The Calm Before The Storm

Well, nearly 5 months have passed since the final hooter sounded on the 2006 season. The sound of the siren at Odsal brought an end to our first ever run in the play-offs (a run which officially lasted 80 minutes but which most of us accepted was over when we conceded 2 tries in the opening 6 minutes)! Despite the disappointment of a thorough trouncing it was a time for celebration, a team which many observers had tipped for relegation had finished the season in 5th place in the final league standings & had given us many, many moments to remember. As per usual we went straight to the nearest pub & sang our heads off in prasise of our completely-outplayed heroes. The assembled Bradford fans watched on in something akin to disbelief.

So what did I do next? Well, I allowed my liver to recover somewhat from the battering it takes during a season, I lost 10 pounds (although I'm still a fat twat) & I moved back to the right side of the pennines (or left-side I suppose geographically). I've moved in with my girlfriend Nic amd obviously I've started a new job (although early indications would suggest I've made a bad move career-wise).

Mostly though I've looked forward to the new season! Of the players we've lost only 2 will be seriously missed (Dunemann & Rutgerson) but we've brought in quality replacements in the form of Luke Dorn & Michael Korkidas. The addition of Mark Edmondson will also strengthen our pack no end. Young Luke Adamson looked good last year & will doubtless come on even more this yeat while new signing Lee Jewitt impressed me greatly when I saw him play for Wigan U18's.

The pre-season, however, did little to increase my early optimism. First came the news that Fitzy will miss most of the season & that was followed by 3 friendly defeats. First to a strong-looking Warrington side who recovered from conceding an early Halliwell try to completely boss the game. The only highlights from a Salford perspective were seeing Briers crying when he sprained his ankle & Korkidas knocking Westwood halfway round the Willows in the dying seconds.

Next up came a midweek game with Wigan for Mal Alker's testimonial. A poor first half gave no indication of the fine game we would witness after the re-start. Again there was a great punch-up (Highton & Paleasiina were the protagonists this time). Hodgy's late drop-goal appeared to have won the game for us until a moment of madness by Mal himself gifted Wigan 1 last opportunity from a scrum which they duly took & stole the spoils.

Finally a visit to my old stomping-ground of Whitefield to see us take on Swin(e)ton. A good performance from our kids wasn't enough to hold out a spirited Piggers' outfit & we narrowly lost a high-scoring, enjoyable thriller.

Still at least we only have Leeds to start the season with eh!