in good form after losing the Challenge Cup Final by beating Warrington 36–14 at Odsal Stadium, the Bulls then travelled to Oldham and beat Oldham Bears 30–10. This would be Bradford's first back to back win of the season. The Bulls then beat Paris St Germain 60–32 at home before destroying arch rivals Leeds 54–8 in Round 9. These wins took the Bulls to four games unbeaten and unbeaten for the whole of May.

June 1996

The Bulls started June with a massive 52–4 win over bottom of the league Workington, Bradford ran in 10 tries in this emphatic win. Bradford carried on their form at Thrum Hall where they scraped a win at local rivals Halifax Blue Sox in a hard-fought 22–20 contest. Bradford's 6 game unbeaten run was put to an end by a great performance by Castleford Tigers led by their talisman Frano Botica, the Tigers clinched the game 26–23. However the Bulls responded the following week by destroying the Sheffield Eagles 64–22 at Odsal. The Bulls followed up this win with a hard fought 22–16 win over London Broncos.

July 1996

Bradford beat St. Helens in an excellent display of rugby league, they took the Saints apart and won 50–22 to exact revenge for their Challenge Cup Final defeat. The Bulls excellent form continued as they battled Wigan at Odsal Stadium and the Yorkshire club came up with a 20–12 win. Their 5th consecutive win came at Wilderspool Stadium where they took on Warrington and came away with the spoils beating Warrington 30–20. The Bulls dished out another thumping however this one wasn't as impressive as it was against Oldham Bears, they did keep Oldham to zero points though as Bradford were 56–0 victors.

August 1996

August started off well for Bradford as they demolished arch-rivals Leeds 56–18 with the mercurial Robbie Paul grabbing his 3rd hat-trick of the season. The Bulls extended their winning streak to eight games when they beat bottom of the league Workington 28–14 in a hard fought contest. Local team Halifax Blue Sox put an end to the Bulls' winning streak as Bradford succumbed to a 27–26 defeat in the final home game of the season. The last regular season game came in Paris where the Bulls beat Paris St Germain 27–14 which meant they finished 3rd in the league, 5 points behind Wigan and 6 points behind league leaders St. Helens. This meant that the Bulls had to travel to Central Park to play Wigan in the Premiership Trophy Semi-final, in what was his last game in a Wigan shirt Shaun Edwards scored 4 tries to end Bradford's hopes of a Premiership final appearance in a hard fought 42–36 Wigan win.

Milestones

Table
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 St. Helens 222002950455+49540
2 Wigan Warriors 221912902326+57639
3 Bradford Bulls 221705767409+35834
4London Broncos 221219611462+14925
5 Warrington Wolves 2212010569565+424
6 Halifax Blue Sox 2210111667576+9121
7 Sheffield Eagles 2210012599730−13120
8 Oldham Bears 229112473681−20819
9 Castleford Tigers 229013548599−5118
10 Leeds 226016555745−19012
11Paris Saint-Germain 223118398795−3977
12 Workington Town 2221193251021−6965
Champions Relegated

Fixtures

Super League I
LEGEND
  Win
  Draw
  Loss
DateCompetitionRndVrsH/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAtt
31 March 1996Super League I1Castleford TigersHOdsal StadiumW30-18Donougher (3), Paul (2), CallandLoughlin 3/610,027
5 April 1996Super League I2Sheffield EaglesADon Valley StadiumL24-40Calland (2), Lowes, NickleCook 4/45,202
8 April 1996Super League I3London BroncosHOdsal StadiumW31-24Paul (2), Dwyer, FairbankCook 7/7, Cook 1 DG7,192
14 April 1996Super League I4St. HelensAKnowsley RoadL20-26Calland (3), ScalesMcNamara 2/410,010
19 April 1996Super League I5WiganACentral ParkL6-22LoughlinCook 1/19,872
5 May 1996Super League I6Warrington WolvesHOdsal StadiumW36-14Bradley, Calland, Knox, Loughlin, Medley, Paul, ScalesCook 4/79,278
10 May 1996Super League I7Oldham BearsAWatersheddingsW30–10Scales (2), Bradley, Dwyer, Loughlin, McDermottCook 1/4, McNamara 2/24,228
19 May 1996Super League I8Paris St GermainHOdsal StadiumW60–32Fairbank (2), Bradley, Donougher, Dwyer, Hassan, Loughlin, Medley, Paul, Scales, TomlinsonMcNamara 8/118,194
24 May 1996Super League I9LeedsHOdsal StadiumW54–8Lowes (2), Spruce (2), Bradley, Fairbank, McDermott, McNamara, ScalesMcNamara 9/910,229
2 June 1996Super League I10Workington TownHOdsal StadiumW52–4Calland (2), Cook, Hassan, Lowes, Medley, Paul, Spruce, Tamani, TomlinsonCook 6/108,658
9 June 1996Super League I11Halifax Blue SoxAThrum HallW22–20Calland, Lowes, Paul, SpruceMcNamara 3/47,187
16 June 1996Super League I12Castleford TigersAThe JungleL23–26Cook, Donougher, Dwyer, SpruceMcNamara 3/4, McNamara 1 DG6,275
23 June 1996Super League I13Sheffield EaglesHOdsal StadiumW64–22Paul (2), Scales (2), Spruce (2), Donougher, Loughlin, Lowes, Medley, McDermott, TomlinsonMcNamara 7/11, Cook 1/18,359
29 June 1996Super League I14London BroncosAThe ValleyW22–16Dwyer, Paul, ScalesMcNamara 5/54,524
5 July 1996Super League I15St. HelensHOdsal StadiumW50–22Bradley (2), Donougher, Knox, Loughlin, Nickle, Scales, Spruce, TamaniMcNamara 7/911,467
12 July 1996Super League I16WiganHOdsal StadiumW20–12Scales (2), Dwyer, MedleyMcNamara 2/417,360
20 July 1996Super League I17Warrington WolvesAWilderspool StadiumW30–20Bradley, Calland, Dwyer, McDermottMcNamara 7/78,423
28 July 1996Super League I18Oldham BearsHOdsal StadiumW56–0Paul (3), Tamani (2), Bradley, Loughlin, Lowes, Nickle, TomlinsonMcNamara 8/109,849
4 August 1996Super League I19LeedsAHeadingley StadiumW56–18Paul (3), Loughlin (2), Cook, Lowes, Medley, McDermott, NickleMcNamara 6/8, Cook 2/210,505
11 August 1996Super League I20Workington TownADerwent ParkW28–14Cook, Donougher, Lowes, Paul, SpruceMcNamara 4/52,430
18 August 1996Super League I21Halifax Blue SoxHOdsal StadiumL26–27Spruce (2), Bradley, Calland, NickleMcNamara 2/4, Cook 1/113,196
24 August 1996Super League I22Paris St GermainAStade Sébastien CharlétyW27–14Lowes (2), Bradley, Dwyer, SpruceMcNamara 3/5, McNamara 1 DG6,152
31 August 1996Super League ISemi FinalWiganACentral ParkL36–42Bradley (3), Paul (2), Calland, TomlinsonMcNamara 4/89,878

Challenge Cup
LEGEND
  Win
  Draw
  Loss
DateCompetitionRndVrsH/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAtt
4 February 1996Cup4thBatleyHOdsal StadiumW60–18Donougher, Nickle, Longo (3), Christie, Cook, Fairbank, Hassan (2), Loughlin, MedleyCook 6/123,017
11 February 1996Cup5thLeigh CenturionsAHilton ParkW44–12Scales, Medley, Knox (2), Cook, Hassan (2), LoughlinCook 6/84,100
25 February 1996CupQFWakefield TrinityHOdsal StadiumW30–18Bradley, Scales, Loughlin, Knox, Medley, DonohueCook 3/66,519
23 March 1996CupSFLeedsNMcAlpine StadiumW28–6Scales (3), Calland, KnoxCook 4/517,139
27 April 1996CupFinalSt. HelensNWembley StadiumL32–40Paul (3), Dwyer, ScalesCook 6/675,994

Squad

Statistics include appearances and points in the Super League, Challenge Cup and Premiership Trophy.[1]

Player Apps Tries Goals DG Points
Graeme Bradley 28 14 0 0 56
Matt Calland 25 14 0 0 56
Gary Christie 10 1 0 0 4
Paul Cook 20 6 52 1 129
Jason Donohue 9 1 0 0 4
Jeremy Donougher 25 9 0 0 36
Bernard Dwyer 23 9 0 0 36
Karl Fairbank 25 5 0 0 20
Nathan Graham 11 0 0 0 0
Jon Hamer 2 0 0 0 0
Carlos Hassan 14 6 0 0 24
Andy Ireland 4 0 0 0 0
Warren Jowitt 1 0 0 0 0
Simon Knox 16 6 0 0 24
Davide Longo 8 3 0 0 12
Paul Loughlin 26 12 3 0 54
James Lowes 23 11 0 0 44
Brian McDermott 28 5 0 0 20
Steve McNamara 21 1 82 2 170
Paul Medley 24 9 0 0 36
Sonny Nickle 23 6 0 0 24
Robbie Paul 28 23 0 0 92
Jon Scales 24 18 0 0 72
Stuart Spruce 14 12 0 0 48
Neil Summers 1 0 0 0 0
Joe Tamani 15 4 0 0 16
Glen Tomlinson 19 5 0 0 20

Transfers

In
Player From Fee Date Ref
James LowesLeedsFebruary 1996
Glen TomlinsonBatleyMarch 1996
Steve McNamaraHullApril 1996
Stuart SpruceWidnesMay 1996
Joe TamaniAdelaide RamsMay 1996

Out
Player To Fee Date Ref
Alan WilsonHuddersfield GiantsJanuary 1996
Paul RoundCastleford TigersMarch 1996
Neil SummersFeatherstone RoversMay 1996
Davide LongoSwinton LionsDecember 1996
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References
  1. Fletcher, Raymond (1997). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1997. Headline Book Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7472-7764-4.
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