JOHN Kear is targeting a shot at Wembley with the Bulls in the new competition unveiled by the RFL yesterday.

The 1895 Cup has been set up for Championship and League One clubs – with the final taking place to tie in with the Challenge Cup showpiece at the national stadium.

A Wembley day-out is a massive incentive for the Bulls, who last graced the famous turf in 1997 when they went down 32-22 to St Helens.

Kear, who famously won the Challenge Cup there the following year with Sheffield, believes the new trophy is an exciting addition to the calendar.

He said: “It’s tremendous news for everyone.

“By getting another game at Wembley will obviously increase the appeal to four clubs instead of two. But also, it will make Championship and League One clubs feel engaged once more with a great occasion.

“I just think it’s a real smart move – and obviously I’m dead chuffed because it would be nice for Bradford to have a dabble and get there.”

The 1895 Cup details will be officially announced at the same time as next season’s fixtures are unveiled on Sunday week.

But it is understood that it will be a straight knock-out format with matches expected to take place in a block in the middle of the Championship campaign. The Bulls would effectively have to win three games to reach the final.

Nobody beneath Super League has appeared at Wembley since the Challenge Cup returned there 11 years ago. For the likes of Bradford, the 1895 Cup offers a genuine chance to put that right.

Kear added: “I was pleased with what we did last year in the Challenge Cup. We won the games we should and lost at Warrington but gave a good account of ourselves.

“But this one, the 1895 Cup, you’ve got to feel we have a half-decent chance of getting to the final. And once you get there, anything can happen.

“I just think it adds to a really exciting season where there’s lots to play for.”

The new competition was agreed at a meeting of Championship and League One clubs at Odsal last week. Toulouse and Toronto are not thought to be involved because of the logistical reasons.

Both finals will take place on Saturday, August 24 – before moving to an earlier date, July 18, in 2020.

RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer said: “It’s a recognition that the game has changed since the onset of full-time professionalism in the Super League era, meaning that for a good number of the Championship and League One clubs who have won the Challenge Cup in the past, reaching Wembley currently seems a distant dream.

"This innovation makes that dream of Wembley much more realistic and achievable.

“We’ve seen in football, with the EFL Trophy that was introduced for teams for the third and fourth tiers of their professional structure as the Associate Members’ Cup in 1983, that the introduction of a realistic additional chance to reach Wembley can have a rejuvenating effect on clubs.

“With the 1895 Cup, we want to recognise the contribution of our non-Super League clubs to the game’s history since its founding as the Northern Union 123 years ago – and provide an exciting new chance for their players and supporters to taste the magic of Wembley.”