STEVE Crossley could come back stronger than ever for the Bulls in the Championship this year after his shoulder surgery.

The skipper sees his first action of pre-season tomorrow at Batley in the Yorkshire Cup final.

He is also pencilled in for next Saturday’s final warm-up encounter against Toronto before the Odsal curtain-raiser with Featherstone in a fortnight.

John Kear does not expect Crossley’s game to be fully firing by that point as he builds his way back to match fitness.

But he believes the repaired shoulder will enable the Bulls talisman to pack even more of a punch given time because of the extra gym work he can now do.

Kear said: “Everything is superb with his shoulder. Structurally, strength-wise and mobility-wise, it’s really good.

“Steve has been doing exercises in the gym that he couldn’t do previously.

“We had to modify his routine before because of his shoulder problems but now he’s full on. That will really benefit him.”

Crossley went under the knife a week after the Bulls clinched promotion in October. The outing at Mount Pleasant will be his first appearance on the pitch since.

Kear added: “He’s had a lot of aerobic work to contend with. He’s been on the watt bike and the tread mill and he’s looking okay.

“But you can’t replicate getting whacked, hitting the floor and having to get up and retreat and all those repeat efforts.

“I wouldn’t say he will be fully up to speed by the start of the season but certainly 75-80 per cent towards that. An 80 per cent Steve Crossley is still a very good player.”

Kear will be making his first competitive return to Batley, where he enjoyed a hugely-successful stint in charge. The legacy of his reign from 2011-2016, which saw the Bulldogs reach the Championship final in 2013 as well as qualify for the Middle Eights in his final year, has allowed the club to renovate their ground.

He said: “It’s a club I hold very dear to my heart and I shall enjoy this return.

"We remained a Championship club, got to a Grand Final, and in the last season I was there we were the top part-time team in the country.

“That’s allowed Batley to get a good piece of central funding and they’ve been able to invest in their facilities.

“When I went back for the Yorkshire Cup launch, the chairman Kevin Nicholas took me round the club. You saw what that money had been used for and I felt really proud.

“Kevin and chief executive Paul Harrison are smart people. They weren’t going to fritter it on short-term fixes and players’ salaries.

“They wanted to make it a better club as a whole. They’ve done that by investing in the training facilities and the ground and I’m really pleased with what I’ve contributed there.”

The opportunity to lift some pre-season silverware provides an added dimension to the penultimate outing building up to the real thing against Fev.

“I’ll try and put my big-picture head on and say it’s a trial game looking towards the start of the season," Kear insisted.

“But it's different when you get embroiled in the battle, like last week when we took the two points (from a penalty) because we wanted to win.

“There’s a competitive edge and it’s great for the fans – and for the players and coaches as well.”