Bradford Bulls: We're on a roll and ready for Giants, says St Hilaire (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford Bulls: We're on a roll and ready for Huddersfield Giants, says St Hilaire

7:00am Saturday 21st April 2012 in Bulls By Ross Heppenstall , Bradford Bulls Reporter

Lee St Hilaire has challenged the Bulls to cut high-flying Huddersfield Giants down to size at Odsal tomorrow.

Despite a crippling injury list and the uncertainty surrounding the club off the pitch, Mick Potter’s men have risen to the challenge on it.

In the four matches they have played since it was announced that the club must find £1million to secure their long-term future, the Bulls have registered three wins.

A tumultuous derby victory over Leeds Rhinos on Good Friday was followed by a thumping success at Widnes three days later before last weekend’s massacre of Doncaster in the Challenge Cup.

Those results have flooded Potter’s squad with self-belief as they prepare for the visit of the league leaders tomorrow.

The Bulls are again down to the bare bones and are able to name a squad of only 18 fit senior players for the second Super League game in succession.

Yet assistant coach St Hilaire said: “If we play how we are capable of then we can do the job against Huddersfield.

“We have built some momentum and the squad is very tight-knit and I’m sure we will present a challenge to the Giants.

“We have built some great momentum and when you look at the Hull game, the Leeds game and the Widnes game, then we were very competitive at Hull and won the other two.

“To get four points from the Easter fixtures was tremendous and the energy levels from the players have been great.

“We have a very good conditioning and physio team that know when to up the intensity and take it back and that has worked for us.

“We are using the old cliché ‘let’s take one game at a time’. Let’s just keep on building the momentum we have created over the past few weeks and keep the confidence high.

“Every week is a different challenge for us.”

For much of the Super League era, the Giants have lived in the shadows of near neighbours Leeds and Bradford.

But they have been a side transformed since Nathan Brown arrived at the Galpharm Stadium in 2009 with ambition coursing through his veins.

They dumped Hull out of the Challenge Cup last weekend and are setting the pace at the Super League summit.

St Hilaire acknowledged: “They are a quality outfit with some very good players, there’s no doubt about that.

“Nathan Brown and Paul Anderson have done a great job on the coaching side and (owner) Ken Davy has played his part as well.

“They have quality right across the field. They have moved players around this season and they play very direct. “They have some big go-forward players like Eorl Crabtree, David Fa’alogo and Luke O’Donnell.

“On the back of that you have to contain Danny Brough and Luke Robinson and we haven’t even started talking about the edges where they have players like Leroy Cudjoe, Joe Wardle and Luke George all playing very well.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge that they present.”

The Bulls will again be without hooker and joint-captain Heath L’Estrange as he serves the second game of a two-match ban.

Full back Brett Kearney also remains sidelined with a foot injury and scrum half Luke Gale is not yet fit to return from damaged ankle ligaments.

But Karl Pryce and Chev Walker are back in the squad after injury to give the Bulls a timely boost.