Brandon Pickersgill leaves Bradford for Featherstone
Featherstone have signed full-back Brandon Pickersgill from Championship rivals Bradford.
Pickersgill, 24, came through the Bulls’ academy after joining his hometown club at the age of 16.
He said: “I’m really excited to be joining a great club, I can’t wait to get started and to
contribute towards us having a top season next year.”
Comfortable in the outside backs and at stand-off too, Pickersgill played his junior rugby at Stanningley and East Leeds.
He leaves Odsal after scoring 32 tries in 74 appearances.
Featherstone Football Manager, Ian Hardman, said: “We believe that this is a strong signing for the club.
“Brandon has been one of the best young performers at this level for some time and we feel that his development will go to another level working within our environment.
“As a Club we have always prioritised investing in some of the best young talent in the game and the recruitment of Brandon shows that we are yet again building a squad that can compete for promotion to Super League.”
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Featherstone are due to report back for pre-season in the middle of November.
They lost in the Championship Grand Final to Toulouse earlier this month.
Kear talk
For Bradford, Wales international Elliot Kear is likely to fill the void left by Pickersgill.
When Pickersgill signed a new deal at Bradford in 2020, coach John Kear was full of praise for him.
Kear said: “I have publicly stated on a number of occasions how much I rate Brandon as a player, his improvement and development has been phenomenal, and I can see further improvement in him too.
“I believe he is one of the best defensive full-backs in the division and I am absolutely rapped to have him on board.”
He is the biggest name departure for the Bulls this off-season so far.
However, their recruitment has strong – bringing in Kieran Gill from Newcastle in the outside backs.
Super League half-back Dec Patton has signed from Salford, while forwards Jordan Baldwinson and Samy Kibula have also been added.
