ADRIAN Purtell is open to the prospect of staying at the Bulls beyond the end of this season.

The Australian centre arrived in Bradford ahead of the 2012 campaign and is currently midway through his fourth season at Odsal.

He signed a one-year deal to remain at the club following relegation last term and is beginning to consider his options for the future.

"I'm off contract for 2016 at the moment and it's something I'm starting to think about," said Purtell.

"Usually your form means that kind of thing looks after itself but I'm certainly open to the idea of staying here.

"It would be good to know in the next couple of months what is going on. I like Bradford, the club and the players here, so I guess I'd look to get the ball rolling soon."

Purtell showed remarkable fortitude to rebuild his career after suffering a heart attack in the aftermath of the Magic Weekend clash with Leeds in May 2012.

He was back playing again ten months later and recaptured his best form, prompting Jimmy Lowes to tell Purtell within two days of taking over that he wanted him on board for 2015.

The former Canberra and Penrith star signed a 12-month deal for the current campaign and could now stay for a fifth year.

"With the way my body feels at the moment, I feel I could definitely keep playing," said Purtell, who turned 30 earlier this year.

"I'm happy here but like anything, I do miss home, my friends and my family. But I guess if I did get the opportunity to move back to Australia, I would miss living in England.

"Being at Bradford has given me an opportunity to live on the other side of the world and play the sport I love. I enjoy it here and I'm confident that if we play our best rugby, we can get back up this season.

"It's still uncertain what league we will be in next year but I would like to think that if we get our best team on the field and play for a full 80 minutes, then we will have a very good chance.

"I was disappointed to miss the Hull KR game in the Challenge Cup recently. But against Cas in pre-season, coming off the back of one of my better seasons last year, I believe I showed that if we got back up then I could play more good footie back in Super League."

The Bulls have no game this coming weekend as they prepare for the Summer Bash clash with Halifax on Saturday, May 23.

Purtell scored twice in Sunday's 32-16 win at Whitehaven but he admitted the Bulls were nowhere near their best.

"It was a tough game and we probably made it tougher on ourselves than it needed to be," he said.

"We got into a commanding position in the first half but our errors let them back into it, which has probably been the story of this year.

"Even though we went 16-0 up, our errors probably gave them too much field position and we were lucky to go three tries in front.

"It was just one of those games and we were very lucky to come away with the two points.

"But the character of the boys was great because it was a tough game. We lifted it to another level in the second half and the boys came out on top."