The Bulls could yet make their mark on Super League’s top four.

In fact, it’s a necessity if they’re to stand any chance of creeping into the play-offs themselves.

With four games remaining and three points separating them from the play-off places, the minimum requirement for a post-season spot appears to be three wins from the final four games – which means victory would be needed at either St Helens or Wigan.

Considering current circumstances, it seems an absolutely monumental task but, should the Bulls snap a ten-game losing streak against Catalans on Sunday, not an impossible one.

Bradford’s involvement in the top four ended with defeat to bitter rivals Leeds on May 23, so it would go some way to restoring the feelgood factor if they could make a dent on the leading pack with an upset against the league-leading Warriors or third-placed Saints.

The Challenge Cup will also be crucial.

Rugby league’s celebrated knock-out competition has already played a significant role in the current campaign. Defeat against Warrington in the quarter-finals proved to be a turning point in more ways than one, and that impact is unlikely to diminish.

The Bulls face Catalans on Sunday, a week before the French side meet Warrington in the semi-finals of the competition, and then take on St Helens six days after their own last-four game against Leeds.

If the Dragons have one eye elsewhere this weekend or Saints suffer any kind of hangover, there will be opportunities to exploit.

Unfortunately, the Cup will also feature heavily among the final fixtures of their main rivals.

Castleford face Leeds the week following their semi-final and take on St Helens immediately after a potential final appearance.

Similarly, Crusaders’ head-to-head with Saints could be a build-up to a Wembley outing for the Merseysiders, while Wakefield are paired with Warrington in the aftermath of their semi-final meeting with Les Cats.

If any evidence is needed to highlight the importance of the Challenge Cup in the season run-in, a quick glance at Warrington’s record last season will do the job.

Despite beating Huddersfield to claim the trophy, the Wolves lost six of their last eight league games as attention switched away from their faint Grand Final hopes to the Cup instead.

But the main problem is that Bradford’s season is no longer in their own hands and, despite spending much of the season in the lower reaches of the table, Crusaders actually appear to be best poised to make a charge for the eighth spot.

Castleford had put themselves in the box seat with a run of five wins in six games until a defeat in Wales last week blew the race wide open once more.

Back-to-back wins have put the Crusaders right back in it, allowing them to leapfrog the Bulls into tenth place to trail Cas by two points with a game in hand.

Brian Noble’s side also appear to have the kindest run-in, with home games against Salford and Harlequins coming up and both eminently winnable.

As it stands, Bradford and Wakefield appear to be the outsiders and the Bulls can thank the lack of an outstanding team among the challengers for the fact they are still in with a shot after a horrendous ten-game losing run, which has included recent reversals against two of the bottom three.

That lack of a clear front-runner could still make the coming weeks extremely interesting.

Brett Kearney and Paul Sykes return on Sunday to add a touch more calm and organisation in the halves and if the pack are able to front up against their French counterparts, there is no reason they can’t take the points.

Get that one in the bag and the race is on.

It’s the longest of long shots but everyone at Odsal is keeping their fingers crossed.