Betfred Super League 2026: Bradford looking to make the most of Bull Mania’s second wave

Bradford Bulls return to the Betfred Super League in 2026 after an 11-year hiatus with memories of ‘Bull Mania’ in the infancy of the summer era springing back to mind.

The four-time champions of the competition have been through the ringer since they were last at this level, but there is a new excitement around the city following their election back into the top flight.

Kurt Haggerty’s men are hoping to embrace the buzz around Bradford as they step back into the elite, as half-back Jayden Nikorima explains to The Sportsman Rugby League.

“There is a lot of excitement. It's been good for the community, I think for the fans who have stood by the club for so long during the Championship years to see them back in the Super League only makes it more exciting,” the former Salford Red Devils star explains.

“It's a good buzz around the club, there's a lot of new boys within the team and coaching staff, which only further helps that excitement. The training standard that we've had during pre-season’s been really good, so I'm looking forward to the games ahead and to see how we go this year.”

Nikorima was part of the Salford squad which was decimated by financial issues over the course of 2025, and the 29-year-old is feeling good about things now that he has made the switch across the Pennines.

“I'm happy here at Bradford, I’ve got a good relationship with Haggy too, the coach, so things are starting to fall into place. It's a bit of relief for me to be honest, and hopefully it puts me in good stead for a good season this year.

“I'm excited to see the growth of Bradford and to hopefully getting big crowds into Odsal, and getting that fire back into the rivalry with Leeds. As a whole, being back in the Super League is exciting.

“We've got a lot of work to do, a lot of hard work for us as leaders as we’ve got to set the standard at training first and foremost. Off the back of that hopefully we can win some games.

“We're training to win, whether that's against the new teams like Toulouse or the champions Hull KR.”

Rugby League Odds

Nikorima’s fellow vice-captain this year will be Ryan Sutton, who returns to Super League after seven seasons in the NRL with Canberra Raiders and Canterbury Bulldogs.

And the former Wigan Warriors middle says he’s as ready as anyone to rekindle the huge occasions of the past at the Bulls’ Odsal Stadium.

“Before Christmas I ventured out to Odsal and it actually brought back a few memories as I played a few games there when I was younger. Obviously I’ve watched games there, especially the Wigan-Bradford games, the Leeds-Bradford games, they were unreal games,” Sutton adds.

“You want them derbies, you want them really good quality games back in Super League, and we want to try and give back to our fans because they deserve it. They've been in the championship for a little bit now, and to be in top-flight rugby league again it's unreal.

“That's something the group and the coach have all spoken about. We're not just going to come into this competition as just another club, we're going to come in and we're going to look to compete week-in, week-out.”

The Bulls are 10/1 with Betfred to earn a play-off spot with a top-six finish, while they are 66/1 to win a first Betfred Challenge Cup since 2003.

They begin their season with a trip to face the London Broncos in the third round of the cup on Sunday, six days after which they visit Hull FC for the opening Super League game of the campaign.

The first top-flight game at Odsal since 2014 comes against the Catalans Dragons on February 20.

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