Bulls players returned to work fighting fit yesterday after coming through their latest fitness tests with flying colours.

Francis Cummins’ squad were put through their paces for Yo-Yo testing at the Sports Barn in Huddersfield.

Head of strength and conditioning Tom Clough said every player had achieved the required fitness level and some had shown an improvement from before Christmas.

Cummins had warned his men to make or better the levels they previously scored before Christmas or face being hit in the pocket with a club fine.

Jarrod Sammut, Adrian Purtell, Heath L’Estrange and Keith Lulia currently remain back in their native Australia but are due to return to work shortly.

Clough said: “The players had done so much good work in the six or seven weeks leading up to Christmas, so we billed the festive break as a period where they could recover and look after themselves.

“We said to them ‘you should come back better than when you went away and be ready to push on for the rest of pre-season’.

“We haven’t been through all the data yet but nobody failed to hit the required target yesterday and there have been some small improvements.

“That’s great and basically tells us that we can push the players on again leading up towards the Dewsbury and Leeds friendlies.”

Clough is proving a key figure after being handed a three-year deal following previous part-time roles working with the club’s junior players.

The 29-year-old from Birkenshaw, who recently became a father for the first time, added: “We’re trying to set expectations among the players so that the standards next year will be higher again. As a group we’re really happy with the way they’re going.”