Francis Cummins could add to his squad ahead of Thursday’s crunch trip to Wakefield after the Bulls slipped to defeat in their Super League opener yesterday.

Castleford ground out a 36-18 win but Cummins took consolation from the spirit his players showed in their first outing since the departure of Garreth Carvell and Jarrod Sammut.

Having signed Danny Bridge on loan from Warrington last week, the Bulls head coach is seeking to bring in further reinforcements, with a new prop his priority as opposed to a replacement for Sammut.

Cummins said: “I’m more than happy with the two half-backs because Lee Gaskell and Luke Gale were going to be my two anyway, so we probably need to look at other areas.

“I’m in talks with a few players at the moment and those talks have been really positive – but you never know until it actually happens.”

The scores were level at 6-6 at half-time after Weller Hauraki cancelled out Danny Addy’s early opener.

Although tries from Jamie Foster and Adrian Purtell either side of Kirk Dixon’s touchdown put Bradford 18-12 ahead, Castleford claimed four more scores through Daryl Clark, Justin Carney, Luke Dorn and Grant Millington.

It was harsh on the Bulls, who faded badly during an error-strewn final quarter, but Cummins took heart from his side’s spirit.

“I’ve never questioned the character of the side but it’s that smartness we need at the moment,” he said.

“We made a few yardage errors which allowed Cas back into the match and we gave it back to them too cheaply in the second half.”

The Bulls are set to learn this week if they are to be docked points for entering administration for the second time in less than two years.

Cummins spoke of his frustration at the off-field uncertainty as a number of parties, including the current board of directors, battle for ownership of the club.

The Bulls head coach referred to events surrounding the 66-10 friendly defeat to Castleford two weeks earlier when he said: “There were all kinds of things going on around the friendly game; things that I’ve not seen in rugby league before.

“There was dishonesty around the place before the game, not on the field, and emotionally we weren’t ready to play.

“We made some errors at the back end of today’s game but I’m proud of everyone involved in the club – the players, staff and directors – because there are people working really hard.

“The whole saga at the club, right from when it (administration) happened before, needs to be looked at; how the game dealt with it and how the clubs dealt with it because it’s not been a good time for the sport.

“There is no doubt there has been some mismanagement at the club – there has been for years and years – but the way the game has dealt with it has just been poor. This is people’s lives we are talking about here.”

Tom Olbison took a bang to the head and is rated as doubtful for the trip to Wakefield, which could see the Bulls face a quick reunion with Sammut.