JOHN Kear is confident Sam Hallas will give his all to get his place back in the Bulls team.

The hooker was one of the standout players in a difficult season for the Odsal club last year, winning the supporters’ player of the year.

But he was not included in the 17 against Newcastle Thunder as Vila Halafihi and George Flanagan were preferred.

The pair impressed with Flanagan, who returned to his home-town club this season after a spell at Hunslet, scoring Bulls’ third try with a dummy that flummoxed the Thunder defence in their 26-16 win.

Kear was pleased with their performances but Hallas, who signed a two-year contract after joining from Leeds Rhinos, remains very much in his thinking.

The head coach said: “I thought they were both good once again.

“I have spoken to Sam. He is an honest kid and that’s what I like about him so much. He has asked me what he needs to do to get back in the team and I assure you he will be working really hard in order to do that.”

Meanwhile, forward George Milton is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a suspected fractured eye socket early in the game against Thunder.

The youngster felt fit enough to come back on but Kear said the diagnosis after the game didn’t look good.

He said: “He wasn’t knocked out but we were concerned about his eye. He felt okay and passed the test so all the due diligence was done and he returned to the field but he tried to blow his nose and his face went in a little.

“That’s the indication of a fractured eye socket so it is not looking good for the kid.”

Kear is now looking forward to a full week’s training before his side head to lowly Hemel Stags on Sunday.

He said: “We’ve a nine-day turnaround when we can dust ourselves down and do some tough conditioning work.

“We’ll do some tough contact work too, both with and without the ball, and hopefully come out a bit better for the next game against Hemel.”