Bold claim: Bradford Bulls’ blistering start feel like a time loop back to the early 2000s—and it’s as thrilling as it sounds. If the current Betfred Super League table is any guide, the league is getting pulled into a nostalgic vortex where Wigan lead, Leeds sit second, St Helens are third, and Bradford Bulls are fourth.
That quartet has largely defined the first three decades of Super League light years, with Bradford’s own peak largely confined to the sport’s opening chapter. After a long absence from the top flight, the Bulls have re-emerged with impressive victories over Catalans and Toulouse, signaling they can still mix it with the heavyweight clubs after just three rounds.
Remarkably, these four clubs kept Super League under their spell for nearly all of its early history until Hull Kingston Rovers broke the pattern last season. Rovers’ late-entry to the big four is notable: they weren’t part of the original lineup until 2007, after clinching the previous year’s National League One final against Widnes.
By that point, the ‘big four’ had already stamped a lasting legacy. To illustrate the dominance, the top five in every Super League season from 1997 to 2004 almost always included Wigan, Saints, Bulls, and Leeds. A few exceptions occurred—London Broncos finishing second in 1997 or Halifax third in 1998—but they were rare detours rather than rule changes.
From 1999 through 2003, the top four was almost always Bulls, Saints, Wigan, and Leeds, with Hull FC breaking through only in 2001 and 2004. The Grand Final, first introduced in the competition’s third season, extended that era of supremacy well beyond 2004. Between 1998 and 2011, only Hull FC managed to reach Old Trafford outside the quartet of Saints, Wigan, Bulls, and Leeds, after a 2006 loss to St Helens.
Bradford lifted the trophy three times in that span (2001, 2003, 2005). While today’s Bulls aren’t in the title chase the way they once were, this current start is worth celebrating as a reminder of their legacy. And with upcoming fixtures against Huddersfield and Castleford, they could remain among the league’s elite for a while longer.
With a tantalizing clash against St Helens this Saturday on the horizon, this throwback top-four snapshot seems destined to be interrupted soon. For now, though, let’s savor a moment of nostalgia and the excitement of a Bulls resurgence.
