Potter praise for Crookes

Bradford coach Mick Potter has praised youngster Jason Crookes for his off the ball work, despite the winger scoring a hat-trick in the win over Hull KR.

Crookes, 21, made his Super League debut back in 2009 and has cut his teeth in loan spells in the Championship with Widnes and Sheffield.

But he has made the wing berth his own for the Bulls this season, appearing in all six of their Super League games, scoring five tries in the process.

Potter said: “He does a lot of work off the ball that goes unnoticed and I’m very happy that he has improved in that area. He had a lot of work to do and he helped us a lot in being aware of the space he had and created a lot of room for his team mates to get over the try line.”

Prior to the season, Crookes spoke of his desire to break in to the first team, citing the added competition in the Bulls squad.

He said: “The increased competition within the squad has been good for me and given me a kick up the backside that I needed. I’ve tried really hard this year to push on and get in the team every week.”