Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty has spoken on the club’s loan addition of Tommy Doyle and explained why he’s abandoned his general principle of not utilising the loan system.
The Bulls have been hammered hard with injury issues in 2026 but Haggerty has generally avoided the loan market, instead aiming to promote players from within and that will continue this week as Alfie Leake makes his Super League debut.
Leake is one of several to debut for Bradford this year but the Bulls have gone into the loan market for Doyle, with Haggerty explaining that the fact Doyle came through the club’s academy made his signing a ‘no-brainer’.
Explaining the move, Haggerty said on Wednesday: “Tom just needs some game time. We’ve got Andy Ackers playing a lot of minutes at the moment and we’ve got Mitch Souter out for the season, so yeah, it made sense.
“He’s played at the Bulls before, he knows what it means to the fans and what it means to play for this club so it was a bit of a no-brainer for us really.”
He also confirmed that the deal is only for one week but that it would be reviewed after, adding: “Ultimately, it’s down to Wakefield, he’s their player, so it’s ultimately down to them more than it is to us.”
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Bradford Bulls loanee ‘feels like he’s back home’
Something that Haggerty was informed of within the presser was that Doyle is out of contract at the end of the year, with the Bulls boss asked if there would be a consideration for the hooker to become a permanent signing in 2027.
“I didn’t know he was off contract. I didn’t know that,” the Bradford boss admitted.
“Listen, we’ll just take it this week. If the kid goes well and we’ve got the opportunity where we can keep him and Wakefield are comfortable for us to keep him, then I’d certainly consider it.”
Doyle also was not the only loan option to be considered, as Haggerty added: “There was a couple, but then knowing the history and the background of his relationship with the Bulls, it certainly made it easy for me.”
The forward came through the Bradford system and Haggerty joked that it felt like a case of welcoming home, noting: “He’s certainly got a smile on his face. He feels like he’s back home a little bit. I’ve not had to do the big sell of what it means to pull on the Bulls shirt this week, because he already knows what it looks like. So, yeah, he’s been a breath of fresh air today.
“I think that’s the reason why I jumped at the opportunity to bring him in because he’s playing for the Bulls, he’s from Bradford and you probably get that 10% a little bit more from him.”
As for how he will be utilised, Haggerty said: “He’s played a couple of reserve games after his injury, so no, he doesn’t have to come in and play 80 minutes because we’ve still got Andy Ackers.
“Andy’s got sore thumb, but he should be okay. He’s there to give Andy a break and I’m sure he’s a welcome break and he’ll bring a lot of energy to us”
