BULLS coach John Kear has praised Joe Keyes for his tactical astuteness in landing the drop goal that helped them win a tough encounter at Whitehaven on Sunday.

The Betfred League One leaders were 20-14 ahead at the Recreation Ground when Keyes, who also scored two tries, popped over a 62nd-minute drop goal.

Kear confessed: "That was real smart when he just popped that one-pointer over because it was a poor set but we managed to land under their posts, and that early in the game they don't put the same kind of pressure on as they do in the last five or six minutes.

"He saw that we were six points up and he knew that he could turn it into seven with a pretty simple drop goal, so good on him."

Kear, whose side ended 27-20 winners, also praised interchange hooker Sam Hallas for his willingness to play.

The veteran coach said: "Callum (Bustin) couldn't play with his shoulder injury and failed a fitness test, and Sam put his hand up and was pushing to be playing.

"The medical staff felt that he could as long as we padded it up thoroughly, and he did and he was important to us."

The only early indication of an injury worry for the Bulls was that loose forward Elliot Minchella came off for a head injury assessment.

Kear said that the Cumbrians had made clear their intentions by picking a sizeable pack.

He said: "Their eight, ten and 13 were big men so we knew what they were going to do.

"The weather didn't help us with the greasy conditions but we have come up with some big decisions."

Kear added: "It was very brave of Whitehaven to reduce the admission price to £10 but it worked and it was a great spectacle."