Sculthorpe set to be unleashed

As a ball-handling prop, the younger brother of former Great Britain captain Paul is one of a dying breed in a sport where power often outweighs panache.

Sculthorpe feels many of his previous coaches failed to utilise his skills to the full, preferring him to barge away in typical modern-day front-row fashion.

But Bradford chief Steve McNamara, a gifted forward who possessed plenty of subtle touches as a player, sees him in a different light.

"I think Steve will let me do things I've not been allowed to do in the last couple of years," said Sculthorpe, preparing for his first campaign at Odsal after ending a miserable stint with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

"He's taken the reins off me and just wants me to play.

"I'm looking forward to being able to do that here.

"I've had three very unhappy years at Wakefield and am just glad to be away, starting fresh at Bradford."

Sculthorpe, 30, left Belle Vue in acrimonious circumstances last May after being suspended by coach John Kear for breaking an alcohol ban on the journey back from a match at Harlequins.

But the player insisted: "He made a meal of that.

"I had six bottles of beer on the bus and got fined 1,800."

Sculthorpe claims he was treated disproportionately with other players being fined far less for infringement of club rules regarding alcohol consumption.

But he says that episode was not the sole reason he looks disdainfully back on his Wakefield days.

"It was a mixture of things," he said. "I didn't enjoy one minute there and really didn't enjoy the coaching.

"I played for him (Kear) with England Under-21s and at Wigan and really liked him but it was very regimented at Wakefield like you were back at school and you couldn't enjoy yourself.

"That's the way I felt."

Sculthorpe moved to Huddersfield for the remainder of last year and thrived in their renaissance under Nathan Brown, helping fire the Giants into their highest Super League finish.

It was his best sustained period of football since a season at Castleford Tigers in 2006 and a contract was on the table to stay at the Galpharm Stadium.

However, he said: "Steve Mac sold Bradford to me really well.

"I liked what he had to say. I absolutely loved it at Huddersfield and I've not got a bad word I can say about them.

"But Bradford's a massive club and they've loads of potential."

The Bulls finished outside of the play-offs last season but have pushed on with a significant recruitment drive.

Sculthorpe comes in for England international Sam Burgess after his big-money switch to South Sydney but he accepts he cannot ever been seen as a direct replacement.

"We're different types," he said.

"He ended up playing at loose forward as well but if the fans do see it that way I'll just have to play well.

"We've got a good mix of props here. You need players who can play different roles; we've a worker in Andy Lynch, a big contact man in Nick Scruton, and me, who can play a bit of rugby with the ball.

"I've got a two-year deal but the club have promised if I play lots of games and I'm playing well, they'll offer me a third year. It's up to me now."

After a stop-start career, diabetic Sculthorpe has reached the age where he needs to maximise his undoubted potential.

As a Leeds Rhinos trainee, he headed to Warrington as part of the record-breaking 350,000 deal that saw Iestyn Harris move the other way but his career never took off in the same way, going part-time with Rochdale and not breaking through at Wigan until aged 23.

Unlike Australian scrum-half Matt Orford, Sculthorpe will not make his debut against Leeds in Sunday's testimonial for Matt Diskin due to a slight back injury but will be fit for their opening Super League game – a quick return to Huddersfield on February 5.

KEEPING TRACK OF HIGH-TECH ADVANCES

BRADFORD Bulls' players will trial a high-tech GPS monitoring system that coach Steve McNamara believes could ultimately help England close the gap on Australia.

They will become the first Super League side to try out the system competitively in Sunday's Matt Diskin testimonial match against Leeds at Headingley.

The device, placed in a harness incorporated into a player's vest and linked to a monitoring patch on their back, is used to measure heart-rates and track a player's movement.

"It will advance our game massively and I think the whole of our game should have it," said McNamara, who hopes to use the system in Bradford's Super League opener at Huddersfield on February 5.

"If every club and player had it, it would be great from an international perspective. Possibly it should be forced upon us."

The system was used by England – when McNamara was assistant coach – during the Four Nations.

"It's amazing what you can do," he said. "It's a live system so you're getting a constant feed.

"You know exactly what speeds you get to, how many impacts you get and what that takes out of the body."