THUNDER ANNOUNCE 21-MAN SQUAD FOR BRADFORD

Two changes for Thunder ahead of Betfred Championship round 12 trip to Odsal

Newcastle Thunder have made two changes to their 21-man squad ahead of Saturday’s Betfred Championship clash with Bradford Bulls, as they look to build on a positive result against London Broncos last weekend.

Jack Johnson returns from the hamstring niggle that developed during the round nine fixture against Sheffield Eagles, whilst Pat Moran also comes into the extended list for this weekend’s game.

Ted Chapelhow and Sadiq Adebiyi are the players who make way, with both withdrawing injured during the 22-52 win in Wimbledon last week.

Both players are awaiting the results of scans to determine the extent of their injuries and the likely length of rehabilitation.

Adebiyi was particularly unfortunate on his old stomping ground, succumbing to a suspected dislocated shoulder just a minute after entering the field in the first match after extending his initial two-week loan deal to a full season agreement.

It was a better story for fellow loanee Jack Croft who marked his move to a full-season loan with his third try in two games and his second long-range solo score in succession.

The 21-year-old stays at Kingston Park with a recall option, allowing his parent club Wakefield Trinity to bring him back to Belle Vue should the need arise.

Only the seventh ever meeting between the two sides, Saturday’s match is a 6pm kick-off and could prove to be a key game in both clubs’ seasons.

Each have won five of their 11 games played this season and sit joint seventh in the table alongside Sheffield Eagles and Widnes Vikings.

Just three points away from a top-six position, a win for either side would see them advance closer to those coveted playoff spots as the season approaches its halfway stage.

Thunder will name their 17-man squad an hour before kick-off for Saturday's game.

Newcastle Thunder

v Bradford Bulls – 21^st May 2022 KO 6pm

FROM

1 Craig Mullen, 2 Jack Johnson, 5 Gideon Boafo, 6 Jake Shorrocks, 7 Josh Woods, 8 Nathan Wilde, 9 Josh Eaves, 10 Mitch Clark, 11 Alex Foster, 12 Brad Day, 14 Connor Bailey, 17 Ukuma Ta’ai, 18 Dan Coates, 19 Pat Moran, 20 Brad Gallagher, 21 Lewis Peachey, 22 Alex Donaghy, 23 Isaac Nokes, 25 Nathan Clemmitt, 28 Alex Sutton, 35 Jack Croft