Bradford Bulls boss unsure if he has 17 fit players as injury crisis reaches new low following Leigh Leopards defeat - Serious About Rugby League
Serious About Rugby League · Sam Brocksom · 2026-08-22T09:45:36+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Kurt Haggerty is unsure whether he can send 17 fit players to Toulouse Olympique next week, after the Bradford Bulls boss revealed five more injuries following last night’s loss to Leigh Leopards.
Bradford, who already have over a dozen players out for the season, lost 62-10 to the top four hopefuls in what was their sixth straight defeat.
Waqa Blake and Eliot Peposhi crossed for tries, but the latter would be purely consolation, with it coming in the final minutes of the contest.
Making matters worse, Haggerty reeled off a long list of fresh injury blows picked up in the game, which
“Ethan Ryan has broken his thumb,” the Bradford coach told the press post-match. “Joe Keyes has the same consistent recurring back injury.
“Dan Russell has failed his HIA. Loghan Lewis has potentially done his knee again.”
As well as those four, Haggerty also revealed that back rower Zac Fulton pulled out with a neck injury, and scan results have found a bulging disc in his neck, meaning he is likely out for the rest of the season.
“I’m not sure, at this moment in time, I’ll have 17 in Toulouse. At this moment in time, again, we’ll re-address when we get in.
“It would have been nice, when the game had gone, to look after the likes of Andy Ackers, Loghan Lewis, Joe Mellor, but we’re just not in a position to.”
Bradford Bulls boss offers update on forward pair who missed Leigh trip
Two players who were thought to be back in contention for Toulouse are Ryan Sutton and Phoenix Steinwede.
Sutton “shouldn’t play against Toulouse” according to Haggerty, but given his resilience, he expects to have the prop banging on his door on Monday morning telling him that he is ready to go.
Steinwede’s situation is a bit more difficult, with the Australian needing to see a specialist due to the number of head knocks he has had this season.
Depending on what the specialist says, if he doesn’t get the all-clear, he will be forced to miss the final three games of the year.