Shad Royston has urged his Bulls team-mates to shut out talk of a Halifax crisis.

Fax have been mired in turmoil ahead of tomorrow’s Challenge Cup fourth-round clash thanks to a run of six defeats in seven games.

Last year’s Championship Grand Final winners have slipped to tenth this season, causing endless speculation over the future of Matt Calland.

The Shay side were even linked with a move for former Bulls boss Brian Noble earlier this week but Royston is reading nothing into it.

A member of Fax’s successful 2010 team himself, the Aussie full back knows they are capable of causing an upset in the much-anticipated West Yorkshire derby.

He said: “Halifax have a decent team. They’ve had a bit of an up and down season, a bit like us really, but in these one-off games it’s not that difficult for a lower league team to rise to the occasion.

“They will definitely be up for the game and excited by the prospect of testing themselves against us.

“That was always the way I looked at it when I was there, so we have to make sure we don’t give them the chance to cause a shock.

“I don’t think their position reflects the quality of the players they’ve got there.

“They’ve got a good coach who coached them to a Grand Final win last year and they’ve got a good set of players.

“They know how to win games, it’s just a case of not starting the season as well as they might have expected.”

The Bulls have not been without their own problems. Having taken just one point from their last five Super League games, the pressure is on to produce results.

Royston said: “If you ask the players, we’d all say we would’ve liked to have done better but it’s a long season yet.

“In saying that, we need to start turning things round pretty soon.

“Playing smart football will get us the two points because, at the moment, we’re probably not doing the things we’re doing in training.

“We have to take that into the games. We’re doing bits and pieces but if we put it all together it will start to produce results.”

The Challenge Cup offers a break from league action and an occasion Royston has had his eye on now for weeks.

A fans’ favourite throughout his four years at Halifax, the 28-year-old scored an incredible 103 tries in 101 games while wearing the blue and white.

He has quickly got among the tries at his new club too, touching down five times in 11 games to become the Bulls’ joint-top scorer.

It hasn’t all been plain-sailing. The step up to Super League has, at times, been tough to negotiate but Royston has become a key part of Mick Potter’s team.

“I’ve been looking forward to this game from the moment it was drawn,” he said.

“It’s exciting for me personally but more so for the fans. There’s a lot of tradition between the two teams and they’ve not had the chance to play a game with any meaning for a long time.

“I enjoyed playing there during my time with the club but it might be a bit different going back in a different jersey.

“It’s a nice stadium and it will be a good atmosphere.”