Left back becomes 26th player to pass double century in senior football for Hassocks
Raging Joe Bull has become the 26th player to make 200 appearances for Hassocks in senior football after reaching the landmark in the recent 4-0 win away at Roffey.
And Bull marked the occasion in style, setting up two of the Robins’ four goals and scoring another.
It was his low cross tapped in by Noah Hoffmann which gave Hassocks a third minute lead at Bartholomew Way.
Bull then drilled an effort towards goal, deflected in by the unfortunate Bailey Shorey. Under normal circumstances, it probably would have gone down as an own goal.
But seeing as this was a landmark appearance for Bull, the dubious goals penal were seemingly in a generous mood and awarded him with his 14th goal in Hassocks colours.
Bull then sent over the typically pinpoint corner converted by Ruari Farrell for the fourth Robins goal on the hour mark.
Having joined Hassocks from Whitehawk in the summer of 2018, Bull had to wait patiently to become a first team regular.
Initially arriving as a forward player, it was James Westlake who reinvented Bull as a left back early in the 2022-23 campaign.
Since then, there has been no looking back with Bull becoming of the first names on the team sheet.
He was voted Players’ Player of the Season in 2023-24 and alongside Fraser Trigwell was the only player to be involved in every game in that record breaking campaign, making 48 starts and one substitute appearance.
In his first season with Hassocks, Bull started 19 times and came off the bench on a further 18 occasions for Mark Dalgleish’s Robins.
Bull was pushed further forward in 2019-10 as both the first team and Under 23s utilised him as a striker.
He scored three times from five starts and nine substitute appearances before the campaign was brought to an early end by Covid-19.
There were 11 senior appearances in 2020-21, followed by 19 starts and 14 runouts from the bench under Brad Sweetman in 2021-22.
Bull registered two very important goals that year in victories over fellow strugglers AFC Varndeanians and East Preston, helping pull the Robins clear of the Premier Division relegation zone.
With his move to left back, Bull missed only five matches in 2022-23 on his way to making 42 appearances and passing the 100 mark for the club.
The 200 landmark has arrived just two years later and with Bull now firmly established in the number three shirt, he stands every chance of cracking the 300 Club in the not-too-distant future.
