THE halfway point of the season is an obvious time to take stock and Bulls hooker Vila Halafihi is pretty happy with the way things stand.

In the wake of their 27-20 Betfred League One victory at Whitehaven on Sunday, the 24-year-old, who scored the match-clinching try, said: "This was a big game for us, huge for the club and it was a massive win for us.

"We are now sitting two points clear at the top at halfway and it has been a large turnaround from where we were last year, and it was no mean feat avoiding defeat."

However, the Leeds-born hooker warned that, with many of the Bulls' main opponents having to come to Odsal in the second half of the season, Bradford must shed their habit of letting their opponents back into matches.

Whitehaven pulled back from 14-8 down, scoring within 90 seconds of the restart, to 21-20 behind, and Halafihi admitted: "We have done it in a few games recently, especially the last couple of weeks.

"We get to a point where we feel we can take our foot off the gas a little bit.

"We had them going at half-time and we came out and we stepped off the gas again.

"Like past weeks, we have clawed it back but we need to stop doing it because when we come up against the better sides they won't let you get back."

Among the sides due at Odsal are second-placed York City Knights, Keighley Cougars (fifth), Workington Town (sixth), Doncaster (seventh), Newcastle Thunder (eighth) and Whitehaven (ninth), all of whom have won more than they have lost.

Halafihi said: "A lot of big teams have to come to us and Odsal is not a nice place to come – Odsal is a big pitch and we love playing there."

From a personal point of view, the former Oxford and Swinton Lions loanee is loving life at the moment.

He said: "I am trying to play as well as I can as much as I can.

"I loved scoring the last try for the win but now we must kick on."

* The Bulls' kick-off time for their league match at home to Doncaster next Sunday has been pushed back an hour to 4pm.

The reason for this is that England face Panama at 1pm in the World Cup, and the Bulls will be showing that game on the big screen after the State of Origin rugby league game between New South Wales and Queensland (11am).

"It's really important to everyone at the Bulls that the fans enjoy a game-day experience," said club chairman Andrew Chalmers.

"That is why we found it crucial to push the kick-off back to 4pm so that everyone can enjoy their Super Sunday of fun.

"Bradford has a strong community feel pulsating throughout.

"We hope that as many people as possible come down and enjoy what is expected to be a fantastic day."