Bradford Bulls coach Rohan Smith has admitted he expects relegation-threatened Whitehaven to throw everything they’ve got at his side today as they enter a potential last-chance saloon for their top four chances.
The Bulls took another hit to their top four hopes, following a close 22-20 defeat to rivals Leigh Centurions. If Batley and Halifax win today and the Bulls lose, the former Super League champions will be playing in the Championship Shield after the split.
But Smith admits he was heartened from certain aspects of the defeat to Leigh last weekend.
He said: “In the first half we started a little slow but we fought back well and I thought we dominated large parts of the second half.
“There is definitely some belief to take from that game and obviously plenty of talent, so it is a matter of starting again and going through the process of performing well on Sunday.”
The Bulls need a win against Whitehaven this weekend to keep their chances of reaching the Qualifiers alive and Smith continued: “I expect every team every week to give it their all against us. Every team loves coming to the Provident Stadium, playing in front of a big vocal crowd, so I expect Whitehaven to come and throw everything they’ve got at us.”
Whitehaven dropped to eleventh in the Championship, as they fell to a 16-8 defeat at the hands of Batley Bulldogs, but victory at Odsal could move them out of the relegation zone.
