{"id":665076,"date":"2026-06-29T22:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/665076\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T22:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:48:14","slug":"just-another-game-bradford-bulls-boss-plays-down-magic-weekend-occasion-as-injury-update-given-ahead-of-leeds-rhinos-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/665076\/","title":{"rendered":"“Just another game” – Bradford Bulls boss plays down Magic Weekend occasion as injury update given ahead of Leeds Rhinos clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Nothing changes for Bradford Bulls this week, with Magic Weekend being just two competition points despite the huge occasion.<\/p>\n

Bradford set foot on their first Magic Weekend since 2014 as they take on Leeds Rhinos on Sunday.<\/p>\n

One of Super League\u2019s biggest rivalries will take on its next chapter, with the Leeds-Bradford derby providing one of those most memorable, yet controversial, moments in the event\u2019s history \u2013 Jordan Tansey scoring from Kevin Sinfield\u2019s missed penalty goal.<\/p>\n

The fixture, and the occasion, is rich in history, but for Kurt Haggerty and his side, they are simply focusing on getting the two points.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been involved in a couple [Magic events] now,\u201d the Bradford boss said at a press event today. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re great occasions, having all the fans in one place,\u00a0and for us, the Bulls being back in Super League and playing our neighbours in a derby, it\u2019s a huge occasion. We\u2019re really looking forward to it, and it\u2019s good for some of our boys to be on a big stage.<\/p>\n

Everton\u2019s Hill Dickinson Stadium will be the host, as the stadium hosts the event for the first time. Haggerty and his staff will embark on a scouting mission earlier in the week before arriving with the team on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big day for the club,\u201d the boss added. \u201cI hope there\u2019s loads of Bulls fans that come down and celebrate and enjoy the day\u00a0and come and watch us perform and have a crack like we do every week.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I\u2018m actually going over on Thursday with some of the staff,\u00a0so I\u2019m going to have a look at the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing down expectations, Haggerty added: \u201cIt\u2019s not a Grand Final, it\u2019s not a Challenge Cup,\u00a0it\u2019s just another game, just another stadium.\u00a0We\u2019ll build it up as no bigger than the usual Super League game, just in a different place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradford Bulls boss previews Leeds Rhinos derby<\/p>\n

Bradford could be without up to three forwards this week, with one being Will Gardiner, who was stretchered off the field against St Helens.<\/p>\n

Also sidelined were Phoenix Steinwede and Dan Russell, who were both casualties on Saturday.<\/p>\n

There is no update on either player just yet, and to make matters worse, there isn\u2019t any bodies set for a return just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve got anybody due back\u00a0for at least maybe another two to four weeks,\u201d Haggerty revealed.<\/p>\n

Commenting on Leeds, who sit top of the league, Bradford are expecting one of their toughest challenges of the season so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re physical, talented. They\u2018ve got some fantastic personnel.\u00a0They play a fantastic brand of rugby,\u00a0but can back it up with D.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nothing changes for Bradford Bulls this week, with Magic Weekend being just two competition points despite the huge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-665076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}