Friday interview - Nick Scruton: Delighted to be making maximum impact

With Samoan giant Kylie Leuluai – he who bench presses an astonishing 220kg – England firebrand Jamie Peacock and the notoriously hot-tempered Ryan Bailey all in front of him, Leeds Rhinos were never short of props who knew how to combust.

Scruton could always handle himself but now, in his second season at Bradford since making the bold switch to Leeds' arch-rivals, the Morley-born forward is definitely showing his own fiery side.

Not only is he consistently proving his prowess as a first-choice prop, doing the hard yards and defensive duties demanded in Bradford's front-row alongside the peerless Andy Lynch, but he is also routinely rattling opponents with tackles of seismic proportions.

Bradford, once so brutal earlier in the Super League era with such foreboding characters as Brian McDermott, Jimmy Lowes and Graeme Bradley, have been accused of being too nice in recent seasons and their lack of an evil streak has thwarted their progress.

But Scruton, as gregarious and accommodating as they come off the field, is certainly bringing back some of the nastiness on it with a catalogue of battered players able to testify.

Hull KR's Joel Clinton, a former Australian Test prop, was left a shaken mess when met by one of his shuddering hits last month, Leigh's James Taylor was on the end of a similar bullying in their Challenge Cup clash and even Leeds' Lee Smith – one of Scruton's firmest friends – did not escape his wrath.

Scruton smashed the winger with his first touch following his return from Wasps when Bradford played Leeds at Headingley over Easter.

"I tried to," he recalls with a grin, ahead of Sunday's Odsal re-match.

"He said I never got him but I definitely did. I'm just going to do it properly this week."

The 25-year-old accepts there is little style to his tactic, which generally sees him charge out of the defensive line and collide with an opponent – normally an opposing prop unless it is the unfortunate Smith – hoping to generate maximum impact.

However, it is definitely a tactic.

"We do a lot of video and you can pick people out," he says, refusing to elaborate on which Leeds players might be targeted this weekend.

"You know they're going to get the ball at a certain time and what they're going to do.

"The only thing is you have to do it right as either you'll give a penalty away or sometimes they can spin or bounce off you and get a roll on.

"I have been told to wind my neck in just a little bit and do it at the right times as sometimes I get a bit excited. I've just got to be careful."

When any player can dominate his opponent so vigorously, though, it creates a knock-on effect, inspiring those around him, although Scruton concedes it is not something he drills in training.

"Nobody will practice with me," he laughs. "I can't find anyone. But there is no

real technique. I just throw myself into it and try and lift the team.

"It's just one of those things – if it comes off, it comes off."

Plenty of things have been coming off for Bradford recently. Their only defeat in the last nine games was an aberration against Crusaders but they responded with victory over Leigh to progress to the cup quarter-finals before grinding out success at Wakefield a week ago to move into the top four.

It is the highest position they have occupied since Scruton, after playing his part in Leeds' 2008 Grand Final win, turned down a new deal at Headingley to move across West Yorkshire believing he would find more glory in Bradford colours.

Failing to even reach the play-offs last season was not what he envisaged but it proved a transitional period and that process seems close to fruition.

"We got on a bit of a downward spiral and it was hard to get out of that," he recalled.

"Personally, it was hard adjusting from third or fourth choice prop (at Leeds) to being a starting prop here.

"It took me a while to find my feet but now everyone knows their roles better and when everyone sticks to those we are hard to beat.

"If we do that Sunday we'll be tough to defeat again."

Like many of those improving Bulls around him, Scruton has certainly matured of late and he has needed to.

After fellow prop Sam Burgess departed for South Sydney, there was always going to be more pressure on him this season.

However, after what happened to the England international's replacement – the experienced Danny Sculthorpe – that pressure has intensified.

Halfway into the season, the luckless signing is still yet to make his Bulls debut after suffering an infection following back surgery which left him hospitalised for several weeks.

It has restricted Bradford's front-row options but Scruton has stepped up to the plate alongside Lynch – "one of the toughest players I've played with; the job he does for Bradford I don't think anyone else could do" – as have young second-rows Elliott Whitehead and James Donaldson, in a pack that has bettered many this term.

Sculthorpe is on the mend and his return will bolster their push for silverware on both fronts but beforehand Bradford can strengthen their lofty position by undermining Leeds.

The hosts are still smarting from missing out on victory in that last meeting at Headingley when Smith recovered enough from his early welcoming committee to score two tries, the second near the end levelling the contest at 20-20.

"For us, I think the last match was a point lost rather than a point gained," said Scruton, who dreams of facing them again before the season is out in either final.

"We feel we let them off the hook after being in the position we were and let them sneak a draw.

"We were all gutted after the game and feel like we owe them this week.

"We've a point to prove."