Bulls sign Phoenix Steinwede

Bradford Bulls are delighted to announce the signing of towering Australian forward Phoenix Steinwede on a permanent deal until the end of the season.

The 23-year-old arrived in the country this morning and the club would like to thank the Bradford Bulls Squad Booster Association for their support in bringing Phoenix to the club.

A powerful back row runner who can also feature in the middle, Steinwede has had spells at Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans in recent years – alongside gaining experience in the NSW and Queensland Cup competitions.

Phoenix Steinwede said:

“I am really excited, I landed this morning and have met the boys and the staff and for me this is a really exciting career opportunity because of what the club are building here having watched their style of footy. I am excited to be a part of it, learn from Kurt and jump on the back of what the boys are doing and hopefully have a good year.

“I did a stint down at the Sydney Roosters, a few NRL pre-seasons there and then got an opportunity at the Gold Coast Titans, did a couple of NRL pre-seasons and had some experience in New South Wales Cup and Queensland Cup. For me, this is about challenging myself now, getting into full-time and seeing where it can take me and develop my game in the best ways I can. I feel like for me, the opportunity here, under Kurt and the rest of the staff, I feel like this is the best leap forward in my career and the opportunity was in front of me so I jumped at it.

“It was unbelievable watching the support that the Bulls get every week and at the same time, their style of footy really interests me. It is now about being able to adapt to what they’re doing, having watched their wins earlier on, playing that free style of footy so I’m just keen to get in and see what I can do.

“As a player, I think I just go about my business in a hard-working way. I flew in this morning, put the boots straight on and had a run at training. I am really eager and can’t wait to put the jersey on and play with these boys.”

Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty, who is sponsored by Sandy & Richard Monro, said:

“He’s young, he’s big, he’s athletic and he suits how we want to play so we’re really happy to get him over the line.

“Phoenix was actually brought to my attention when I first came to the club but because things happened so quickly, we just had to get so many players over the line in a short space of time. I knew who he was, I was aware of who he was but now the more I’ve watched him, as I’ve gone back and studied him a little bit more, I have also had some great feedback.

“I’ve seen him play for the Titans in the trial game against St George and there are a lot of things that he did in that game that showed to me that he’s potentially a really good player for the Bradford Bulls.

“He’s done a little bit of the training session today so we’re all really confident in what he can do, so he could be in action pretty soon. I’m just glad we’ve done it now, I don’t want it to look like a reaction to something as we needed to strengthen anyway. We’re going pretty well at the moment and we have some wins under our belt but we need to keep strengthening to take that next step so it wasn’t a reaction to us not being in form and not picking up some wins.

“I’ve been actively looking, but I was so hesitant in bringing the right person into the club because the group is so special but Phoenix fits the bill he is a great character, he is a fantastic young man and he’s a very good rugby player. He’s versatile. He can play back row, he can play both sides and he can also do a spot in the middle so he brings versatility in the forwards for us

“I would also like to thank everyone involved with the Bradford Bulls Squad Booster Association for their contribution towards Phoenix’s signature.”