Bradford Bulls v Leigh Leopards: Table checks not distracting Kurt Haggerty from main aim

The fallen giants returned to the top level as the lowest-ranked club from the Championship having finished below both York Knights and Toulouse Olympique in 2025.

The assumption was that they would spend their first season back scrapping to avoid the wooden spoon.

Instead, they are looking down on several established top-flight clubs at the halfway mark of the campaign.

Kurt Haggerty has always maintained that finishing outside the bottom three would represent a successful season – but even he has found himself taking stock of Bradford's unexpected league position.

"Every now and again when I'm at home and my children are out in the garden, I'll just have a little look at the Sky Sports table on my phone and think we're not too far off," admitted the Bulls boss, whose side sit ninth ahead of Sunday's home clash with Leigh Leopards. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a little look.

"But we have to start picking up some wins away from home before we can even have a conversation regarding the play-offs. And we need to keep winning at home.

"I've not had that conversation yet but if we start to pick up some wins on the road, I'm sure I'll sit down with the group and look at the next phase.

"Right now, it's a case of 'underpromise, overdeliver'. As I've said previously, it'd be an incredible achievement for any of the promoted teams to finish 10th or higher."

The foundations of Bradford's encouraging start have been laid at Odsal. Five wins from seven home fixtures have not only delivered valuable competition points but helped reconnect the club with a fanbase that has waited years to see the Bulls back among the elite.

There has also been a sense of vindication for Haggerty. Some questioned whether his expansive approach would work on Odsal's compact pitch but Bradford have remained committed to their attacking principles.

"The thing I do get a bit of pleasure out of is that a lot of people said we couldn't play my style of rugby at Odsal," added Haggerty.

"I do enjoy it when we put on performances and win playing a good brand of rugby.

"We move the ball, we play with detail but we work hard defensively. I'd like to think we're aggressive.

"We're starting to look like a good team, especially when we've got a full complement of players out there."

Bradford have climbed to ninth despite persistent injury problems. However, Haggerty is starting to enjoy a degree of consistency in team selection as the Bulls prepare to face a Leigh team four points better off in the table.

"There won't be a great deal of difference," he said. "There may be a couple of changes.

"We know we're facing a fantastic team. They've got some very good Super League players and play an exciting brand of rugby on the front foot.

"We're going to have to be very, very good to beat them."

The fixture carries added significance for Haggerty, who cut his teeth as a head coach during a spell in interim charge of Leigh in 2021.

Working with a team sliding towards relegation during a global pandemic made for a difficult first assignment – but it did not deter the 37-year-old.

"It's a really good club and I enjoyed my time there," he said.

"When I took over as interim coach in Super League, it was a bit of a dress rehearsal for me before I got the big gig.

"It was Covid at the time. That hit and I ended up doing 14 games. Even before that, I knew what I wanted to be.

"I thoroughly enjoyed it, as bad as it was during Covid. I just knew I wanted to be a head coach."

The Bulls raised eyebrows when they entrusted their long-awaited return to Super League to a rookie head coach but Haggerty is well on the way to repaying that faith.

For all the talk about Bradford’s league position, the main objective has not changed.

"It was always about earning respect," said Haggerty. "I think we're getting closer to that but I don't think we've fully accomplished it yet.

"Until you start winning games on the road, you won't fully get that respect so we need to chalk a couple of those off.

"If we get to the end of the season and have earned respect, I'd be pretty happy with our first year."