Brett Kearney admits a successful appeal against their points penalty would give the Bulls a “massive boost” in their fight to stay in Super League.

But he says the players will not allow themselves to be side-tracked by the process and will plough on “as if the points are gone”.

Francis Cummins’ men currently lie bottom of the table on minus two after being docked six points for entering administration.

But the RFL this week granted them an appeal and the Bulls must now prove to an independent panel that administration was “unforeseeable and unavoidable”.

Kearney will make his 100th appearance for the club against arch-rivals Leeds tomorrow as Bradford bid to avoid a sixth straight defeat.

The Australian full back said: “The points appeal is not something that’s in our control but, as a player, at least you can feel the club are fighting for you.

“If we could get some points back, it would be a massive boost for the players and the club. If we’re not successful, we can’t let our heads drop.

“We’ve not been good enough to get any points in our last five games and we’re still on minus two, so we’ve got to concentrate on the next period as if the points are gone.”

The Bulls’ appeal is expected to be held during the next fortnight and it is hoped they will win back at least two points.

They must now look to stop the rot heading into a daunting run of fixtures which sees them take on Leeds and Wigan over Easter before matches against Catalan, Warrington, St Helens, Huddersfield and Catalan again.

Head coach Cummins said: “We’ve got to perform better than we have been doing because you’ve got to be at your best against the top teams.

“If you’re not then you’re going to get punished. The players and the staff have shown enough fighting spirit throughout all the dodgy times.

“We just need to do the stuff we practice and get it right. If we do that then we’ve got a chance against anyone.

“It would be great to get any points back. It’s obviously not in our hands but I hope everything happens and falls in our favour for once. It would be nice to put some pressure on other clubs then.”

Cummins has recalled Tom Olbison and Danny Bridge to his squad for tomorrow’s match but Anthony Mullally has returned to Huddersfield.

The Bulls boss is considering making changes after Friday’s reverse to Salford and added: “We’ve not got loads of options but there will have to be changes.

“That creates opportunities for other people and that’s what we want.

“We’ve got two games in four days so everyone is probably going to feature over Easter.

“Whoever I believe is the right combination will get the nod to play against Leeds.”

Cummins is not close to adding to his squad but believes the market will begin to open up after Easter.

He said: “We’re not in a position to take any foreign players being a new company.

“Normally it’s two weeks after the club gets taken over that you get some kind of certificate. It’s not happened yet so we’re chasing it and trying to get that to happen.

“After the Challenge Cup ties there will probably be more players who become available.”