So Bridge then, is he up before the beak this week or not?

Yes we are, we've won two Challenge Cups and a minor premiership so far and we've only been a side of contenders for a couple of years since Tony Smith came. In 2009 we were still behind Bradford, you were 9th, we were 10th.

Remember Bradford's long climb to success did not deliver all the goods quickly. 1996 - got to Wembley and lost. 1997 - got to Wembley and lost, but topped the league. 1998 - knocked out in the playoffs. 1999 - topped the league and lost the Grand Final. 2000 - won Challenge Cup but faded in the playoffs again. So the first five seasons of Bullmania yielded two trophies, which is what we have got so far.

Then you lost the Challenge Cup final in 2001 and everyone was saying the Bulls were the great chokers, that was all the talk in the build up to the 2001 Grand Final, will the Bulls bottle it again?

Bradford won that Grand Final but lost the next one after Chris Joynt's flop, so at the end of 2002, after 7 years of Bradford being a top side, the record was one league title, one Grand Final win, one Challenge Cup win - with two Challenge Cup final losses, two Grand Final losses and two disappointing playoff exits.

Even a great side like Bradford didn't have everything easy winning everything every season, they were called bottlers for many years before going on to their very best days under Noble.

Dunno. I imagine given the fuss Sky made of the 'tackle' he'll have been cited by someone. Especially given the cosy relationship between Bradford and the RFL. AND Darth/El Presidente will no doubt stick his oar in to stop Bridge playing against Leeds next week. The Yorkshire mafia that run the game just won't stand for it

Does Bridge have a past reputation for this sort of thing, going back to his Bradford days? He seems to be an aggressive player who plays a bit too close to the line. No doubt he'll be wanting to keep his nose clean in the future.

Going off topic, looking at the two centres at Wire's disposal I was thinking that it was a real shame that those two aren't at Bradford. Ditto Myler and Ratchford with Salford, and to a lesser extent Carvell and Morley with Leeds etc. Looking at their squad reminds me of Leeds in the 1990s. Perhaps this is a reason why they've not yet made (let alone won) that elusive GF - Saints, Wigan, Leeds and Bradford all had a lot more homegrown players in pivotal players during their glory years.

We won a championship quite early on in that batch of success though, and had done so before we'd even lost a league game that season. The only other game we lost that year was the cup final. Anyone can call us what they like after that. Win a championship, and personally I hope this is your year, and you've achieved.

Go on I'll humour the troll but just remind me which were the homegrown players in pivotal roles at Bradford - Paul Deacon, Paul brothers, Forshaw, Lowes - none of them "homegrown".

Last time I checked, Deacon was signed into and played for our academy before breaking into the first team, even if he was orginally an Oldham product. And Robbie landed here at 18, so is as near home-grown as you can get for an antipiodean.

16, Adey. Lee Radford also, classed as H/G. Spent more time in our academy than Hulls.

I used the term 'pivotal players', not players in pivotal positions. I also used the term 'homegrown' more generally to include players who had at least spent time in a club's academy system. Along these lines quite a few Bradford players can be counted as homegrown and pivotal e.g. Fielden, Peacock, Deacon, R. Paul, Pryce etc. Struggling to think of any Warrington players in this bracket other than Paul Wood & Ben Harrison who are solid but not pivotal.

I would also argue that with the exception of Henry Paul, none of the players you have mentioned were especially big names before they signed for Bradford. The extra training they received at the Bulls made them better & pushed them into international contention. Ben Westwood and to a lesser extent Chris Bridge have improved in this way but you are still behind on the numbers Bradford managed back in the day.

To come back to the original topic, I do find it quite amusing Bridge's advocates doubt him capable of malicious intent on the grounds that he isn't a dirty player.

This is the same Chris Bridge who was cautioned for affray after punching a bouncer who justifiably refused to let him into a club because he was too drunk isn't it? Just checking...

An Old hack should know he was just tired & emotional?

That's how he learnt to lay down as fast as he could using his elbow for a cushion.