Fixtures and Results
1996: Super League I
1996, the first season of the new Super League and the re-emergence of Bradford as a genuine force in the game under head coach Brian Smith.
The 'summer' season may have kicked off with snow falling at Odsal, but the five figure crowd for the opening game against Castleford set the standard for the whole competition in which the Bulls ended as best supported club, achieving a third place finish in the league.
In what proved to be a remarkable and memorable season, the Bulls made their first visit to Wembley for a Challenge Cup final since 1973, losing a classic match to St Helens but having the man of the match in Robbie Paul who became the first player to score a hat-trick of tries in a Wembley final. They also made their first foray outside the United Kingdom for a league match when they played Paris St Germain at the Charlety Stadium in the French capital.
At Odsal, the highlight of the year was a sensational 12-man 20-12 victory over Centenary season Champions Wigan in front of 17,360 fans.
The full season results for the first team are shown below - all games are in Super League, unless stated (NB: although the Challenge Cup final took place during the 1996 season, the competition actually began during the previous season. The overlap is due to the changeover period between the last shortened 'winter' season in 1995 and the first full 'summer' season in 1996. In addition, the 1996 season concluded with a top-four play-off for the Premiership Trophy).
31/03/96 - Castleford Tigers (H) Won 30-18 (Att: 10,027)
05/04/96 - Sheffield Eagles (A) Lost 40-24 (Att: 5,202)
08/04/96 - London Broncos (H) Won 31-24 (Att: 7,192)
14/04/96 - St Helens (A) Lost 26-20 (Att: 10,010)
19/04/96 - Wigan Warriors (A) Lost 22-6 (Att: 9,872)
27/04/96 - Challenge Cup Final (Wembley Stadium)
St Helens - Lost 40-32 (Att: 75,994)
05/05/96 - Warrington Wolves (H) Won 36-14 (Att: 9,278)
10/05/96 - Oldham Bears (A) Won 30-10 (Att: 4,228)
19/05/96 - Paris St Germain (H) Won 60-32 (Att: 8,194)
24/05/96 - Leeds Rhinos (H) Won 54-8 (Att: 10,229)
02/06/96 - Workington Town (H) Won 52-4 (Att: 8,658)
09/06/96 - Halifax Blue Sox (A) Won 22-20 (Att: 7,187)
16/06/96 - Castleford Tigers (A) Lost 26-23 (Att: 6,275)
23/06/96 - Sheffield Eagles (H) Won 64-22 (Att: 8,359)
29/06/96 - London Broncos (A) Won 22-16 (Att: 3,814)
05/07/96 - St Helens (H) Won 50-22 (Att: 11,467)
12/07/96 - Wigan Warriors (H) Won 20-12 (Att: 17,360)
20/07/96 - Warrington Wolves (A) Won 30-20 (Att: 8,423)
28/07/96 - Oldham Bears (H) Won 56-0 (Att: 9,849)
04/08/96 - Leeds Rhinos (A) Won 56-18 (Att: 10,505)
11/08/96 - Workington Town (A) Won 28-14 (Att: 2,430)
18/08/96 - Halifax Blue Sox (H) Lost 27-26 (Att: 13,196)
24/08/96 - Paris St Germain (A) Won 27-14 (Att: 6,152)
Premiership Semi Final
31/08/96 - Wigan Warriors (A) Lost 42-36 (Att: 9,878)