Odsal stalwart Medley just happy to be part of new Bulls era

THERE will be some familiar faces firmly ensconced back at Odsal today.

It is set to be confirmed that Lee St Hilaire, the Bradford Bulls assistant who has worked so diligently for the last six years, will be retained as new head coach Francis Cummins’s deputy.

Stuart Duffy, too, whose official titles and unofficial job duties are too numerous to mention here but range from dealing with inane media enquiries from this correspondent to registering players’ contracts and providing a valuable link to the club’s supporters, is also rightly returned to the paid hub of daily life at the Super League club.

Another employee who was made redundant by administrator Brendan Guilfoyle on July 2 was head of youth football Paul Medley.

In some form, the ex-Great Britain second-row has worked at Odsal for half his life and, so, is very much part of the fabric. Especially when you consider he has just celebrated his 46th birthday.

All three returned after their sackings to work voluntarily while the embattled club strived to emerge from the ensuing chaos. Well done to new owner Omar Khan for ensuring there is a place for them in this new regime.

Medley’s is an interesting tale, given he first made an ‘impact’ – literally and before that term ever became commonplace in rugby league parlance – off the bench for arch-rivals Leeds.

He was moved on to Halifax in a swap-deal involving Paul Dixon but arrived at Odsal in the late 1980s to become an instant crowd favourite.

“Do you want the exact date? The fifth of August 1989 I signed as a player, “ he says, talking to the Yorkshire Post.

“I retired from Super League in ‘98, moved into a community/football role in ‘99 and have been doing it ever since all the way through for 23 years in total.”

During the dark days that threatened the Bulls’ very survival this summer, there was an obvious fear that some of the talented youngsters Medley had initially earmarked and then brought through the system might be swallowed up by the circling vultures.

John Bateman, Elliott Whitehead, Tom Olbison and Danny Addy, to name just four of the recent Academy products but, equally so, the England international Jamie Langley now approaching his 29th birthday, who had also come under his watchful eye.

Thankfully, most of them remain in situ, and available to form a nucleus of the Bulls side which hopes to now rebuild.

“There is a great enthusiasm and energy around the place brought on by Omar and Gerry (Sutcliffe),” admits Medley.

“There’s excitement too with Franny’s first post as head coach which is all rubbing off on other people so that, from the doom and gloom of the last six months, there’s this phoenix from the flames.

“People are working hard and, most importantly, grabbing these opportunities with both hands and plenty of gusto.

“Everyone is of the mentality now that this will succeed,” he says.

Medley’s own sanity over the difficult period is, in large part, down to his wife, Tracey.

“She’s given me the time and strength to carry on,” he reveals.

“When you want to go back and volunteer for someone who ultimately has just got rid of you and you need to be looking for other work too, while still hoping you might get your old job back, it’s a real balance, but her support has been brilliant.”

With the help of so many willing support staff, Medley ensured all the club’s youth team fixtures went ahead during all the worry and destabilising effects of that administration.

They have not emerged unscathed at the junior levels but the effects are not catastrophic.

“There’s been some damage caused,” he explains.

“We were in a difficult situation and lost a couple of kids here and there while we missed out on some we wanted to sign, but it was damage limitation when everything was going wrong in the middle of the season.

“But we’re not a quick-fix in this job and it’s the same at any club.

“A head coach can make changes to his squad inside 12 months but in the junior section it’s a long process which could take up to five years before you see an impact.

“We’ll be fine for the next couple of years but maybe in three or four ,what’s happened could affect us.

“It’s just a big relief to get back on board now though and hopefully carry on the work we’ve been doing.”