Adrian Purtell was both delighted and relieved with his comeback as he helped Bradford Bulls retain third place in Super League with a 34-12 win over Hull KR at Odsal.

The 28-year-old Australian centre had not played since suffering a heart attack in the aftermath of the Magic Weekend defeat by Leeds Rhinos last May but made his return four days after being given the all-clear by specialists.

Purtell said he was overwhelmed by the reception he received from both sets of fans when he entered the field on 24 minutes and he went on to play the rest of the match as the injury-hit Bulls cruised to victory.

“It was awesome,” he said. “It’s been a long 10 months and I’m just over the moon that the day has finally come and that I got through the game and, even more importantly, the team got a win.

“I think it’s more relief to have played. I’m very happy to get that amount of minutes in my first game.

“It worked out well. The boys started really well which probably made it a bit easier for (coach) Franny (Cummins) to make that decision. Had it been a tighter game, I’m not too sure what would have happened.”