Johnson-Stafford has been with Odsall for three years and was appointed assistant to Conor Matheson last year before being appointed head coach at the end of November following the previous manager's departure.
Preseason preparations began about eight weeks ago, and with the new season scheduled to begin in March, it was a practical start for the Bulls head coach.
Speaking to T&A about her new role, Ms Johnson-Stafford said:
“Having said that, I feel like I am adjusting well and I have a strong backroom staff behind me in Natalie (Moorhouse – Head of Women’s and Women’s Rugby) and Rebecca (Ball Night – Women’s and Women’s Rugby). My head of rugby has been working with me and helping me coach. It's made life a little easier because I've been able to get through those initial stages.”
Speaking about the notable changes from his previous role as an assistant coach to his current role as head coach, Johnson-Stafford said:
“I have to manage more people, more players, backroom staff. But we're a very close-knit group, so if there's any problem, it's easy to ask the assistant coach or Rebecca And Natalie can talk to anyone.
“I know there will be many challenges thrown at me throughout this year and I will have to meet them head on. For now, I'm taking each day as it comes and really enjoying the process. ”
Despite the added responsibility and pressure for Johnson-Stafford, she admitted taking on the head coaching role was an easy decision.
she said: I want Bradford to get back to where they were in 2017 (double wins in the Women's Super League and Challenge Cup).
“We know we have some work to do to get back to that level, but we've seen the talent of the players we have and we know we can do really good things.
“So it was an easy decision for me to take on this role.”
The Bulls women include 2024 Coach of the Year and Young Player of the Year winner Lara Dalby, captain Ellen Johnson-Strafford and Try of the Year winner Phoebe Allott. They have managed to sign a number of key players for the 2025 campaign. season.
She said: “I’m really excited about what we’ve got. We started setting up the academy last year and it’s helped us get some really good players, especially young players.
“The older players in our group have a lot of knowledge and experience to pass on to the younger players. We know it's not going to happen overnight for us, but we're going to have a lot of knowledge and experience to pass on to the younger players. We are excited about the prospect of developing young talent.
“Our challenge now is to keep them around for as long as possible so we can reap the rewards in the future.
“I think we have a really good balance at the moment between the older, more experienced heads and the younger players in the group.”
The Bulls will be competing in the Northern Women's Championship next season and manager Johnson Stafford believes his players have the qualities and attributes to win promotion to Super League next season.
Bradford's head coach said: “I'm very confident we can get back there (Super League) very quickly.”
“I made that very clear to the players and they themselves are very confident in their abilities as well. You can see.
“I believe we can all achieve promotion to Super League because we know it and the players know what they are capable of.”
After winning the championship last season, the Bulls will not be playing in this year's Challenge Cup for the first time in a while.
Eight teams from the Super League and the top four teams from last year's championship were selected for this year's tournament. The Bulls finished the season in 9th place.
Coach Johnson Stafford said of Bradford's exclusion:
“I don't think our team is ready to compete with Super League teams at the moment. It has nothing to do with our players or the Super League structure, but we are We need to focus on our growth.
“Next year, if we’re in the right place, I’m sure we’ll see Bradford Bulls back in the Challenge Cup.”
