This is a very, very turbulent time for us all. From the players, staff and us fans going through the motions, from last weeks display of a near win to this weeks dismal first half display against the side at the top of the table.
Don't get me wrong, there was a twenty minute spell where the Bulls showed some great spirit and pride but, the first half was extremely poor and conceding 46 points was just bad.
The final scoreline didn't tell the whole story. The Bulls were down, out, and back on the coach in the first half as Saint Helens just trounced us to a 28-0 half time scoreline. The second half began much as the first had finished, Saints came out firing and scored within 9 minutes and we all thought it would be 80 points + but, back came the Bulls. Tries from Luke Gale, Joe Arundel, Adrian Purtell, and Jamie Foster all contributed to the mini come back. Whilst we knew the game was gone, it was about pride and passion and giving something back to the travelling fans who, despite the score continued to sing and cheer on the lads. Final score Saint Helens 46-22 Bradford Bulls.
We are now all well aware of our fate and know that the only place we are heading is to the Championship. We still need to support the lads despite where we play or who is left at the club come the end of the season.
As I tweeted Marc Green, now is the time to sign up our talented players who want to stay at the club. We are aware players WILL leave and yes as the saying goes "money talks". Family must come first and then there are mortgages and utility bills along with various other things. Put yourself in there position and ask yourself this;
"Would I rather have a five pound note or a twenty pound note?"
As we drop into the Championship next season, there is going to be a new "Magic Weekend" for the Championship clubs held in Blackpool and all I keep saying ( in the meerkat voice) is "Blackpool here we come!"
The off field problems are not going away and, we should let the whole points debacle go! Also I have been reading tweets and seeing events advertised by most other super league clubs and have been asking why we have not done the same? I do not have the answers but it is to be hoped that Marc Green can let us know? All I can see on the Bulls site is a golfing day which costs £350 for a team of 3 with a Bulls player. In our current climate most fans would not be able to afford this which, in my opinion is targeted at the richer of us.
Why don't we bring the marketing back to basics and re-introduce the bring a friend for a fiver or even free? We NEED to engage with all fans and bring them back to our stadium to support the lads. Without the support there is no club, no revenue and that would be the end of us. These coming weeks are the test of how we can attract new supporters and also bring back the stay away fans! We can only do this by giving incentives such as concessions and all under 16's go free. Tempting people to walk through the gates and not walk past is going to be vital.
Please continue to support the lads this Sunday as we travel to the John Smiths stadium to take on the Huddersfield Giants.
Ex Bulls Interview Special
As you may have been aware, this week we were due to have "Champagne" Shontayne Hape for our ex Bulls interview.
Unfortunately Shontayne has been extremely busy and we regret to inform you that, this week there will not be an interview. We will however, bring you more interviews with ex players and will have Shontayne's in the very near future.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Just for Fun
Here is just a little section to try cheer us all up! This week we have a pic and are wondering if you can guess where it is?
Looking back
We have decided that we will be doing a looking back section here on the blog and will be using old programs and various other information looking back to our Northern and early Bulls days.
If you would like a certain game or memory in our blog please tweet us or let us know via Facebook.
This week I have chosen the Websters Yorkshire Cup game between Bradford Northern and Castleford from my own collection.
The game was held at Headingley on Saturday,3rd October 1981.
The man in the middle was Mr. R. Whitfield of Widnes the touch judges were Mr. G. Crisp and Mr. B. Robinson both from Leeds. The reserve ref was Mr. R.Campbell of Widnes.
The teams on the day were
Unfortunately Northern lost the final to Castleford 10-5. Our only try came through Alan Parker and converted by Ellery Hanley. Tries for Martin Ketteridge and John Joyner both converted by David Finch sealed the win.
The White Rose Man of the Match was awarded to Castleford prop - Barry Johnson.
The scores back in the day were awarded as follows. Three points for a try, two for a conversion and one for a drop goal.
The attendance for the final was 5,876.
Here is a team photo of the 1981 Yorkshire Cup Runners Up - Bradford Northern
Special mentions
Here at BULLieve we rely on interaction from YOU the fans as part of this we would like to give special mentions to people celebrating birthdays, weddings etc. If you would like a mention then please don't hesitate to Tweet us or contact us via Facebook.
Happy Birthday to our very own Adam O'Brien who turned 21 on Friday. The result wasn't good but we hope you had a good birthday despite that.
A very happy birthday to Micah Manuokafoa who turned 17 on last Thursday and says July babies rule!
Pictured is Adam Henry, Micah Manuokafoa and his dad Manase Manuokafoa.
Very happy birthday to life long fan and season ticket holder John Witney who turned 43 on last Saturday.
We would like to give a special mention to a great account on Twitter this week, @superleaguepod.
These two lads (Mark and Tom) report on all things super league and is a voluntary role like our blog.
For a full round up of Rugby League news and results give Super League Pod a listen. Search for it on iTunes and Facebook and also give them a follow on Twitter and if you tweet them you could get a mention on the Pod cast!
Massive congratulations this week to Wyke ARLFC on making it to wembley through the Tetleys pass it on competition tweet and mention. The team will be at webley for the Tetleys challenge cup final.
All permission has been sought to post pictures from the people we have mentioned this week.
All permission has been sought to post pictures from the people we have mentioned this week.
Last but not least, Me and Tom would like to thank everyone of you who read, RT and share our blog! So far we have had over 18,000 views and we continue to get hits daily.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
Until next week, have a great weekend and, don't stop BULLieving!
