The 1996 Bradford Bulls season was the 90th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Robbie Paul the newly branded Bradford Bulls competed in Super League I. The Bulls finished the regular season in 3rd place and made the semi-final, losing 36-42 to Wigan Warriors. The Bulls also competed in the 1996 Challenge Cup, reaching the final which they lost 32-40 to St. Helens.
February 1996
The 1996 season started off well for the Bradford Northern club newly re-branded as the Bradford Bulls. In their first competitive match they defeated Batley 60âÂÂ18 in the 4th round of the 1996 Challenge Cup. Australian import Jeremy Donougher scored the club's first try under the Bulls brand. Bradford's form in the Cup continued after beating Division 1 side Leigh 44âÂÂ12 at Hilton Park. The Bulls success continued as they hosted Wakefield Trinity in the quarter-finals, however after a brief scare Bradford managed to overcome Wakefield and win 30âÂÂ18.
March 1996
March started off with a great performance in the Challenge Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Leeds, the Bulls played some brilliant rugby to ensure a 28âÂÂ6 win earning them a place in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final. Bradford also kicked off the brand new Super League I with a 30âÂÂ18 win over Castleford Tigers in front of a 10,027 crowd.
April 1996
A trip to Sheffield Eagles was on the cards for the Bulls first away trip of the Super League season, however the Eagles were just too powerful for Bradford and the Bulls were soundly beaten 24âÂÂ40. However April got a little brighter as the Bulls bounced back to beat London 31âÂÂ24 to take them up to 5th in the league table. The Bulls were brought back down to earth after their win against London as St. Helens beat Bradford 26âÂÂ20 at Knowsley Road. Bradford suffered back to back defeats for the first time this season, losing 22âÂÂ6 to Wigan. Bradford narrowly lost in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final against St. Helens, Bradford went 26âÂÂ12 at one point but Saints halfback Bobbie Goulding peppered the Bradford fullback Nathan Graham with bombs which turned out to be fruitful for the Saints who scored 3 tries of Goulding's kicks to win the match 40âÂÂ32 leaving the Bradford players and fans feeling dejected.
May 1996
Bradford started off May in good form after losing the Challenge Cup Final by beating Warrington 36âÂÂ14 at Odsal Stadium, the Bulls then travelled to Oldham and beat Oldham Bears 30âÂÂ10. This would be Bradford's first back to back win of the season. The Bulls then beat Paris Saint-Germain 60âÂÂ32 at home before destroying arch rivals Leeds 54âÂÂ8 in Round 9. These wins took the Bulls to four games unbeaten and unbeaten for the whole of May.
June 1996
The Bulls started June with a massive 52âÂÂ4 win over bottom of the league Workington, Bradford ran in 10 tries in this emphatic win. Bradford carried on their form at Thrum Hall where they scraped a win at local rivals Halifax Blue Sox in a hard-fought 22âÂÂ20 contest. Bradford's 6 game unbeaten run was put to an end by a great performance by Castleford Tigers led by their talisman Frano Botica, the Tigers clinched the game 26âÂÂ23. However the Bulls responded the following week by destroying the Sheffield Eagles 64âÂÂ22 at Odsal. The Bulls followed up this win with a hard fought 22âÂÂ16 win over London Broncos.
July 1996
Bradford beat St. Helens in an excellent display of rugby league, they took the Saints apart and won 50âÂÂ22 to exact revenge for their Challenge Cup Final defeat. The Bulls excellent form continued as they battled Wigan at Odsal Stadium and the Yorkshire club came up with a 20âÂÂ12 win. Their 5th consecutive win came at Wilderspool Stadium where they took on Warrington and came away with the spoils beating Warrington 30âÂÂ20. The Bulls dished out another thumping however this one wasn't as impressive as it was against Oldham Bears, they did keep Oldham to zero points though as Bradford were 56âÂÂ0 victors.
August 1996
August started off well for Bradford as they demolished arch-rivals Leeds 56âÂÂ18 with the mercurial Robbie Paul grabbing his 3rd hat-trick of the season. The Bulls extended their winning streak to eight games when they beat bottom of the league Workington 28âÂÂ14 in a hard fought contest. Local team Halifax Blue Sox put an end to the Bulls' winning streak as Bradford succumbed to a 27âÂÂ26 defeat in the final home game of the season. The last regular season game came in Paris where the Bulls beat Paris Saint-Germain 27âÂÂ14 which meant they finished 3rd in the league, 5 points behind Wigan and 6 points behind league leaders St. Helens. This meant that the Bulls had to travel to Central Park to play Wigan in the Premiership Trophy Semi-final, in what was his last game in a Wigan shirt Shaun Edwards scored 4 tries to end Bradford's hopes of a Premiership final appearance in a hard fought 42âÂÂ36 Wigan win.
Statistics include appearances and points in the Super League, Challenge Cup and Premiership Trophy.