Peacock explains Bulls exit

Bradford's controversial capture of former Leeds captain Iestyn Harris in the summer of 2004 was the final straw for Jamie Peacock, setting in motion the events that led to his eventual transfer to Headingley.

Peacock was something of a folk hero at Odsal, where he made 207 appearances in nine seasons for the Bulls and captained them to Grand Final glory in 2005, but he stunned Bradford fans with his decision to quit the club in favour of a move to his hometown team.

"My heart and soul was in that club," Peacock says in his autobiography 'No White Flag', co-written with Phil Caplan which is launched on Saturday. "I'd given my absolute all...but there seemed to be no loyalty coming back the other way and that really hurt."

Matters came to a head a year later when Bradford splashed out a rumoured £800,000 on Harris following his return from Welsh rugby union.

"I'd been told that there was no more money left for anyone and then miraculously some had been found," says Peacock.

"Even though the club tried to make out it had come from a sponsor, I knew that I had been lied to, which I certainly didn't appreciate and the breakdown in trust proved terminal."

Peacock, who will face his old club in Thursday's engage Super League derby at Headingley, reveals all in a heart-warming book which tracks his career as a late developer, encompassing the warts and all of his trials and tribulations in coming to terms with professional sport.

He admits he felt like a "deserter" and describes in detail the agony he experienced when breaking the news to coach Brian Noble, a mentor from his earliest days at Odsal.

"The thought of going to play for the side that had been our bitterest rivals left me in a state of utter turmoil inside," he reveals.

"Even though I knew I was doing the right thing, there was still a sense of it being dishonourable."