Joe Bullock sets out his Wigan Warriors goals

With Zak Hardaker not yet in training, former Barrow prop Bullock in the only ‘new’ face among the players.

But he is no stranger to the Orrell training ground or many of the players, having been a part of the Warriors’ academy set-up until he left for Leigh in 2013.

And he admits that, when he left, he never imagined he would get the chance to play for Wigan.

The 25-year-old said: “A little bit of me thought the chance had passed.

“Everyone dreams of being full-time but I’m nearly 26, and I was thinking it may not happen. My thoughts were more like, ‘If it does, it will be with lower-end of the Super League teams’.

“So when it got to the middle of last season and I had Wigan and Warrington and the top sides coming in for me, it reignited that desire to be a full-time player.

“It’s been good to be back here. I knew a few of the lads already Dom Manfredi, George Williams, Jake Shorrocks and Sam Powell were here when I was, and it’s good to see them.

“But everyone has been really welcoming and I feel like I’ve settled in well.”

Bullock hails from Blackpool and played his junior rugby league at the Scorpions – and briefly at St Pats – before joining Wigan’s academy set-up.

Then, he was a tall full-back or winger, but he has made his name in the Championship as a strong-running front-rower.

“In 2013, I went on loan from Wigan to Leigh, and (coach) Paul Rowley pulled me in after one game and said, ‘You’ll never play wing for us. You can try somewhere else or go back to Wigan’,” revealed Bullock. “So I played a bit at loose forward and it went from there. I enjoyed it more, because I was more involved.

“Joining Wigan is obviously a step up and I have goals at a different level to chase.”

Bullock, who is staying with his parents in Blackpool while he house-hunts in Wigan, was recruited as a replacement for Canberra-bound Ryan Sutton.

He added: “One thing Adrian Lam emphasised when he spoke to us what how privileged we are to be in the position we’re in, and I certainly feel privileged .”