Hitchcox and Laithwaite go straight in to Bradford squad

New loan signings Jy Hitchcox and James Laithwaite have gone straight in to Bradford’s 19-man squad for Sunday’s game against Coventry Bears.

Laithwaite, 26, joins via the Bulls partnership with Toronto Wolfpack while Hitchcox arrives from Super League club Castleford, both on for an initial month.

Another Wolfpack player, Jake Butler-Fleming, has left the Bulls and is set to make a return to York.

Coach John Kear said: “I have to applaud Andrew Chalmers who has backed us once again. James has got a very good CV and was schooled in Warrington.

“He isn’t playing much at Toronto, so we have secured him for the month and he will feature against Coventry, but unfortunately, he will be cup tied.

“Jy is going to replace Jake Butler-Fleming who has returned to Toronto. He is a player that ran out in the Grand Final against Leeds, so that is a measure of the quality of player that we have.

“He’ll be rivalling Ethan Ryan for some of the spectacular finishes that he’s got. They may well end up playing as a centre, wing pairing. I want to find out where Jy will be most effective for us.

“He is a renowned full back as Featherstone fans know and has been on the wing at Castleford and he has played centre in the NRL, so he has a good pedigree.”