Bears v Bulls Preview

Bears v Bulls preview

The long-awaited clash is now almost upon us.

Indeed the game, or rather the event looks set to be one of the highlights of an at times difficult season. There will be music, craft beers, tag rugby, and a big crowd all contributing to a carnival atmosphere in the Coventry sunshine.

But for eighty minutes all that matters is what is happening between the Bears and the Bulls-‘the battle of the beasts’ as it has been dubbed.

Bradford Bulls have taken League 1 by storm, in much the same way as Toronto and Toulouse did in the past two seasons. They sit at the top of the table two points clear of York, and have only lost once this season, at Workington, and even that was by just a single point.

Last week they beat Doncaster 56-14 at Odsal, and the week before they managed to beat Whitehaven 20-27. More worryingly, they have achieved high scores against Hemel Stags who they beat 0-68 down in Hertfordshire and they thrashed West Wales Raiders 124-0.

This makes the Bears 52-6 defeat in the corresponding away fixture look decidedly respectable.

So, Bulls are clear favourites, but how will the Bears fare at the Butts Park Arena?

After a shocking 98-6 defeat at Keighley, where everything that could go wrong did just that, the Bears have noticeably stabilised and started to improve with the addition of Dual registration Hull KR. 

The defeats have continued, but once again there are some encouraging signs, and team spirit is good. The aim is to be competitive, to tighten up in defence while keeping the attacking flair and variety of moves that Tom Tsang has coached them.

If the Bears play as they can for 80 minutes then Saturdays scoreline will be closer than many experts think.

Bears Squad From:

Ash Bateman

Ben Stead

Chris Barratt

Chris Vitalini

Dan Gover

Harry Chapman

Hayden Freeman

Jacob Ogden

James Mason

Jason Bass

Kameron Pearce Paul

Kieran Sherratt

Liam Rice Wilson

Malikhi Lloyd Jones

Paul Emmanuelli

Peter Ryan

Rhys Gant

Richie Hughes

Zak Williams