WORLD OF Luke inspired by dad
The Bulls have agreed to move to the Tetley’s Stadium in Dewsbury next season after claiming the cost of playing at their historic venue has become untenable.
Tomorrow’s match against Sheffield could be the final game at the iconic old arena but for Bulls coach Kear, the memories are nothing to do with the cut and thrust of 80 minutes of rugby league.
Kear’s personal connection to the stadium is because it was there that he saw his father Herbie for the last time.
Kear, 64, said: “In 1989 I was Darryl van de Velde’s assistant at Castleford, and in the days where it was part-time I had tea with my dad before the game.
“We shook hands and off went to the match.
“He went to watch, and after the game he was a passenger in a car and had a heart attack.
“They got me off the team bus when it happened so the place has a clear memory for me, that of February 1989.
“We will all have specific memories, and all of those things will probably be going through our minds on Sunday.
“Even if you haven’t played for Bradford or you’re an out-of-towner, Odsal has a special place in the history of the game. We’ve all got our own personal memories and now we want to do it justice.”
Moving has been a long drawn-out process for Bradford, complicated by the fact that the RFL own the lease at Odsal and – with the prospect of redeveloping the ground unlikely – rugby league may never return there.
It hosted a then world-record attendance of 102,575 for the
ILUKE CAMPBELL will be driven by the spirit of his late father when he takes on Vasyl Lomachenko at London’s O2 tonight.
The Hull man takes on the fearsome Ukrainian, who is out to add the vacant WBC title to his WBA and WBO belts and unify the lightweight division. Campbell says his father Bernard will be on his mind as
he attempts to pull off a huge upset. “He is there in spirit,” said Campbell of his dad, who died at 58 from cancer. “This is massive and I know it’s a fight my dad would 100 per cent be backing me in. Lomachenko has been built up to be a superstar but one day you’ll be bigging me up as a superstar.”