Dewsbury Rams v Bradford Bulls: We are working hard to bridge the gap on teams like Bulls says Rams coach Lee Greenwood

The West Yorkshire rivals meet at Tetley’s Stadium with Bradford having invested in more top-flight quality once more.

Warrington Wolves half-back Dec Patton is one of their major recruits for 2022 to strengthen a squad already littered with players with Super League nous.

“We are under no illusions how hard it is going to be but that is most weeks for us,” said Greenwood, whose side finished tenth last year, five places behind Bradford.

“They are a big outfit. They have moved back to Odsal, which is a smaller pitch and they will be prepared for playing on our pitch now.

“It is not like we will catch them out with the size of that. We know we are in for a tough test.

“They have a lot of experience and a lot of players who have played in Super League.

“They have handpicked the players to add to what they already had.

“We are underdogs in three-quarters of our games, but we will give it a go.”

Dewsbury lost both their pre-season friendlies but Greenwood has been encouraged by their training over the winter.

“It has been a big improvement on last year because of the (Covid) restrictions we were under,” he said.

“It has been more like normal this year; in terms of training we have been able to do pretty much whatever we wanted. We feel we’ve strong competition in all positions and are strong enough to have a good go this year.”

Bradford could give competitive debuts to Patton, former Leeds Rhinos forward Jordan Baldwinson and ex-Castleford Tigers winger Kieran Gill. On-loan Rhinos duo Corey Johnson and Muizz Mustapha are expected to feature.

But coach John Kear has lost Aaron Murphy and Ebon Scurr to injuries picked up last week and Elliot Hall and Jordan Lilley also remain sidelined.

Elsewhere, Sheffield Eagles start their campaign at newly-promoted Barrow Raiders.