OUR plans for a Yorkshire Cup pre-season knockout appear to have been very well received by most.

I want to stress that this is an initiative agreed to by clubs who want to work closely together and collaborate more effectively than they have in the past.

It was clear from the goings on last year that Championship clubs were going to have to be more self-reliant than perhaps they previously have been.

The RFL have not played any role in developing this programme, it is simply a demonstration of co-operation from like-minded chairmen, who all want to push the sport forward.

The opening draw for round one of the Yorkshire Cup will see Dewsbury and Bradford both hosting double headers on the weekend of January 5-6.

Saturday, January 5 at Tetleys Stadium, Dewsbury: York City Knights v Keighley Cougars (1pm), Dewsbury Rams v Featherstone Rovers (3pm).

Sunday, January 6 at Odsal Stadium, Bradford: Batley Bulldogs vs Hunslet (1pm), Bradford Bulls v Halifax (3pm).

Tickets will be available on-line and at club shops from next week.

Together with our Boxing Day game with York City Knights and a return to Odsal for the Toronto Wolfpack to contest the Transatlantic Cup on the evening of Friday, January 25, this will give the Bulls a proper pre-season of tough, meaningful fixtures.

It will be interesting to see how John Kear’s squad shapes up, as we all build towards round one of the competition proper in the Championship. I’ve been in regular contact with JK as he attempts to guide the Welsh team to a World Cup spot.

Rest assured that everyone at the Bulls is busting with excitement to get our 2019 campaign underway. Having been here in the Championship in 2017 with a makeshift squad, no pre-season or coach and a 12-point penalty, it feels like we are a completely different organisation today.

We have a completely different looking squad to 2017, which we will continue to strengthen from outside but also develop from within our junior ranks.

Academy players whom are graduating to the first team like Matty Storton, Oliver Wilson, Rowan Milne and Evan Hodgson will undoubtedly be given the opportunity to impress the coaching team, with more classy Academy juniors looking to press for an chance.

You’ve probably heard me say it, and my apology for repeating it - the strength of our Academy set-up is what ultimately sets the Bulls apart from any other team.

Homegrown talent is something our friends at Valley Parade are missing. It forms a huge part of the soul of the club.

Overall we have such a big, balanced squad for 2019, with a lot of depth now in key positions - 22 full-time players, 14 part-time players and a further 26 players in our Academy squad. I can feel the enthusiasm within the club and that we will be genuinely competitive next year.

I’ll leave the predictions and probabilities to the bookmakers, but promise this to our loyal support. These Bulls players will give everything for our fans and for each other. No excuses, no sorrys, just good old-fashioned English pride and belief that on a level playing field anything is possible for the Bradford Bulls in 2019.

Please come and support your team and join our journey towards redemption.

Meanwhile, it was another exciting week in international rugby league and England prevailed again.

I have to admit I wasn’t tipping them for success in the series but after another hard-fought win, they can hardly be denied their right elevation to second in the world ranks.

I was reflecting on England performances since the start of the 2017 World Cup and, aside from losing to Australia in the opening game and then the final, they have beaten New Zealand three times, France twice, Lebanon, PNG and Tonga in that classic semi-final.

When you consider the margin of the defeats to Australia, it is hard to deny that the national team are a group on the way up. If the RFL chooses to invite the Kangaroos to the UK in 2019 it would, in my opinion, be a blockbuster series with a great chance of home success.

I wrote previously about Wayne Bennett, who of course supported our Academy side a fortnight ago. As many others have since commented, if England do emerge as world champions at the next World Cup, it will probably represent his greatest achievement.

He won’t even be thinking about that, and will look to be solidly pushing forward, bringing more young players in and moving the team forward.

If England’s recent run is impressive, I am afraid the Kiwis are on the other end of the scale. Their defeat of the mighty Australians a month ago has not, as yet at least, proved the catalyst to kick on.

Their past performances have been the inverse of England’s, losing three times to Bennett’s men, and also to Fiji and Tonga in the World Cup.

That said, I am not concerned about my countrymen. I think there has been enough on display in the last two weeks to demonstrate that we will become a solid force again.

Michael Maguire is a top-class coach and the playing group very solid, even though they are having a tough time at the moment. In the main, it has been against a very good side.

The Kiwis will always be competitive, and the jockeying for positions among the three top nations will be fascinating.