Tallon Smith

The South City Bulls have continued their active off-season in the player market with a big coup after landing the signature of rampaging back rower Joel Tracey from cross-town rivals Wagga Brothers for the 2026 season.

The return of Tracey, a club junior who spent almost a decade at the Bulls prior to this year, essentially completes a player trade with Brothers after the departure of coach Cleve McGhie to the Brethren last month.

Speaking to Battlers For Bush Footy in an exclusive first interview about his return to the club, Tracey said he is excited at the prospect of pulling on the purple jumper that means so much to him once again.

“I feel bulletproof when I put that Bulls guernsey on,” he said.

“I reckon Bulls are going to build a new dynasty, we’ve had our peak when we went back-to-back [in 2016-17].

“We had a sort of downfall with COVID and players leaving, but I think we’re definitely on the rise, and I think we can definitely be contenders for the premiership in the coming years.”

After spending the 2025 season at Brothers, where he helped the club secure the Group 9 Challenge Cup, Tracey makes no secret of the fact that he is looking to chase the ultimate success at South City as he enters the prime of his career.

However, speaking on his time at Brothers, Tracey said he was extremely grateful for the lessons he learned playing under experienced mentor Blake Dunn and the additions that he has made to his game as a result, and wishes the club nothing but the best with its rebuild.

“I learnt many skills playing under Blake Dunn, that was the first time I’ve really played the 80 minutes as a second rower, Blake was also a great second rower [when I was] growing up, so I learnt many tips from him.

“There’s great people at that club, but as far as winning that’s where it gets tricky.

“I’m a competitive person, I want to win, and I want to chase that Group 9 Premiership.

“It’s such a hard task [to rebuild], I only wish them the best and I hope every club wishes them the same.”

Upon returning to the Bulls, Joel rejoins his brother Brody at Harris Park in a family reunion at what he described as a family club.

“I’ve got my brother there, I’ve formed another brotherhood there, it’s like a family,” he said.

“I grew up there, I think I went there when I was 15 I reckon, played my 16s, 18s, debuted at the club.”

“I’ve just always loved the community built around that club and the people within it.”

As for whether rugby union player Steven could join his brothers at the Bulls, Joel said every option is on the table at this point.

“I wouldn’t rule it out, I definitely can’t say anything at the moment because I’m not sure, but don’t rule it out.”

One of the biggest moves of the off-season so far, Tracey’s signature offsets the club’s forward pack losses of John and Tevita Suli to Leeton and Seb Rodet to the armed forces, and adds some star power to the club’s line-up following the loss of McGhie.

The Bulls have been one of the most active teams this off-season, with Tracey joining Mat Lyons as new faces at the club alongside the recently re-signed trio of Kyle McCarthy, Cody Hodge, and Tim Hurst.

The defending West Wyalong Knockout champions from earlier this year, the Bulls will aim to make their first finals series in four years when the Group 9 season kicks off in April.