Bradford’s bold Las Vegas call gets just reward as Bulls’ rise a lesson for others

If you were one of the 2,746 that were at the Leigh Sports Village just four years ago to watch Leigh Centurions take on Bradford Bulls, you will be within your rights to question if you’re dreaming when the two teams walk out at Allegiant Stadium next year.

From nowhere, a game that looked destined to be Hull FC versus St Helens, and then perhaps St Helens versus Bradford, is now the Bulls versus the Leopards. Two teams that have shared their fair share of moments in the second tier in the last decade – some of them incredibly hostile – now do it Stateside on the biggest stage possible.

Leigh’s rise has been well documented, and they deserve their ticket to Vegas too. The work they have done not just on the field, but off it too, to become a club that are now considered firmly part of Super League’s fixtures and fittings is worthy of great credit.

But there is a scenario where this wouldn’t have been all that possible without Bradford’s bold decision. It may sound churlish, but their willingness to give up a home game is what got the Bulls at the front of the queue.

Just like Wigan Warriors in 2025 and Hull KR this year, the Bulls have put themselves in a position where they could lose money, and they may short change their match-going fans by taking a game away from their regular home venue: but they have seen the bigger picture.

Let us not beat around the bush here: Hull and St Helens didn’t fancy it because they didn’t want to give up a home game. It was Bradford’s willingness to take the risk that got them the nod – and it’ll come with added benefits too, as the NRL are likely to subsidise costs more than ever before.

So Bradford’s bravery has paid off big time – and having been not even in the Championship Grand Final just six or seven months ago, the Bulls are rapidly representing an appealing Super League club once again quicker than many could have imagined.

The Bulls have got big plans. Off it, work will be done on Odsal and on it, there is a bigger, enhanced budget to go and give Kurt Haggerty the squad he deserves after his own excellent start as the Bulls’ head coach. There are bright days ahead.

Las Vegas will be the apex for many Bulls fans – not least those who did the hard yards in League 1 and then the Championship, wondering if Super League would ever return to Odsal. They have every right to feel as if they are in dreamland right now.

But it is fitting that it is Bradford and Leigh, two clubs who were in the Championship together just a handful of years ago, who get the opportunity to show what Super League is all about in Las Vegas in 2027.

Just like Hull KR, the Leopards and Wakefield to name but three, the Bulls are the latest club to show that you can come up from the Championship and if you have your house in order, and a long-term plan for success, there can be exciting times ahead. Promotion doesn’t automatically mean struggling. To have two of those teams in Las Vegas is a great advert to Championship clubs about what could be possible.

Driven by their CEO Jason Hirst and their new ownership group – two of whom featured in the promo video that emerged on Tuesday evening – Bradford always said they were intent to prove they are not just making up the numbers when they came back into Super League.

Their desire to get on the billing at Vegas, and their sacrifice which will now be offset by more support by the NRL, shows they’re very much true to the word.

Maybe, just maybe, the Bulls are to be taken seriously after all. You won’t be able to avoid them next February if you’re in Vegas, that’s for sure.