Bentley comes home: Bradford Bulls re-sign former academy product on three-year deal for 2027
James Bentley is heading back to where it all began. Bradford Bulls have re-signed the 29-year-old second-rower from Warrington Wolves on a three-year deal starting in the 2027 season, bringing a player who came through their academy full circle (Bradford Bulls; BBC Sport).
For rugby league newcomers, a second-rower is one of the two forwards packing behind the front row in the scrum — a role that blends defensive graft with carrying the ball into contact. Bentley has spent his career doing exactly that at the highest level, and now he returns to the club where he first pulled on a senior shirt.
Bentley made his Bradford debut against Oldham in 2016, aged 18. A year later, having impressed in the Championship — rugby league's second tier — he earned a move to Super League giants St Helens on a three-year contract, with the deal announced on 14 August 2017 (BBC Sport; Sky Sports). He went on to join Leeds Rhinos for the 2022 season, signing a two-year deal at Headingley (Super League).
That circuit — Bradford to St Helens to Leeds to Warrington and back — covers nearly a decade of top-flight and Championship rugby. Bentley joined Warrington on a one-year deal for the current season, his latest short-term stop before committing his long-term future to Odsal (BBC Sport).
Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty made clear how much the signing means to the club. He called Bentley "a serial winner" and said he was extremely pleased to be bringing him back to Bradford (Bradford Bulls; BBC Sport).
For Bradford fans, the appeal is obvious. A player who knows the club, the town and the expectations is coming back at an age where his best years still lie ahead. The three-year length of the deal signals real commitment from both sides — not a short-term gamble but a deliberate plan to build something around a proven performer.
Bentley will see out the current campaign with Warrington before making the switch in 2027. By then, a player who left Odsal as a teenager will return as one of the more experienced back-rowers in the English game — and with a point to prove about what "home" really means.
