OSCAR Thomas believes heart can take Bulls a long way in their fight for Championship survival.

The win at Swinton was the first step towards eradicating the 12-point penalty that Geoff Toovey’s side must overcome after the club’s financial meltdown.

Full back Thomas, who scored another try on Sunday to add to the one he got against Rochdale, can see a strong sense of pride building within the squad to overcome the obstacles.

He said: “There’s definitely a lot of heart in the team. There are young kids who are always going to want to play for the club.

“A lot of them have come through the system and they are all Bradford born and bred.

“So every training session and every game, those kids will be totally committed.

“We’re having to do it the hard way. When you’re 12 points back, you’ve got to win six games before you even get to zero.

“It’s definitely in the back of your mind but there isn’t much you can do about it. It’s just another incentive for us.”

The Bulls are still waiting for the green light to allow Toovey to take control for the forthcoming home clash with Toulouse.

The Australian coach’s working visa has been held up while the Bulls continue to try to get their house in order following the liquidation of the previous club.

They are also hoping for firm news on the arrival of exciting Samoan talent Phoenix Hunapo-Nofoa. That is expected to come through within the next week.

Toulouse currently sit third with two wins from the opening three games and have scored the most points in the competition. They hammered Dewsbury Rams 56-2 last weekend.

But Bulls will face the French side boosted by that opening victory. Thomas is just glad to be playing at Odsal again after all the uncertainty of the past few months.

“It’s a big thing for us to get back out there again,” he added.

“After everything that we’ve been through, it’s definitely a positive to be playing back at Odsal.

“There are always doubts. When you go into liquidation, you’re not sure if you’ve got a job any more.

“But the players that are here wanted to play for the club and stay at Bradford.

“It doesn’t get any easier but that’s how it’s going to be. We’ve got to take it week-to-week and try to get those points back as soon as we can.

“The morale in the group is still high. You can see the young boys here are learning from every performance and that can only be good for the club.”