Bulls pick Hamer for Wembley

The veteran prop Jon Hamer is the surprise selection in Bradford Bulls' Wembley line-up, writes Dave Hadfield.

The 30-year-old, largely absent from the first team this year because of his work as a policeman, has got the vote ahead of Karl Fairbank in the starting side in Saturday's Challenge Cup final. Nathan Graham, signed from Dewsbury in November, will play full-back and Bernard Dwyer is at hooker.

The first player to score a hat-trick in the final will win pounds 10,000, the code's largest individual prize for what would be the first in a Wembley final.

Oldham's Jason Temu and Scott Ranson are to appear at a disciplinary meeting tomorrow over incidents in which Lee Harland and Nathan Sykes were injured during the match at Castleford last Saturday. Castleford's Grant Anderson was sent off for a high tackle in injury time, but their coach, John Joyner, complained that opposing players had got away with worse.

Leeds have signed the Tongan rugby union international Setaki Tuipuloto. The 24-year-old wing or centre has played in 10 Tests for Tonga, including last year's rugby union World Cup.

Sheffield Eagles have enlisted the Australian centre Danny Grimley, who has played for Parramatta and the Brisbane club, Wynnum-Manly. Grimley was due to play for the new Super League club Adelaide Rams this season, but that competition was blocked by the courts in Australia.

Second Division Leigh have sacked their coach, the former Wigan and Great Britain forward Ian Lucas, and were moving quickly last night to replace him with Eric Hughes, who lost his job at St Helens in February.

Bradford Bulls (v St Helens, Challenge Cup final, Wembley, Saturday): Graham; Cook, Calland, Loughlin, Scales; Bradley, Paul; McDermott, Dwyer, Hamer, Nickle, Donougher, Knox.