BRADFORD Bulls captain Lee Smith applauded his side’s efforts to grab a tough 27-20 victory against Whitehaven, which made it seven wins in a row.

Vila Halafihi continued his fine form to claim the match-winning try, settling the nerves of Bulls supporters as Whitehaven threatened a late comeback.

Smith commented on special individual efforts, such as Joe Keyes’ game management and Sam Hallas’ will to play as important factors in the win.

“It’s always a tough place to go, travelling on the day then facing a side like Whitehaven is a real challenge. I’m just very glad we got the two points,” said Smith.

“These games are the best to play in, the tight battles that you come out the other side of give you a real sense of confidence.

“We knew they’d be strong throughout the match so the way they finished was no surprise, it's credit to both sides for digging in.

“The conditions didn’t really allow us to play our game. We like to throw the ball around but we had to adapt this week which we did well."

Referring to individuals, Smith enthused: “Sam did everything possible to make himself available this week and it’s great to see that will to play, he’s a vital part of this team and to see confidence back in his game is great.

“You can talk about Joe every week after any game, he always performs when he needs to, and taking the one point kept us in front and spurred us on.”

Bradford return to Odsal this weekend as they begin the second half of the season by welcoming Doncaster.

In the reverse fixture, Bradford secured a 32-6 victory, yet Smith remains aware of the threat posed by Richard Horne’s side.

Acting as the pacesetters for the first half of the season, Smith also believes that his side needs to nail down their game every week to ensure there are no slip-ups.

“I’m expecting another tough game from them, we know what they can do on their day. From first place to eighth place there is tough competition, so we need to be focused,” said Smith.

“We saw glimpses of their quality last time out and since then they have grabbed some good wins. It promises to be a good game for sure.

“It’ll be good to get back to Odsal in front of our fans. We want to make it a fortress, make it a real hard place to come and hopefully remain unbeaten.

“We’ve travelled to tough places in the first half of the season and got an idea of how the teams play, but the most important factor is, if we nail our game, we give ourselves a huge chance of winning."