BULLS EYE

IN THIS WEEK?S BULLS EYE COACH BRIAN NOBLE AND ROBBIE PAUL LOOK FORWARD TO SATURDAY?S POWERGEN CHALLENGE CUP ROUND FIVE GAME AT THE KC STADIUM BETWEEN THE BULLS AND HULL FC, WHICH IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE TIE OF THE ROUND

BRIAN NOBLE

THIS IS A BIG CHALLENGE FOR YOU

It's a massive challenge for us. Hull are a very good side who do all the simple things well. They work very hard for each other and don?t make many mistakes. They are very good at home and the KC Stadium is a difficult place to go. The club has kicked on since they moved there and I know it has the potential to go even further. They are desperate to enjoy success and they probably see the Powergen Challenge Cup as a competition they can win, so we know we are in for a very tough ride.

Their Half Backs are going really well for them. Paul Cooke is organising things very well. Their pack is very good and takes them forward and Paul can control things behind them and if you switch off against Richard Horne for one second, you get to talk about it under your own sticks. They are playing with great confidence and that could be important for them. Rayner is back and he is a big player for them and Blacklock is in fine form and scoring tries regularly and they have a couple of good centres in Yeaman and Eagar too. In the forwards Thackray is playing on top of his game and they don?t seem to be missing Richard Swaine as much as many people said they would. They have all pulled together and covered his absence very well. They have got Paul King back now and he is a great player for taking them forward.

YOU MADE A SLOW START AT LONDON AND YOU WON?T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

We were a little slow out of the blocks and that is something we can?t afford to do this week but we showed how well we can play in the second half and I will be looking for a performance like that. We will need to be very patient and execute our last plays better than we did in the first half at London but we are confident going into the game even though Hull are playing well and the tie is at their place.

ROBBIE PAUL

THE CHALLENGE CUP IS SOMETHING THE PLAYERS HAVE SET THEIR MIND ON DOING WELL IN

We have because it is such a prestigious competition in the British game and is steeped in history. Anyone who has experienced success in the Cup will tell you it is something you would play your whole career for but this game for us this week is going to be very tough. Hull are a good side with some great players, they are at home, they play in a fantastic stadium with one of the most vocal crowds, not just in Rugby League but in the world of sport and with the history between us in the past two years it?s all pointing to a very close game. In saying that the reality is that all the pressure is on them because they are at home and a lot is expected of them. They haven?t been going that well, by their own standards, despite the fact they are sitting third in the table.

I think they will miss Richard Swaine, and I?m glad they will!! He is a the type of player who does so much work, maybe not the eye catching stuff but the little things that pull you through a game. He has made a career of doing those little things right and enabling the big things to happen. Players like him; he is in the Bernard Dwyer mould, are vitally important to the team.

As for our form we are getting there and we know we have so much more to give. Hopefully we will see the hard work we have done over the last three weeks bear fruit this weekend. It?s a very exciting time for us.

SQUAD

Brian Noble has named the following 20 man squad for the game: Ferres, Deacon, Cook, Fielden, Harris, Withers, Langley, Lynch, Meyers, Parker, Paul, Peacock, Pratt, Pryce L, Pryce K, Radford, Reardon, Atkins, Vagana, Vainikolo

MILESTONES

- Lesley Vainikolo, has now scored 87 tries in 92 appearances for the Bulls

- Paul Deacon, who has kicked 63 goals from 83 attempts for an average of 75.90%, needs 4 points for a career total of 1500

- Iestyn Harris needs 6 points for a career total 2200

BULLS EYE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MEDIA DEPARTMENT OF BRADFORD BULLS RUGBY CLUB.