Sculthorpe wins his claim against Bulls

Sculthorpe, 35, the younger brother of former St Helens and Great Britain forward Paul Sculthorpe, says he contemplated suicide after seeing his career ended prematurely and being “abandoned” but is now hoping his case will prompt clubs to take better care of their players.

The claim was lodged against the club’s former holding company, Bradford Bulls Holdings Ltd, which is now dissolved, and was settled by its then insurance company. It has no relation to, or impact on, the current Bulls set-up.

“This case was never about the money for me, it was about Bradford admitting their mistakes,” said Sculthorpe.

“As a club, they let me down badly at a time when my career was going very well. They failed to devise a training regime for me to ensure my back condition was managed as it had been elsewhere and then when I was injured, they abandoned me.”

Sculthorpe, a prop who began his career at Rochdale, made 136 Super League appearances for Wigan, Castleford, Wakefield and Huddersfield before joining the Bulls in 2009 on a two-year contract with an option of a third season.

He had been on specifically-tailored training programmes at his previous clubs but he did not undergo a formal medical when joining Bradford, and despite warning both the club doctor and physiotherapist about his back problem, he was instructed to do ‘bent over rowing’, with 60kg barbells at one of his first sessions.

It was then that Sculthorpe suffered a prolapsed disc.

“I was in hospital for eight weeks and nobody came to see me from Bradford,” he said. “Then they offered me a severance package and even asked that I sign a compromise agreement not to pursue litigation for any perceived negligence. It was basically an offer to be paid off and stay quiet.”