Bradford Bulls bring in Leigh Leopards man on loan ahead of Wigan Warriors trip
Bradford Bulls have signed utility Ben McNamara on loan from Leigh Leopards ahead of their clash with Wigan Warriors this weekend.
The Bulls are in the midst of an injury crisis and have moved to sign the versatile halfback or hooker McNamara, who has joined Kurt Haggerty’s side on a one-week loan deal from Leigh.
McNamara featured for Leigh in their 30-16 win over Huddersfield Giants last Thursday, coming off the bench for the final 15 minutes.
But with hooker Liam Horne also on the bench for Leigh’s win over Huddersfield, McNamara has been allowed to make the short-term move to Bradford.
The Bulls are currently without first-choice halfbacks Jayden Nikorima and Rowan Milnes, with McNamara likely to slot into the halves for Saturday’s trip to Wigan.
“I’m really happy to have brought Ben in," said Haggerty. “We are really short in such a pivotal position with Joe Keyes, Rowan Milnes and Jayden Nikorima all out, so to get someone with his experience at Super League level who will complement what we’ve got available, I am really happy.
“I’ve had a couple of conversations with him talking football, it’s well known we play differently to both teams, so we will strip bits back for Ben and give him a couple of objectives to defend well and nail his job offensively.
“It is really important (having a recognised half-back), we have a relatively inexperienced team, so having more experience with the likes of Chris Atkin in such a pivotal position will help those around them.”
McNamara, 24, will follow in the footsteps of his father Steve, who played for Bradford between 1996 and 2000, before coaching the Bulls between 2006 and 2010.
Bradford are hoping to end a run of four straight defeats when they make the trip over to the Brick Community Stadium this weekend. Similarly, Wigan are aiming to put four consecutive league defeats behind them ahead of their Challenge Cup semi-final clash with St Helens at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday week.
The Round Ten Super League fixture takes place at the Brick Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, 3pm kick-off. The match will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports + Red Button, SuperLeague+ and BBC iPlayer.