Brian Noble may be forced to dig deep when he names his side for Monday's trip to St Helens.

Several key players - including wing Lesley Vainikolo - have played injured in recent weeks, a decision Noble feels may have backfired against Leeds on Thursday night.

"A couple of players went into the game with bumps and we need to ask if we are doing the right thing by them," said Noble.

"There will be a few people with bruised hearts as well as bruised heads but there are two or three people who will probably miss out on Monday. We will put our strongest side out, it is as simple as that. We won't throw the towel in."

The nature of the Bulls' 42-12 defeat to the undefeated Rhinos suggests a gulf is developing between the two clubs, however Noble doesn't believe it is insurmountable.

"If you look at the scoreline it would suggest there is a gulf but I don't think it is as large as that scoreline suggests.

"We are not going to hang anybody out to dry because we have a game on Monday and we can put it right then."

Things don't get any easier for Noble's men but he is hoping the players will react positively to Thursday's defeat.

"If Leeds are the Harlem Globetrotters then what does that make Saints? But sometimes these things can galvanise you. We are all very, very disappointed and I have asked a few people to take a look in the mirror. But that doesn't mean we can't turn it around, we are pretty good at that.

"We will need to be a little bit tougher than we were in the second half against Leeds."