Mick Potter always said that this was a team in progress. I doubt after 20 odd matches you can say we are the finished product. There has been some ups and downs along the very short journey so far including a horrendous injury list but as players are returning and beginning to gell the next factor is confidence which should have helped considerably last sunday. Whilst I wont be bold as to predict a win against warrington or wigan I do believe we are in with a good shout of winning the remaining games should we believe in ourselves and perform to a level as that displayed against Huddersfield.
I dont believe there is any need for wholesale changes for next season and I for one would be delighted if Marc Herbert signed a lenghthy contract!

One thing that always 'hacks' me off during games is that the individuals with their opinions (which is fine by the way), continue to criticise individuals when they are playing well. Example........

Bulls v Cas - Sykes was having a blinder, solid defence and the whole team was playing well. I think it was Sykes that threw a (blatant) forward pass, which was given, and an individual behind me started shouting abuse 'Sykes your $hit', 'Sykes your bloody useless' etc.

Bulls v Saints - Herbert was having a good game, great kick for the Kearney try (beating Wellens in the air) and had an all-round good game. Second half he gave a late pass which the attacker knocked on and, same again, fella behind decided this was good enough to berate Herbert, demanding he be sent back to Aus.

I suppose I might be a minority, but when players are wearing the bulls shirt, I back them all the way. If players have a bad game then, fair enough, they get criticised. But when they are having a good game and the team are playing well - there's no need to slate any individual.

It came as no surprise that Sykes still got a lot of stick from 'certain' fans last week, even after his 2 tries. It does seem that some fans just don't want to change an opinion, regardless of a players performance (e.g. Herbert).

You get these people, unfortunately

There's a guy two seats on from me (yes, you in Block D Seat N98 if you're on the forum!!) who spends the entire game moaning about the team, the players and the coach. Every mistake is accompanied by loud sighing and constant comments (to anyone who is listening, which thankfully is nobody) that such and such a player is 'useless', 'should be got rid of'. When we do something good or - heaven forbid - actually score, he stays rooted to his seat, mute, with hands firmly in pockets

On Sunday he left before the end. Obviously couldn't bear to clap the team off. Yet when we've lost he sticks around to berate them as not being worthy to wear the shirt, need to be replaced etc. It's like he wants us to do badly.

Hopefully he'll get allocated to a different part of the stand next season

i could nt do with that paul , that would seriously wind me up ..
they is a few like that in the pop stand near where i stand , they is one guy who does nothing but moan constantly the thing is he really has no idea what he is on about ..
another thing you mention fans who dont even clap when the players enter the pitch or acknowledge any good play from the team ..
i always look around me when the lads come on for the warm up and for the kick off and its amazing the amount of people who just stand with hands in pockets .. seems very strange !!!

Isn't that row just in front of the directors? I say that because I am on Row P in Block C, and as I look left into Block D the directors and distinguished guests are on the same row. So that would suggest your man is in hearing distance of the hierarchy?? Since you pick your seat rather than get allocated it, maybe a word in the hierarchy's ears might be in order?

Anyway, I knew it could not be me you were on about since I always clap the team on, jump up and down and make a lot of noise when we score, get animated and noisy when we are doing well, go quiet and withdrawn when we are doing crap, and generally scream at the referee and describe him as a piece of sanitary porcelain far more than is either justified or good for me!

I'm lucky in that there is no-one near me who is remotely like you describe. Far from it - they are all long-time, clued-up and positive fans, who manage to put up with my occasional (frequent?) OTT outbursts at the officials and jumping up and down (although Eddievan has FAR more colourful names for the officials than I could ever have...).

The guy you describe though seems very much like at least one character that we see on this forum. You really wonder why they follow the club (if that is what you can call it?) and what they get out of making themselves and everyone else totally miserable? Its like they regard being proved right (in their eyes) about how crap the team/coaches/club/stadium cat) are as being far more important than supporting the team?

Matt when you read this, does that idiot still shout #### where you stand on the popular terrace?

You know the oldish looking bloke who comes across as if he's only turned up to harass the players.

You pays your monies you can do as you feel.

sure, to do it once or twice, but anybody with any intelligence would stop doing it, to continually turn up pay money and "do as you feel" smacks of mental disorder along the lines of sado massochism more than basic common sense. In other words, if you are not for us, you are against us like any other Leeds or St H etc fan, so f off and support them. or go and read a dictionary to see what supporter means and follow it.

and OK on another thread but its been a busy week or so, Sorry Adey, Bernard it still is, if you look at my image, just to the left of the Club World Champions trophy is the man himself albeit off picture, Bernard he told me to call him, you have to obey. and where did I get that shirt and tie from?!!???

But not seek to inflict it on others?

Certainly not but some times you can get caught in the moment.

Ermm what the ballocks you on about.

to be honest im still on the fence about herbert as think he needs to keep improving to earn a new deal as at times i feel he doesnt boss the show enough and think hes better as a stand off then a scrum half.but i think it could all come down to who potter retains and which posistions he needs to strenghten as it might be a case he needs at least one quota spot which would also put ah van at risk as i dont think hes been consistant enough this season and apart from his goal kicking at times has been very average.To be honest i for one wouldnt be bothered if we sign luke gale as hes got a good kicking game and esp if we decided to let ah van go we need another goal kicker.And before i get shot down in flames over my views i have suported bradford for nearly 30 years through the good and the bad times but just feel one good game against hudds does not make up for what has been a poor season and the blame has to lie at the coachin staffs feet plus the players as too many average performances this season

Bradbull's point and some of the others is fair. By and large most of what we've been served up for the last years has been poor and as I'm not a shouter or booer I've left Odsal depressed and unsure in what direction the club is heading. If some feel one good performance doesn't signal a sea change in fortunes then that's fair enough. Personally I did feel we turned a little corner - catching the ball and hitting the opposition hard - 2 things we've done fleetingly in for years and we saw the players actually grow in confidence and play real rugby across the pitch, not hang on grimly against the odds.

On Herbert he's no where near quick enough for stand off but given a bit more space and time by our forwards we did see a more confident player who went for his passes rather than died with the ball. We could go to Wire play well and win, but we could also go there and be 40-0 at half time. It's not easy following our club and I can understand anyone getting frustrated

No Mick he's in the main stand doing commentary now!


Seriously though don't know, got that sick of him and that lad behind us who moaned all match every match and swore never to come again yet turned up every week that we changed where we stand this year.

It might be the minority guys, but they make themselves a little louder than the rest of us. I guess it's cos we're too gutted to say anything when sides are running up huge scores against us. The best complaint I've had against me was that me and my mates were standing up to cheer everytime the Bulls scored against Wakefield last year!

But it does affect some players. In a 2002 interview Matt Rodwell explained why his high profile move to Warrington didn't work. He said he heard a bloke shout "Rodwell's a w##ker" at him during the warmup and said he remembered thinking "like I'm gonna give my all for you now".

Whatever your views are on Platt and Worrincey they deserve credit for rising above the booing they got, Worrincey for coming on as a sub last year and Platt when he scored in our horror show v Warrington in '09.

Critisism is part of being a fan but so is praising them where it's due. And after Sunday it really is due.