Visit from former club comes at the right time for settled Sidlow

The tall prop emerged in timely fashion to force his way over at Headingley Carnegie to help earn his side an 18-18 draw.

If they can now deliver a win over Salford City Reds at Provident Stadium, Odsal, this afternoon it will certainly mark a very productive haul from the Easter programme for Francis Cummins’s side, who currently lie in sixth spot.

Bradford are, indeed, making excellent progress and their form mirrors that of the towering front-row.

Effectively surplus to requirements at Salford at the end of last season given their plethora of forwards, he was given the option of leaving 12 months early and taking up a two-year deal in West Yorkshire. He did not think twice.

Bradford’s amount of recruitment was stalled somewhat last autumn given the lateness of Omar Khan’s successful takeover, meaning Sidlow, who arrived in December, was just one of two permanent signings along with St Helens winger Jamie Foster.

He may not have been the most high-profile of acquisitions but it has proved to be a really astute bit of business from Cummins, who continues to fashion the 25-year-old into a potent weapon – used primarily off his bench.

Ever-present so far and equally at home at second-row, weighing in at almost 18 stone and standing six foot four inches tall means Sidlow undoubtedly has all the natural characteristics to make an impact.

Offering starting props Nick Scruton and Manase Manuokafoa much-needed respite, he invariably maintains Bradford’s drive and go-forward when he enters the fray, but it is his willingness to promote the ball which is most eye-catching.

A tendency to free his arms and off-load – few players have done more so in Super League this term – has been manna from heaven for livewire players like Brett Kearney and Jarrod Sammut and been the source of many an attacking move.

“I always try and off-load, sometimes to my detriment really if I’m being honest,” he told the Yorkshire Post.

“But Franny’s teaching me now how to use it better and on the front foot rather than the back.

“It’s one of the benefits of his coaching and I am really enjoying it here at Bradford.”

Players were leaving troubled Salford like rats off a sinking ship as the club’s financial crisis deepened last year.

But, ahead of today’s clash, Sidlow maintains that was not his main reason for departure.

“It wasn’t to do with those problems but more to do with the fact we had too many props,” he explained.

“(Head coach) Phil Veivers spoke to me and said ‘Listen, Bradford have come in for you’.

“He gave me his best wishes and said I could go. I just thought it was too good an opportunity to turn down with the Bulls being such a big club.

“It’s great playing alongside these great players here.

“It’s not that they weren’t at Salford, but I’m just really enjoying my rugby at the minute.

“They are a good set of lads with great banter and it’s a pleasure to be a part of really.”

Until Good Friday, the visit of Salford would not have caused too much trepidation among the Bradford faithful.

Although new owner Dr Marwan Koukash has eased their monetary woe since taking over in January, investing heavily in new players and controversially getting rid of Veivers – ex-Bradford chief Brian Noble is the likely replacement – they had won just one game and held up the rest of Super League.

However, then came a shock 21-20 win over leaders Huddersfield Giants in the first part of their Easter schedule so they will arrive at Odsal full of confidence.

“They’ve a few new sponsors coming in and the players are just pulling together at the right time again, getting a few good results like that one,” added Sidlow, who played almost 80 Super League games for Salford after debuting in 2009 following earlier stints at Widnes and Workington.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to playing them for the first time.

“It’s a short turnaround after the Headingley match, but hopefully we’ll all be right and ready to go again.”

And what of that late, late show at the champions and his crucial try to help clinch an 18-18 draw?

“I tipped Heath (L’Estrange) up near the line and if you look at my other tries, it’s usually him who gives it to me,” he recalled, after the Australian hooker found him with a short, delayed pass.

“We’ve got a good connection going. He understands near the line I’m going to be hard to stop and I was just in the right place at the right time.

“Jamie Jones-Buchanan doesn’t miss too many tackles but I just managed to get a bit of footwork on him and then Jamie (Foster) converted to level it.

“It’s my third try so here so I’m pretty prolific for a prop.

“We had to back up against Leeds after what happened Catalan. We’d set ourselves a few goals in Perpignan – us guys in the middle – but we didn’t pull through and lost out in that one so we had to really take it to Leeds as they’re a big pack too.

“We did that and stood up to them. Now we need the same against Salford.

“We’re in the top six at the minute and that’s our goal; we want to get in the play-offs.

“But if we patch all our injuries up together I think we can do some damage in this league this year.”

n Bradford’s game at London Broncos, originally scheduled for Friday night, has now been moved to Wycombe’s Adams Park ground on Saturday (3pm) due to ongoing problems with their opponents’ Twickenham Stoop pitch.

[email protected]