Bradford Bulls will be without at least one forward for next week’s game, though that number may rise to two with head coach Kurt Haggerty confirming more injury news for the West Yorkshire side.
The Bulls lost 30-6 to Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup on Friday night with Wigan’s relentless attack getting the best of Bradford, particularly when forcing errors from kicks, something that Haggerty rued.
Speaking post-match to BBC Sport West Yorkshire, Haggerty said: “Ultimately, I’m really happy with how we defended our try line and the way we turned up for each other system-wise. I thought Wigan struggled to break us down but then off the back of kicks, they’ve still got enough class.
“I don’t want to undersell them scoring from kicks because they’ve done their homework but it would lead to an error from a kick and then a lot of things happened off the back of that. We’ll get better at that.”
Haggerty also lamented his side’s lack of belief in their own attack, however, concessions can clearly be made given the fact they’re without Jayden Nikorima and Joe Keyes in the spine, among several other players across the pitch.
RFL error, coaches under pressure and Super League’s injury crisis – click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
Bradford Bulls hit hard with forward injuries
Suspensions from last week’s Super League clash also meant that Elliot Peposhi and Loghan Lewis missed out, with both also set to be banned for next week’s game against Huddersfield. Making matters worse, Haggerty confirmed that two more forwards are set to join the injury list.
He explained: “We’re down on troops with people out of position. We’ve lost (Brandon) Douglas and we’ve potentially lost Eribe (Doro).
“Dougie has failed his HIA and Eribe doesn’t look good.”
Douglas will certainly miss next week as a result of the HIA and whilst there was no early timeline set for Doro, Haggerty stated that the prop’s ankle had ‘ballooned up already’, which is understandable cause for concern.
The loss of Doro is a major one as well with Haggerty hailing him as the Bulls best player, stating: “I thought he was our best today Eribe, he’s changed the direction of his carries. His aggression and his defence, I thought he was our best.”
As for who replaces the pair, Haggerty admitted that he does not know and he also didn’t rule out making any loan moves.
He said: “Right now, I don’t know. We’d lost Loghan (Lewis) so we’re short on bodies as it is but we’re cool, Sam Hallas got some minutes today and we’ve always had the mentality of next man up and that won’t change.”
On loans, he added: “I’m not sure yet. I’ll reassess it, sit down with the coaching staff, sit down with Brian Noble and Jason Hirst and we’ll discuss it but I won’t rush.”
Despite the injury blows in the forward pack, there was some positive news with Haggerty sharing updates on Jayden Nikorima and Waqa Blake.
Haggerty explained: “I think every team is the same at the moment. It’s not something I’ve come out and stressed on. We have the next man up mentality but I think Jayden (Nikorima) should be good for Huddersfield and Waqa (Blake) is close.”
