Free-scoring Bulls ace Paul Sykes refuses to dream about his growing England World Cup chances.

Following a spectacular start to Super League XIII, the red-hot centre has quickly put himself in the running for a place in Australia this autumn.

Sykes has notched six tries already and gets a golden chance to display his credentials again when facing international rival Kirk Yeaman at Hull on Friday night.

However, he maintained: "I'm not thinking about England at the moment. It is at the back of my mind but I just want to concentrate on Bradford.

"We have been doing all right but we showed glimpses of what we can really achieve against Cas on Sunday.

"Now I just want to make sure we keep improving here, starting with Hull, and if the World Cup comes up for me at the end of the year, then that's an added bonus."

While still at Harlequins, Sykes made his Great Britain debut versus France last June but did not make the final cut for the squad that walloped New Zealand four months later.

He has excelled following his move back north though, winning fans with his powerful running, big defence and finishing ability.

Now Sykes is preparing to tackle Yeaman, who he rates as one of the best English centres around.

He said: "It should be a good tussle. Kirk was in the same GB squad as me last year but didn't play due to injury.

"He's a good player though, pretty small but strong and runs good lines with some pace too. Defensively, he can put a shot on as well, so I'll be trying to stay clear of his shoulders."

There is perceived to be a lack of quality centres at England boss Tony Smith's disposal but Sykes argues otherwise.

"Keith Senior's still going strong and then there's Martin Gleeson," he said.

"But there's a few coming through like Yeaman, while Ryan Atkins is playing well for Wakefield.

"It's all to play for in terms of winning a shirt but I'm just concentrating on my club rugby with the Bulls."

Sykes hopes to surpass his personal best try-scoring haul this season and is well on the way to achieving that feat.

"I got 13 last year at Quins and want to now go better than that," he said, having touched down again versus Castleford last weekend.

"That's the aim and the target I've set myself. Everybody enjoys scoring tries and I'm no different.

"I've got six in eight games so far, so that's pretty good going. I could have had a couple more against Cas if it wasn't for the bounce of a ball."

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