After seeing three of his clubs hit financial strife in just four years, ex-Bradford star Tom Olbison quit rugby league to work on the trains - only to end up on strike.
It’s remarkable that the former second-row, who made his Bulls debut alongside superstars Sam Burgess and Steve Menzies, can still raise a smile at it all. Having represented England Academy with future internationals Jonny Lomax, Kallum Watkins and Elliott Whitehead, he packed in the sport aged just 29 after a horrendous run of luck. Olbison made almost 150 appearances for Bradford before they were liquidated in 2017.
He moved to Widnes but they hit their own financial issues, eventually going into administration, and he joined Toronto for the 2019 campaign. But the unfortunate forward suffered a triple whammy when the cash-strapped Canadian outfit stopped paying players and went belly up 18 months later. Olbison, relegated from Super League with Bradford and Widnes, is now working as a train depot driver in his home city of Leeds.
