Bradford Bulls secure John Kear on new deal

The veteran former Hull FC, Wakefield Trinity and England boss has extended his stay until the end of the 2022 season.

Kear, 65, joined the club prior to 2018, tasked with the aim of trying to rebuild them to get back into Super League.

He helped them earn promotion from League 1 in his first term and last season - although narrowly missing out on the play-offs - enjoyed the high of stunning Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup.

“I am really pleased to have committed to the club for another two years,” said Kear, whose career highlights include winning the Challenge Cup with both Sheffield Eagles and Hull.

“I believe the club has made massive strides forward off the field and there is a sense of unfinished business about how we have progressed on it.

“There is a lot of uncertainty around the sport at the moment and I believe it is a commendable show of confidence by the club to look to start making plans despite the uncertainty.

“We have plenty of optimism that we can build on what we have already achieved and push towards our goals in the next couple of the years.

“We want to continue where we left off prior to the season being halted – we were playing well and the younger players were maturing and I am sure we can still have a meaningful season.”

Bradford had won two of their opening four league games as well as beating Underbank Rangers and almost upsetting Trinity in the Cup before coronavirus brought the campaign to a halt in mid-March.

Kear added: “We want to build a squad that can form the nucleus of a side for years to come and having spoken with Mark (Sawyer) we were keen to get this deal done so we can look at retaining and signing players.

“There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes regarding returning to training and making sure there is a safe environment for staff and players and it will be interesting to see if we can pick up where we left off.

“I have nothing but admiration for what we have achieved on the field since I came to the club and I was sure we would kick on this year - I just want to get back out there when it is safe and look forward.

“I am sure the fans will be eager to get back – if they stick with us there are positives times ahead I am certain.”

Bulls chief executive Sawyer said: “Obviously the sport is going through some tricky and uncertain times at the moment but this is being felt everywhere, by all sorts of businesses.

"The club and its backers are doing their very best to navigate ourselves through the current turmoil and our long-term objectives remain unchanged.

“To achieve that we have to start thinking about the future and who we wanted to lead the charge and JK was the obvious solution.

"John has been extremely helpful and understanding during the current crisis and I feel the club can only go from strength to strength under his leadership."

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