Rhinos trio join Bulls on loan ahead of new Leeds and Bradford initiative

LEEDS RHINOS trio Jarrod O’Connor, Muizz Mustapha and Corey Johnson will start the new season on loan at Bradford Bulls – who will also host a friendly between the sides – as part of the clubs’ new partnership promoting both rugby league and netball, writes DAVE CRAVEN.
Bradford bound: Young Rhinos forward Jarrod O'Connor is joining the Bulls on loan.  Picture Bruce RollinsonBradford bound: Young Rhinos forward Jarrod O'Connor is joining the Bulls on loan.  Picture Bruce Rollinson
Bradford bound: Young Rhinos forward Jarrod O'Connor is joining the Bulls on loan. Picture Bruce Rollinson

Two decades ago, Rhinos and Bulls were two of Super League’s biggest rivals with fiercely contested derbies but now the clubs are coming together for the good of their respective communities.

A new initiative will focus on taking both sports to young people of the region, together with a number of diversity, equality and sustainability programmes and messages.

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The three-year project has been driven by Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington and Nigel Wood, chairman of Championship club Bradford, and is aimed to create a project that can benefit from extra resources and build on the work done over the last seven years through the Sky Try project.

On the move: Leeds forward Muizz Mustapha (with ball) will start next season on loan at Bradford. Picture by Ed Sykes/SWpix.comOn the move: Leeds forward Muizz Mustapha (with ball) will start next season on loan at Bradford. Picture by Ed Sykes/SWpix.com
On the move: Leeds forward Muizz Mustapha (with ball) will start next season on loan at Bradford. Picture by Ed Sykes/SWpix.com

Bulls will host Leeds at Odsal on Sunday January (3pm) as part of both club’s pre-season schedule.

Sky Try was launched in 2015, with the aim of reaching over 100,000 people of all ages each year to increase the number of people regularly involved in community clubs or as spectators and viewers, but the funding has now concluded.

The club’s two Charitable Foundations, supported by a number of businesses, will provide opportunities for Women and Girls, for Masters, for Touch ‘n’ Tag, for Rugby League and Netball taster sessions with Headingley and Odsal hosting festivals during the summer as a culmination of the initiative.

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Hetherington said: “Fans of both clubs will remember fondly the rivalry we had a number of years ago when we were selling out Headingley and Odsal on a regular basis for our clashes.

“More recently, a spirit of camaraderie was even more evident when Bulls fans joined our own Rhinos fans to support Rob Burrow back at the start of the 2020 season.

“The aim of our new community engagement project is to combine our efforts and expertise to introduce boys, girls, men and women to Rugby League many of whom have not seen a path to the game in the past.

“Rugby League offers more opportunities now than ever before to get involved whether that is junior rugby for boys and girls, men’s and women’s senior competitions and mixed wheelchair sides plus Physical Disability and Learning Disability teams and Masters Rugby League for older players.

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“Our partnership will be able to give access to all of those options and in addition we are also able to offer even more women’s sport with Yorkshire’s only elite netball team, Rhinos Netball, now playing in the Vitality Super League.

“But we also need new fans as well and those who come into contact with our Foundations through this project will also get the chance to see live Rugby League at Headingley or Odsal, many for the first time in their lives.

Wood said “The Bulls aspire to become a Super League force again, but as importantly, we are determined to be a club that represents the best in Community and Corporate Social Responsibility.

“It is at the heart of everything we are trying to achieve. Leeds and Bradford may be great rivals on the field, but off it we believe in similar values; those of pulling together, co-operating and working collaboratively to promote rugby league and our cities.

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“The combined area of Leeds and Bradford totals nearly 1.5 million people and it makes great sense to work closely together to cover the region more efficiently and use the power of sport to promote good citizenship.”