James Donaldson adapting to part-time schedule as Bradford Bulls prepare for cup clash

Bradford loose forward James Donaldson is working overtime to ensure his eventful rugby league career can finish on a high.

The 33-year-old rejected the chance of a new contract at Leeds last season to plunge back into the part-time game with his first club Bradford.

Donaldson's typical day starts at 7am when he ships his two young sons to nursery, and his full-time job as a quantity surveyor is followed by Bulls training three evenings per week.

But while he admits he is still coming to terms with his new schedule, Donaldson says the balance of building a future and still starring in big games like Bradford's Challenge Cup fourth-round tie at Salford on Friday make the hard choices all the more worthwhile.

"It's tough working all evening and playing all night, but it's the ideal transition for me as I look to finish my career with Bradford in the next couple of years," said Donaldson.

"Leeds had offered me a new deal but I'd already made the decision to step away from the full-time environment and it was great to get the chance to go back to where it all started at Odsal."

Donaldson spent five years at Bradford before moving to Hull KR, where he endured a painful first Challenge Cup final as part of the side thumped 50-0 by Leeds in 2015.

Five years later he was wearing a Leeds shirt as he returned to Wembley to lift the trophy with a win over Salford, coincidentally the club standing in the way of place in the quarter-finals.

"Things haven't been going right for Salford but they've got world-class players and we'll have to be at our best to be in the fight," said Donaldson, who played in Bradford's dramatic third-round win over Super League Castleford.

"The last round was a great opportunity for Bradford to show where we are and that our ambitions are to get back to competing against these Super League clubs again.

"I'd be really satisfied if I was able to end my career by helping Bradford get back into the top-flight. My career could have finished 10 times over but over the last 17 years I've achieved things that I and probably a lot of other people thought I couldn't.

"Not too many people get the chance to play in Challenge Cup finals and Grand Finals. It's something you dream of as a child. But I've managed to achieve all that through hard work and not giving up."

Salford have once again named a squad of just 17 players for the match due to salary cap restrictions, as the RFL continues to seek assurances about the club's financial viability.