Bulls coach Mick Potter sends his men into battle against Castleford tonight with a ringing endorsement of their efforts so far during a tumultuous campaign.

After three years of failing to make the play-offs, Bradford have emerged as a force to be reckoned with this term.

They have beaten both last season’s Grand Finalists – Leeds and St Helens – at Odsal and last week’s defeat to the Rhinos was only their second loss away from home.

Although the Magic Weekend results saw them bundled out of the top eight, Potter says he cannot fault his troops during a season in which the club have been hit by a financial crisis off the pitch and ravaged by injuries on it.

Potter said: “I’ve been generally happy with just about all the performances that we’ve come up with. Every single time the players go out there, they do their best.

“As a coach you’re after the best possible outcome and the perfect game, which is nearly impossible to get from any team.

“But there’s never any lack of effort from our players to try and get the best possible game. I’m very happy with their application and I’m happy with what they’re trying to do.

“It’s just their execution at times which has let them down and I think fatigue played a part in that against Leeds last weekend.”

Adrian Purtell is expected to attend tonight’s game with his family as he continues his recovery from the heart attack he suffered in the aftermath of last Sunday’s game.

Purtell will be joined in the stands by Craig Kopczak, Matt Diskin, Elliot Kear and Chev Walker, all of whom picked up injuries at the Etihad Stadium.

Their absence has put Shaun Ainscough, Michael Platt, Tom Olbison and fit-again trio Adam O’Brien, Ian Sibbit and Phil Joseph in line for a return.

Potter, who saw his side kick-start their campaign with a memorable victory at a snowbound PROBIZ Coliseum in round two, said: “I see it as a tough fixture but I’m very glad it’s at Odsal.

“It will be different to when we played them earlier in the season and the conditions that we faced. This is proper summer rugby, as opposed to playing in snow, and I think it will suit both teams.

“They like to offload and that’s where I see their danger, with players like Rangi Chase, Craig Huby and Danny Orr. They do like to throw the ball around and they’ve got some outside backs who can finish tries off.

“They’re a dangerous and unpredictable team who play right to the last minute. They nearly snatched it from Wakefield last weekend and we’ll need to be right on our game.”

Reflecting on the loss to Leeds, when the Bulls dominated field position for long periods but struggled to make it pay, Potter added: “There were lots of positives but I know we can improve.

“When things happen that go wrong, it’s how we handle it. We didn’t handle a couple of things too well last weekend.

“We’ve gone through a review on video and the players know they can do better. Certainly finishing our sets off is one area we need to do better in but, like I say, the effort is always there.”