JOHN Kear is aware of the challenge that London Skolars will pose when the team from the capital travel up the M1 to play the Bulls in this season's first League One home fixture.

"It's going to be a real arm wrestle of a game," predicted the Bradford head coach ahead of the Odsal clash.

"London have some really good players who can cause some damage such as Lamont Bryan, who has a lot of experience, and it would certainly be very disrespectful to them to expect a big score like we had in the game last week."

Following on from the dominant third-round Challenge Cup victory over West Wales Raiders, Kear was asked about the squad's response to the win both on and off the pitch.

"The players deserve to have that pat on the back after they won in such dominant fashion," he said.

"Whether you want to call it one-sided or not, we executed our game plan perfectly to win and advance into the next round.

"A cup run is a huge possibility, as I said after the game, but that's something that we can start to work on when we get to look at the next tie against Hunslet.

"We try to get the best team week in, week out to give us the best possibility to win the games and get points on the board.

"We've pretty much got a fully-fit squad, so that gives us a strong idea of how we're going to line up on Sunday.

"Players such as Brandon Pickersgill have really grasped the opportunity that has been given them and not only does this benefit me as a coach in selecting the team, it also adds healthy competition among players."

Kear praised the team's ability to rapidly adapt to in-game scenarios but said it was too early to say about the team's overall chemistry.

"The team can definitely take on instructions very well and roll with what we want from them on and off the pitch," he said.

"But I think it's too early to talk about chemistry and all that just yet. Maybe when we're into March or April."

The Bradford coach also notes that he does not think there is pressure on the Bulls based on history and name value alone – but he appreciates that other teams will raise their game against his side.

Kear said: "Teams will certainly raise their game when they come to play us because they know that we're one of the favourites in this league. But we're all in the same boat really, aiming for the top of the table.

"I think everyone's got to perform in this league if they want to do well. The games aren't going to win themselves."

The weather has disrupted things this week, with the cancellation of some fixtures, but before the elements turned bad, the Bulls under-16s went to Widnes Vikings and came away with a great 38-20 victory.

Kear said: "It was a very good performance against a strong side.

"Widnes is always a very tough place to go and I was delighted with the result. I'd like to congratulate Mark Dunning and his team on their success."