{"id":817447,"date":"2026-10-29T09:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T09:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/817447\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T09:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T09:50:15","slug":"an-opportunity-i-couldnt-miss-sam-eseh-jr-breaks-silence-on-wigan-warriors-exit-bradford-bulls-move-and-kurt-haggerty-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/817447\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018An opportunity I couldn\u2019t miss\u2019 Sam Eseh Jr breaks silence on Wigan Warriors exit, Bradford Bulls move, and Kurt Haggerty talks"},"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

New Bradford Bulls signing Sam Eseh Jr has opened up on his departure from Super League champions Wigan Warriors, revealing why he committed his long-term future to the Odsal club.<\/p>\n

The highly-rated 23-year-old prop has penned a three-year deal with the Bulls ahead of the 2027 campaign following conversations with Wigan management regarding his need for regular first-team rugby.<\/p>\n

Having previously enjoyed productive loan spells across Super League and the Championship, including stints at Leeds Rhinos, Hull FC, Barrow Raiders, and Featherstone Rovers under Brian McDermott, Sam Eseh Jr admitted the vision presented by the Bulls hierarchy made his decision an easy one.<\/p>\n

Sam Eseh Jr. opens up on leaving Wigan Warriors and signing a three-year deal at Odsal<\/p>\n

England\u2019s Rugby League World Cup semi-final hope lives on after France thrashing \u2013 click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show!<\/a><\/p>\n

Reflecting on how the move unfolded, Eseh explained that conversations regarding his playing time at Wigan prompted him to seek a new challenge where he could anchor a forward pack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was over the course of a few weeks. Me and my agent had the conversation with Wigan, we obviously weren\u2019t planning to\u2026 we had the conversation about not staying and stuff like that, and potentially moving on,\u201d He said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen obviously other opportunities came, and I had a meeting with Kurt [Haggerty], Jason [Hirst], and Brian Noble. We didn\u2019t actually talk rugby for quite a long time; it was more just about the people at Bradford, the way the club is, the way the club\u2019s going, and the ambitions for the club as well.<\/p>\n

Most Read on Serious About Rugby League<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think from that first meeting with them, I could see how much Jason loved the club, I could see how much Brian loved the club, and I could see how committed and how much Kurt loved the club as well. I just think it was something that I really wanted to be a part of: it was an opportunity I couldn\u2019t miss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing the security of a three-year contract, Sam added: \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege, a massive privilege. Obviously the club\u2019s on a journey to exceed and be successful, and it\u2019s something that I can\u2019t wait to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

On relocations, connecting with fans, and Odsal atmosphere<\/p>\n

To fully immerse himself in his new environment, Eseh confirmed he is relocating directly to the Bradford area to eliminate travel strain and connect with the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight from the start, I said immediately I\u2019d come and move local because it just makes things a lot easier,\u201d Eseh revealed. \u201cFor anyone in any industry, being close to where you work is a benefit. I\u2019m moving to Bradford, so the people of Bradford, I\u2019ll be living amongst them and living with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the people that we\u2019re playing for, the people that get us through probably the tough times. I\u2019ve met some lovely people already. From what I\u2019ve seen, it\u2019s a real tight-knit and close family unit at the Bradford Bulls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to making his home debut under the Odsal lights, he expressed his excitement for the famous atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m actually really looking forward to it. The derby games, when all the fans are banging on the floor and on the tunnel, I think it\u2019s an amazing feeling, especially at night when all the lights are up and the fireworks are going off. It\u2019ll be an amazing feeling for the first time stepping out.\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":"New Bradford Bulls signing Sam Eseh Jr has opened up on his departure from Super League champions Wigan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-817447","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\/817447","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=817447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}