Bradford Bulls Match Report

Record attendance for Bears game at the Butts.

COVENTRY BEARS 12 BRADFORD BULLS 62

Mike Hyde, Butts Park Arena, Saturday

The band was playing, the craft beer was on tap, and the sun was shining brightly as a record crowd of 1,465 gathered to see the first visit of Bradford Bulls to Coventry’s Butts Park Arena.

The former World Champions eventually emerged as comfortable winners, but only after Coventry Bears took and held a surprise lead for a quarter of the match.

To the cheers and astonishment of the home fans, some of whom were first time attenders, a strong drive by Ashley Bateman paved the way for an offload to Kam Pearce-Paul who put the home side in front after just four minutes. Ben Stead added two extra points.

Bradford were soon attacking again, but clumsy handling in the sun and dust thwarted them on more occasions than even the Bears strong tackling. But then with sixteen minutes gone, Bulls’ Dane Chisholm cut through to put Ethan Ryan over the line.

Chisholm’s missed conversion meant that the home side still had the lead. The Bears fans still could not believe what was happening, but were grounded enough to just savour that twenty five minutes when their team were actually beating the erstwhile legends of Super League. 

The Bulls dominance in possession eventually paid off as George Milton wove his way through the defensive line. Elliott Minchella was the next over and Chisholm made no mistake with these conversions putting the score at 6-16. Coventry continued to attack until the half time hooter with Dan Gover coming close to narrowing the margin, but just missing out.

John Kear, the Bulls characterful coach would not be happy, and afterwards we found out he had given his side a ‘spraying’ in the dressing room!!!

And so, the Bulls came out a different team in the second half.

Within a minute of the restart, Ross Peltier was over the line, but the conversion failed. Then just two minutes later, a good run by Halafihi put Laithwaite in a great position to pierce the home defence. And two minutes after that, Bradford’s man of the match Minchella was over for another try. With Chisolm getting the last two kicks, the score was now 6-32 and the match surely looked over after that five minute blitz.

However, the Bears were in no mood to curl up and die, as Stead put the ball out to Chris Barratt who was in just the right position to get himself on the scoresheet. Stead’s kick brought the difference to 12-32, but this time it really was to be the end of the contest.

Joe Keyes broke away and sprinted over for a stunning try on 53 minutes, and the difference in fitness was now beginning to show.

After a moment’s hesitation by the Bears defence, Liam Johnson seized the loose ball, and he  bagged another try for the Bulls.

Hallas then led another blitz in the final ten minutes, scoring after a searing diagonal run.

Not to be outdone, his Bulls team-mate Minchella added his third of the afternoon. Hallas then added to his tally with a try straight from the kick off taken by the now weary Bears.

So, the Bulls go marching on, as expected.

But this was a great event and superb advertisement for Rugby League in the Midlands sun, and Bears fans, new and old, also went away happy.

 

 

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

 

Bears v Bulls Live Pre Match Music Line Up

​LIVE MUSIC LINE UP FOR BEARS V BULLS

Alex Norman  

Alex Norman  

Before the match kicks off at Coventry Bears v Bradford Bulls we have a real treat in store for Home and travelling fans alike where a selection of fantastic local musicians kicking off the day!

The big name on the bill is singer-songwriter Alex Norman, who has played all over the world, has racked up thousands of views of his videos online and is currently working on his new album.

Alex is also no stranger to the Bears; in many ways, he grew up around the club. Alex’s dad Chris was one of the key players in setting up the Bears 20 years ago, and a young Alex was often found earning his keep as ballboy, kicking rugby balls around the field after matches and generally supporting the team home and away.

Although his attention on 30 June will be focused on rugby league, Alex has recently released an unofficial England song for this summer’s World Cup campaign - you can hear that, and more of his music, here: Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/AlexNormanUK/videos/1738901672870412/

Joining Alex Norman on the Battle of the Beasts bill is duo Brains For Breakfast, who will travelling from the Black Country equipped with guitar, ukulele, bass and vocals too.

The two-piece love taking the opportunity to sing songs about good times and make sweet sounds to the world and promise to be the perfect soundtrack to accompany the craft beers and food that will be on sale pitch side.

Brains for Breakfast 

Brains for Breakfast 

Brains for Breakfast can be found on Facebook and YouTube, where you can check out their most recent single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1sCe4Mquoo

And the music doesn’t stop there! Fans at the Butts Park Arena will also be treated to the sounds of singer-guitarist Chrissie Duxson and colourful duo WAVE, whose guitars and vocals are provided by none other than Dave Musson, co-host of the Bear Necessities podcast.

Wave

Wave

​

From Chrissie, expect stunning vocals, intricate guitar playing and probably a cover or two of a grunge classic. As for WAVE, expect the unexpected - they’re normally found in much louder settings but also enjoy an acoustic session when the opportunity arises. Find them on Facebook.

The live music will run from 12.30-2.30pm, pitch side at the Butts Park Arena on Saturday 30 June and comes as part of your match ticket - come and spend a fantastic day!

Get your match tickets HERE  

How big are the Bradford Bulls

How big are the Bulls?

A brief history for Midlands fans.

IMG_9808.JPG
 

The build up to Saturday’s big game is well under way. The pre-match line-up of local musical talent is in place. Extra beer and food has been ordered. Tickets are selling fast and even the weather is going to be good.

But just how big an attraction are Bradford Bulls? Will they help us beat our record attendance set in the February friendly against Leeds?

Beyond any doubt they are one of the biggest names in Rugby League, but events off the field led to a rapid decline in their fortunes and they now find themselves in the third tier of the game rather than at the very top where they were for so many years.

Their plight is very similar to that of Glasgow Rangers whose team and travelling army of fans visited small grounds and small clubs for the first time as they worked their way back to the to the more familiar environment of the SPL.

Bradford Bulls started life as a Rugby League team at the inception of the sport in 1895, gaining the name Bradford Northern in 1907 to differentiate themselves from the round ball teams in Bradford.

In the thirties they moved to Odsal, the giant bowl of a stadium where they still play. The fact that at the time this was the second biggest stadium after Wembley says a lot about the club’s standing in world of sport, not just in Rugby League.

They won the Cup on several occasions and had a record crowd of 69,423 in 1953 in a third round tie against nearby Huddersfield, but bad times lay ahead and a decade later, just 324saw them play against Barrow in their cavernous stadium.Then they went out of business.

But such is the importance of the game in Bradford that they were reformed a year later.

Cup wins soon followed, and the Championship was theirs twoyears running in 1981 and 1982.

All this was in ‘the old days’ when Rugby League was a winter game, but it is the Summer era and Super League which defines Saturday’s opponents.

The name change to Bulls was the first indication of how they were embracing the modern game. Their branding and marketing were slick and modern, and matches at Odsal. became events with cheerleaders, music and entertainment. They were Super League Champions in 1997 and were the best supported club with average gates of over 15,000.

Success continued and 2002 saw them bearing Australian side Newcastle Knights to be crowned World Champions.

The next year saw a clean sweep as they collected all three domestic trophies; The Challenge Cup, The League Leaders Shield and the Challenge Cup.

Further World titles followed in 2004 and in 2006 and Bull-mania was at its peak,

However, ‘trouble at t’mill’ was looming as financial difficulties started to engulf the proud club and they entered administration in 2012.

In 2014 they were relegated from Super League and the downward spiral continued.

But Bradford still loves its team and they have survived, and now the team and their fans are having a ball, touring the country as they visit clubs such as the Bears.

Which brings us to this season, which they started at York City Knights with a York record crowd of over 4,281, half of whom were travelling Bulls fans. Asimilar number saw them recently at Newcastle in an evening game. But their fans also venture down south and over 500 made the journey down the M1 to see their heroes beat Hemel Hempstead,setting a club attendance recordand also scoring 68 points in the process.

Now managed by veteran coach John Kear, they are sitting at the top of League 1 having lost only one game this season, and few would bet against them moving into the Championship next year.

So, they are certainly big, very big in fact, but the best way to judge exactly how big is to come along, savour the atmosphere and see for yourself on Saturday. 

You can buy tickets here through Eventbrite just CLICK HERE

Thunder Preview

 

Newcastle v Bears Preview

Lets continue where we left off

The Bears are back on the road again this Sunday when they head to Newcastle Thunder, the northernmost outpost of League 1 Rugby League, just over four hours away.

This season, all clubs play each other twice, home and away, and it will be interesting tosee how the Coventry side which lost at home in April will now fare as they fulfill the return fixture.

The fans who went to the home game will remember two things; the loud, vociferous but good-natured Thunder supporters who came down to the BPA, and also the rain which came down before, during and after the match.

This meant that the two sides were starting in a quagmire with standing water on the pitch and a slippery ball, not ideal for flowing rugby.

And it was yet another of ‘those’ games, where their opponents buit up a 24 point lead before the Bears started scoring.

Doing much of that damage to the Bears was Theeropol Ritson, and their kicker also had a good game that day.

It wasn’t a dirty match, but two players were sin binned, including our own Chris Vitalini.

The final score of 18-32 shows the Bears narrowing the deficit to just 14 points after that poor start, not winning but dominating for most of the game, and whittling away at Thunder’s lead

So, on to this Sunday’s game, can the lads can continue where they left off?

This time the weather will be better too, no rain and for Newcastle a decidedly tropical 20 degrees with nice sunshine.

And fingers crossed the Bears will be better too, strengthened by their two Hull KR Dual Registration players who both shone in a much improved overall showing last weekend.

So as we enter the second half of the season, lets hop the Bears start getting those results, starting this Sunday.

19 Man Squad to face Newcastle: 

1. Jason Bass

2. Reece Rance

3. Kam Pearce Paul

4. Jacob Bass

5. Errol Carter

6. Paul Emmanuelli

7. Ben Stead

8. James Geurtjens

9. Joe Cator

10. Dan Gover

11. Brad Clavering

12. Chris Barratt

13. Chris Vitalini

14. Robbie Butler

15. Mal Lloyd Jones

16. James Mason

17. Zak Williams

18. Peter Ryan

19. Harry Chapman

Hunslet Match Report

Bears rediscover their fighting spirit

Hunslet RLFC 40 Coventry Bears 16

South Leeds Stadium, Sunday.

Match report by Mike Hyde

Yes, the Bears lost another game up in the heartlands of Rugby League, but this wasn’t a one-sided walkover for the team challenging for promotion in fifth place.

The Bears, in common with other clubs, have been on the receiving end of some high winning scores over the past few weeks, but the margin at the South Leeds Stadiumwas the second closest of Sunday’s League 1 games.

Bolstered by two Hull KR players, who are with the Bears under a Dual Registration agreement with their parent club, the Bears showed more of their customary grit from the kick off.

Although they found themselves six points down within the first five minutes, it was one of those players; Joe Caitor who grabbed a try on his Bears debut after 8 minutes.

The two sides then slugged it out at both ends and ironically it was on a sustained Coventry attack that the ball was lost andHunslet’s David Foggin-Johnston scooped it up and ran the full length of the field.

He scored a second try a few minutes later, but then the Bears ‘never-say-die’ attitude kicked in as Paul Emanuelli crafted a neat kick. Chris Barratt pounced on it for Bears second try of the afternoon and this time Ben Stead added the conversion, giving a respectable half time score of 18-10.

The Bears defence was caught off guard just twominutes intothe second half as Nathan Chappell crossed the line, with Sanderson successfully converting.

But the Bears were not about to give in, as James Mason scored a try in reply and Stead again converted, putting the score at 24-16 midway through the second half,  with the two teams appearing evenly matched.

However that was to prove a high water mark for the Bears as the Home side scored two tries with the game still ten minutes away from its conclusion.

But still the Bears wouldn’t surrender and they fought hard to get back into the game. However in a copy of what had happened in the first half, Nathan Chappel intercepted the ball on a Bears attack and ran the full length of the pitch to seal the game at 40-16.

The travelling Bears fans went away proud of their team, who had provided stiff competition for their opponents. and a resilience which will hopefully serve them well in the second half of the season.

Hunslet Preview

Reinforced Bears team travels to Hunslet.

On Sunday Coventry Bears, plus a dedicated following of supporters, will be making their way up the M1 once again to visit the South Leeds Stadium, home of Leeds ‘other club’ Hunslet.

The last few weeks have not been kind to the Bears as they suffered some heavy defeats. A policy of developing your own player base in a non-traditional area like Coventry will surely pay dividends in the future, but at times they have been exposed.

Ironically, this has been compounded by having key players away on student international duty!

Following Friday’s announcement that the Bears have signed a Dual Registrationn agreement with Hull KR, the team can immediately be strengthened with top class players keen to prove themselves not just to the Bears but to their host club.

Joe Cator and Brad Clavering are twoplayers made available from the Rovers for Sundays game at a place which has not been a happy hunting ground for the Bears in the past, losing 34-0 last season.

So, will the injection of quality players be the boost that is needed for a side which has talent but is still developing?

Squad

  1. Jason Bass

  2. Errol Carter

  3. Jacob Ogden

  4. Kam Pearce Paul

  5. Reece Rance

  6. Paul Emmanuelli

  7. Ben Stead

  8. James Geurtjens

  9. Joe Cator

  10. Chris Vitalini

  11. Brad Clavering

  12. Chris Barratt

  13. Ashley Bateman

  14. Zak Williams

  15. Dan Gover

  16. Mal Lloyd Jones

  17. James Mason

  18. Harry Chapman

  19. Brad Sheridan

Bears announce Dual Reg with Hull Kingston Rovers

Hull Kingston Rovers & Coventry Bears agree Dual Registration Partnership 

Hull Kingston Rovers and Coventry Bears have agreed a dual registration agreement to cover the remainder of the 2018 season.

The Robins will continue to work with current partners York City Knights alongside the Bears to provide additional opportunities for first team players to gain valuable game time and experienc in Betfred League One, with Coventry having the opportunity to select players from a full-time environment to strengthen their ranks.

Tim Sheens 

Tim Sheens 

 

Hull Kingston Rovers head coach Tim Sheens: “Our partnership with York works really well for us on a number of levels, but with a large squad to select from and several players due back from injury in the coming weeks, we wanted to explore another dual registration agreement to increase our options.

We’re conscious that both clubs have their own existing squads in place and it’s important that we work with them closely and communicate openly. When done properly, dual registration can be mutually beneficial for both parties so we’re looking forward to further strengthening our existing relationship with Coventry and supporting a team that is working really hard for the sport outside of the heartlands of the game in this country. 

We’ve always prided ourselves on the attitude shown by our players who have gone out on dual registration and we expect that to be the case once again with the Bears.”


Coventry’s first team head coach, Tom Tsang, said: “As a club we have made a commitment to developing young, local talent to allow us to be sustainable into the future. This is still without question our aim.

 “However, as the season has progressed, we have increasingly felt that in order to be able to achieve this, we need to introduce some more high quality and experienced players from whom our local squad can learn, allowing them to develop faster as a result.

“We are very grateful to Hull KR who have given us the opportunity to provide this injection of talent and I am sure all involved will benefit greatly. We have taken players from Hull KR in previous seasons – all of whom have kicked on and are now enjoying successful careers in the sport. We look forward to being part of that process again and these players aiding our squad’s development.”

As part of the new dual registration agreement, Rovers first team players Joe Cator and Brad Clavering will be made available to Coventry this week.

Tom Tsang 

Tom Tsang 

Oldham Match Report

Promotion chasing Oldham simply too good for the Bears

COVENTRY BEARS 0 OLDHAM 60

Mike Hyde, Butts Park Arena, Sunday

This was the first ever visit to the Butts Park Arena for Oldham, and after six consecutive wins they were determined to keepup that record and place pressure on the top two. They did just that with an eleven try blitz and a comprehensive all-round display. It was alsoone of those games where, try as they do, the Bears simply couldn’t get into the game.

Strength in depth allowed the visitors torest ever-present Danny Bridge, and also call on Dual Registration players from Super League Salford. The Bears had nosuch luxuries, such is life for a club developing the game and local talent away from the games heartlands.

After a spell of early pressure and some good passing moves a space was created for Oldham’s Ben Davies to cross from a few yards out and Paul Crook’s conversion followed.

On eleven minutes, a flowing move culminated with Benjamin West receiving the ball on the right wing and running intothe space created for his first try. This time Crook hit the upright and no more was added. Some flowing play followed from the visitors, but a forward pass prevented a certain try and the Bears were off the hook.

Coventry defended valiantly but then allowed Mathew Wilkinson to add an easy try from close quarters and the simplest of conversions was set up for Crooks.

Next over for Oldham was Craig Briscoe on 27 minutes, and the conversion put the score at 0-22.

The visitors were now in the ascendancy and Dany Langtree sliced through Coventry’s defence despite the best efforts of the two Bears hanging on to him as he powered over.

Danyal Rasool was the next name to go on the scoresheet over on the right, and although no extras were added, the score was now 0-32, and that margin remained as the half time hooter sounded.

The Bears came out with more spirit, andwere within five yards of the line before their last pass was intercepted and they found themselves scrambling back to defend desperately once more.

A tricky kick put Crook over as Oldham returned totry scoring ways with the half just six minutes oldto add to his increasing points tally.

James Guertjens did his best to inspire the Bears with some hard driving runs, but the home side’s attacks invariably broke down, and they found themselves on the back foot, with holes being torn into their defence.

After a rather soggy spell of play under the bright sun, Langtree added his second of the afternoon after a furious spell of pressure. Once again Crook made no mistake with the extras.

A dazzling run by fullback Kyran Johnson added to the Bears misery as he dived flambuoyantly over the lineand the conversion put the score on the half century mark.

The ninth name on the scoresheet was David Hewitt after a piercing run.

Briscoe added his second with five minutes remaining as Oldham recorded their seventh victory in a row, and Coventry Bears were left with just one league victory so far this season, and tough games coming up away at Hunslet and Newcastle.

MATCHFACTS

BEARS

1 Harry Chapma

2Jamahl Hunte

3Jason Bass

21 Kam Pearce Paul

5 Errol Carter

6Paul Emanuelli

7 Ben Stead

8James Guertjens

9 Zac Williams

10Peter Ryan

11 Ben Gray

12 Chris Barratt

13Chris Vitalini

Subs (all used)

14 Liam Rice Wilson

15James Mason

16Malakhi Lloyd-Jones

17John Aldred

Tries:

Goals:

OLDHAM

1 Kyran Johnson

28 Lee Kershaw

4 Jack Holmes

3 Matt Reid

30 Benjamin West

6 Paul Crook

7 David Hewitt

8 Phil Joy

9 Gareth Owen

18 Benjamin Davies

11 Craig Briscoe

12 Dany Langtree

24 Liam Bent

Subs (all used)

23 Luke Nelmes

20 Matthew Wilkinson

22 Danyal Rasool

29 Zack McComb

Tries:B Davies (4), West (11), Wilkinson (21), Briscoe (27,75),Langtree(33, 58), Rasool (37) Crook (46),Johnson (63), Hewitt (70)

Goals:Crook 8/11

Penalty count: 7-9

Half-time: 0-32

Referee: S Race

Attendance: 337

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-10,0-16, 0-22,0-28, 0-32; 0-38, 0-44, 0-50,0-56, 0-60