During the 2019 pre-season Kear coached the side to win the revived Yorkshire Cup beating Halifax R.L.F.C. (26-16) and Dewsbury Rams (20-18) to progress to the final where the Bulls beat Batley Bulldogs (14-12) in front of a crowd of 2,278. John Kear's reputation as a 'giant killer' in the Challenge Cup was once again shown as the Bulls defeated arch rivals and Super League side Leeds Rhinos 24-22 in front of a 10,258 home crowd, however the Bulls were knocked out in the quarter finals by Halifax. Despite the Challenge Cup run, in the league Kear could only manage to get the Bulls to 6th place in the table, narrowly missing out on the playoffs.