Faded glory

What can lift Bradford Bulls out of the doldrums and give them back the success that they used to have?

The trouble is I think Bradford believes they can just turn up to win, without realising that times have changed, they have to work for success, they no longer have a dominant pack, and have become mediocre rather than a force to be reckoned with.  I know that money has played its part in reducing the team from one full of internationals, to one with a few possibles, some past internationals and a number of very so-so individuals.  But surely even with the team they have they should be able to put together a better performance than the one against Harlequins last week, and come to think of it the one against Wakefield the week before, and Warrington the week before, and Huddersfield the week before that.  I dread to think how things are going to be against Leeds on Friday (and against a Leeds team smarting from their Challenge Cup exit and their defeat to Warrington last Friday).  It could be another really embarrassing evening for the Bradford fans, followed by listening to Steve McNamara’s excuses about why it wasn’t as bad as it looked.  I see that Bradford are fielding a part-timer and two lads from the Academy.  Haven’t they got enough fit first team players left?  At the start of the season they seemed to have a good-sized squad, even if it was unexciting, but there seems to be hardly any one left now. 

I know they have been unlucky with injuries – although I am Paul Deacon’s biggest fan, I never quite realised how pivotal to the team he was until last year when he was missing at the crucial end of season, and this year when he has been missing again for quite some time.  Perhaps the truth is that his quality wasn’t quite as noticeable  when the team around him was of a higher quality, when we had Vainikolo and Hape, and Fielden, and Peacock, and Pryce.  How I wish we could acquire some players of that quality now.  And of course the loss of Morrison is a huge blow, not just as a player but as a force on the field.  Burgess too is a great team player, always energetic and purposeful, and he is badly missed.  Why did Bradford give a new 3-year deal to the decidedly suspect Platt?  He can be very good, but he can also be very, very bad, and often makes mistakes in dire places and at crucial times of the match.  Halley also makes a lot of mistakes but he is a much more reliable full back than Platt.

This season more than any other Bradford have looked lost for much of the match, and whereas in the past you could feel confident that though they might play badly for part of the match, they would probably be able to pick it up when it mattered, there is no such confidence this season.  I just wonder if Bradford have never quite recovered from the awful humiliation of that loss to Wigan at the end of last season, and that their confidence has been terminally dented.  Let’s hope Steve Menzies is a magician, and that he and the tremendous Morrison can re-inject some steel into the Bradford team.  I believe that playing well and winning is all in the mind, and if the team has confidence in itself, and is just that, a team – then it can win matches.  Any team could be like St Helens if they put their mind to it, and play for each other and not as individuals.  Is this coaching, inherent skill, or just luck?  I was a big advocate of Steve McNamara when he became head coach, but my confidence in him has ebbed away.  I don’t believe that the players at Leeds or St Helens are so much better than the Bradford side, they just have belief as a team, they work together and they are successful because they know they can win.  Bradford needs a coach who can instil that sort of spirit into the team, because at the moment it is sadly lacking, and if they can hang on to sixth spot it will be a miracle.  Most fans have already abandoned this year and are desperately hoping for some big improvements next year.

Tags: Bradford Bulls, Leeds Rhinos, St Helen's