NATH'S NATTERS: Away days unmatched as Europe the aim after London and Bantams

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THE away day might just be one of the best things about sport, whatever any of my past travel traumas try and tell you.

Honestly, my heart sank when Simon told me I was covering City's League One home game with Burton in November for the T&A.

Not because I hate covering the Bantams, as I too like to see those chickens routinely peck their opponents, nor even because I particularly wanted to go to Burton, which is home of the worst pint of lager going (Carling and it's not open for debate).

But I absolutely love going to different grounds and watching City away, like Accrington, Fleetwood and Swindon over the last 18 months, as well as basking in their brilliant away support.

There are odd times when the away day takes on an extra level too, like this weekend.

I'm on rugby league duty this Saturday, as Bradford Bulls head to the capital to face London Broncos in the Betfred Championship.

For one thing, I'm hoping for a repeat of two Septembers ago, where Bulls edged a genuinely gripping game of rugby league 12-10 in Wimbledon against the side that would go on to stun Featherstone and Toulouse on their way to winning the second-tier Grand Final.

Tom Holmes celebrates wildly with the fans after the nail-biting win at London Broncos two years ago. (Image: Tom Pearson)

But also, a couple of my best friends from the University of Edinburgh have moved to London over the past year, so as well as covering this Saturday's game with all the due care and attention it deserves, I'll get to spend quality (drinking) time with them too.

That trip in September 2023 was not my first time working for the T&A in that part of London either.

I was there 10 months earlier for City's game at Sutton in League Two.

For one thing, my favourite-ever player to watch in a Bantams shirt, Scott Banks, scored an unbelievable goal in a 2-0 win (no I'm not emotionally ready to talk about his deadline day loan move to Blackpool just yet).

But I also got to catch up with my old university housemate Felix in Brixton for the first time in what felt like forever, while I also got to meet a friend, Eleanor, from my year abroad for lunch near King's Cross, having not seen her since I left France nearly seven years earlier.

Scott Banks - good at football. (Image: Thomas Gadd)

It does not have to be London either, a couple of Bulls trips to Swinton's Heywood Road have allowed me to spend time with one of my closest friends Becky in Manchester, while last month, Brian Noble's side headed to Sheffield's Olympic Legacy Park.

With the game on the Friday night, I stayed with my oldest friend Ian, whom I've known since we were three years old at nursery, which meant a lot, not only because my room back home has suffered a particularly bad moth infestation (which I'm also not emotionally ready to talk about).

And after a last-minute dash to Primark to buy a temporary wardrobe for South Yorkshire, the rest of the weekend was lovely.

Ian, a history and music man more than a sporting one, got to enjoy his first-ever rugby league game right in the thick of the Bulls fans, which he assures me was quite an experience.

There was plenty for Bulls fans to enjoy in the Friday night win at Sheffield, but it also allowed me to have a great Saturday too. (Image: Tom Pearson)

But the Saturday was just about catching up for the first time in months, as I teased my notoriously fussy friend for his double helping of bread and jam for both breakfast and lunch.

We headed to the Kelham Island Museum too, home to the most powerful working steam engine in Europe, which we got to see in action, as well as a lot of knives that were made in the city.

And yes, I realised only then why Sheffield United are nicknamed the Blades...

It just meant the weekend was about far more than just the game, which made it a brilliant 24 hours or so all round.

As for what's coming up, I've got the part-daunting, part-exciting task of trying to sort out a trip to Belgium in a few weeks or Germany just before Christmas, as Newcastle visit Union Saint-Gilloise on October 1 and Bayer Leverkusen on December 10 in the Champions League.

I've always wanted to follow the club abroad, but I also think I'm a bit too green with all of this to be running the gauntlet of Marseille or PSG away.

One away day, but really home day, that looks to be on the cards neatly ties my work and my one true beloved together.

The Bantams head to Newcastle on September 24 for a Carabao Cup third round tie and you'd better believe I'll be heading up there unless there are any unexpected spanners in the works.

Personal will have to rule over professional on this I'm afraid though, so I'm expecting and wanting those chickens to get a good pecking that night.