Self Raising Lazarus

The start of the Rugby League campaign coincides with the Academy Award season. Everyone will be aiming for the top, so will it be a Hollywood style fairy-tale ending, or a post-apocalyptic science fiction future?

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Expectations are high as another year of Rugby League is about to kick off.  Teams will look to football and Leicester City. Their success is being turned into a script and put through the blockbuster dream machine. If they did it last year, then why can’t we?

Lets focus on Featherstone. For the last few years they have been built on solid foundations having finished 5th in the 2015 championship and 4th last year. Where can they go from here?

Could this be the Rogue One where Featherstone finally do it? Can they steal a march on their rivals and beam up all the way to the stars of the Super League?  

Meanwhile Bradford Bulls are back from the dead. Rising from the ashes like Lazarus, or perhaps self-raising flour.  It could go either way, maybe a bit of both. How about “self-raising Lazarus” to take a Peter Capaldi quote. 

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The Bulls find themselves in the Thick of It and could be a major talking point. While nobody expects them to be challenging for promotion with their 12 point penalty, it will be interesting to see how many points they can steal from the opposition.

The reaction to Bradford Bulls revival is more Split than the reception of an M Night Shyamalan movie. They could play a pivotal role in how the  season unfolds.

It’s easy for teams to be accused of living in La La Land.  Especially at this time of year, but if you aim for the stars you might make the moon. Whatever happens it should be a fun season to follow.