MATTY Blythe says scoring twice for the Bulls in Sunday's win over Batley has poured confidence into him ahead of tonight's visit of Featherstone.

The versatile 26-year-old finished with aplomb in quick succession late on to seal a nervy 34-16 win over the Bulldogs.

They were his first tries for Bradford since touching down in a win against Wigan last July.

Now fully recovered from the back problem which wrecked his pre-season, Blythe said: "It was nice to get a couple of tries because it had been a long time.

"I've still got a massive amount of work to do in my game and it was nice to start against Batley.

"Each game back gives me a massive amount of confidence and I'm slowly getting there.

"I think in the next couple of games I can kick on and cement my place in the team, whatever position that may be.

"But it was nice to play the whole game at centre and play the full 80 minutes for the first time this year."

Yet Blythe admitted there was plenty of room for improvement from his team as they bid to see off Featherstone in their rearranged fixture.

"We throw the ball about a lot and sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't," he said.

"Sunday probably wasn't our best performance with the ball but I thought we defended pretty well in most parts of the game. We just need to take our chances a bit better.

"I dropped a few balls and I think a few other people did as well. But we are there for each other and we went really well at the back end of the game when we scored a few points."

Meanwhile, Sam Bates is searching for a new club after being released by the Bulls.

The 19-year-old forward came through the club's junior ranks and went on to make two Super League appearances last season.

He came off the bench to make his debut in the crushing 84-6 defeat at Wigan on Easter Monday but then played his part in a stirring win over Warrington at Odsal in June.

He agreed a new contract with the club last August but has struggled with an ongoing ankle injury this season.

Bulls managing director Steve Ferres said: "We would like to thank Sam for his hard work throughout his time here and wish him all the best for the future."