I think we can all agree the Leeds v Bradford Derby was to a degree a contrivance by Sky. We've always been rivals but are not each others primary grudge matches. For you it's Hunslet and Cas, whereas for us it's Halifax and Huddersfield. That said, there's a lot of our Derbies that live long in the memory. Brian McDermott having a psycho moment in the cup and punching any Leeds player that came near. Barry Mac fancying a bit of a rest so randomly leathering Fielden. I also loved Karl Pratt (whatever happened to him?) running in front of the away end at Odsal with his hand to his ear, although I bet you'd have cheerfully put your fist down his throat at the time.

I could never get on board with the "I hate Leeds" mentality though. Seemed fake really and I've always grudgingly respected the sleeve and the way the club has been run.

It's really funny how this incident gets exaggerated over the years
My recollection of this event was that Brian Mac punched Terry Newton once, Damian Gibson once and then had an altercation with Martin Massella.
None of Brian Macs punches actually sat anyone on their despite being the only one throwing the hammer, which especially in Damian Gibson's case is laughable as he was only 10 stone wet thru

If that dust up had occurred on the street then I would have backed Terry Newton to be the winner all day long.

Yes I'm aware of Brian Mac's Military career and also his boxing exploits Jim.
With regards to the afore mentioned incident then his 2 free shots on both Newton and Gibson didn't really have either player rocking on their heels and this incident has been greatly exaggerated over the years.

One of my favourite rugby moments was the 99 semi final when Sheridan ripped the ball from Danny Peacock. Nobody realised what had happened for a good few seconds. Whilst not a traditional rivalry, there were some great matches and battles.

Great times.

Just going to those games back then was amazing, choc full of "incidents" ,hugely competitive, two rabid fanbases desperate to get something over on their local rivals, the office banter when you lost (I had one of the Paul brothers cousins working with me at the time and he loved to rub it in) and of course the massive crowds, build up and general "feel" of the game day, week even!

Its something the game desperately needs to remember how to do on a more consistent basis instead of relying on 1 or two posters up in a town centre to drum up interest.

I've never understood the obsession with Cas as our main rivals. Maybe its because I'm from Pudsey but it was always Northern/Bulls for me. Also probably depends on when you started watching. Pre WW2 it was Hunslet first, second and third. That lasted until the 50s at least, but immediately post-war Bradford would have been the team to beat (or not, like the 1947 cup final). In the 60s the biggest rivals locally by far were Wakefield, until Cas about later in the decade. For most of the 70s there wasn't a consistently strong team in W Yorks until Foxy took over at coach at Bradford who then ripped up the league.

One thing's for sure, SL is far poorer without a strong Bradford. And regardless of where the juniors were originally from, their record at bringing through forwards in particular was tremendous - far better than Leeds over the same period.

When it’s in full flow there’s not much better sights than a Bradford vs. Leeds game. I was born in 1995 so have been extremely lucky to have been watching the Bulls since 99 right through their pomp. And have videos of pre-2001 games too. And to see the rise of Leeds in that period as well.

As a kid the rivalry was exciting. Ronnie the Rhino and Bullman engaged with both sets of fans and it was really a great day out. It captured kids attention and really got people invested in rugby. I’ve always played (since I was 5 anyway). But some of my mates are football fans and even they used to love coming to Bulls vs Leeds games.

There were some epic games to be fair:

1996 Challenge Cup Semi Final (had this on video)
1999 Record Crowd
2000 Challenge Cup Final
2003 Challenge Cup Final
2004 Grand Final
2005 Grand Final
2007 Magic Weekend
2007 Big Les Final Game
2008 44-2 (bad for us)
2010 Draw
2010 Lee Smith Return
2011 Magic Weekend
2012 ‘Last Game’ 20K Crowd
2012 Maguire 5 Tries
2013 Draw
2019 Challenge Cup

And most importantly the Burrow Testimonial.

Sorry for the list. But by god did we have some great games. And we’re both had our fair share of SL Titles, Cups and WCC’s. Hopefully we can someday get back up to your level and get these games back!

Also Leeds have been one of the only clubs to help us when we have been so desperate for help. From donating gate money, to giving us paint for our lines, to loaning us 4 players to ensure we had a team in 2017. We’ve a lot to be thankful for.

Good post BB2011.
I worked in Bradford until recently and unfortunately many Bulls fans hated anything Leeds Rhinos.
Thoroughly enjoying any defeat inflicted on us by any other team.
Clearly they have very short memories of what we as a club and we as supporters did for Bradford Bulls during their time of need.
I for one would love to see Bradford back in SL and experiencing the true rivalry on match day.
Good luck for next year although I think it will be our other West Yorkshire rivals who have the best chance.
Now they really do dislike Leeds despite the links between the two clubs.

'99 cup semi should be on that list.
These games were great whilst they lasted, but the enmity was new-found and hasn't truly lasted beyond what happened for a few years on the pitch.

I go back to 1980 when I started going to matches. In my experience our rivalry with Fax is on a par with what we have with Leeds although as a kid in Pudsey the enmity with Leeds was fuelled by my own bunker mentality being as I seemed to be surrounded by Loiners.

As I remember back in the 80s the Leeds fans in the South Stand used to sing "the green green grass of Headingley" and referred to Bradford Northern before than Cas or Trinity. Hunslet never get a mention.

Since we stopped being a threat to Leeds I think a lot of the enmity between the clubs has disappeared. The resolution of the Harris case and departure of Caisley obviously helps. Leeds have done a lot to help us get up off the canvass in comparison with other neighbouring clubs.

As for our big games in the 90s and 00s the game hasn't filled that gap.

Bradford Northern / Bulls will always be the fiercest derby game for Leeds RL / Rhinos IMO purely down to my schooling experiences
I went to Cardinal Hinsley GS in Bradford as a kid and was the only Leeds RL fan in the school, When Northern beat Leeds all of the kids used to wait for me on a Monday morning and let me have it big time, Even my school teachers and Rugby Union coaches at the school used to let me have it too
But surprisingly when Leeds won none of these masses were anywhere to be seen

I have numerous friends that are still die hard Bradford fans and the great banter between us still lives on to this day

The Rhinos v Bulls in it's ultimate pomp was box office and both grounds regularly got sold out, I really miss this derby game

Pre booked tks for game at odsal £10 adults £20 if you pay on the day