The Bulls have only made two trips to the Halton Stadium to face Widnes in the Super League era and both of those visits, made in the last two years, have yielded narrow, hard-fought victories.

Last year the Bulls scraped home 26-18, while in 2002 it was even closer, with the Bulls edging it 22-16.

Coach Brian Noble is expecting tomorrow's match to be every bit as tight.

"It is a real tough journey to the Halton Stadium," said Noble.

"They are one of those teams that on their day can beat anybody. They have got some dangerous people. They have got some speed on their flanks and decent centres in Aaron Moule and Adam Hughes. They have got all the ingredients to make it a tough day at the office for us.

"But we are talking about building some momentum for ourselves and what we have done over the last three games is improve. Castleford was good because we had some dry weather and could throw it around a bit but Warrington and London were tough. Since then we have taken some massive strides but we are nowhere near where we want to be so it is important we keep improving."

Noble could have some tough decisions ahead of the match if Karl Pratt and Shontayne Hape are passed fit. For the first time the Bulls coach would be faced with the prospect of trying to squeeze Pratt, Robbie Paul, Paul Deacon and Leon Pryce into the same line-up. It's not a situation he's unhappy with.

"It's about time. It will be the first time this year. It will be unlucky for somebody but I am going to start picking my strongest 17 and look to get some momentum into the season."

Quite what permutation Noble will opt for isn't clear. Paul Deacon has a mortgage on the scrum half berth but Noble preferred Paul to Pryce at stand-off in the crunch match against Leeds earlier in the year and then again against Castleford last time out.

Pryce was outstanding when shifted to centre against Castleford and could be retained there, with Paul Johnson shifting into the pack.

Noble still wants to test Pratt at hooker but for now he'll be happy just to have him back in the 17.

"Karl has great utility value," he said.

"He can play wing, half or hooker. We just need to get him healthy. When he is fully healthy I'll be delighted because he gives us a lot of enthusiasm and a real spark. He buzzes a lot of people up."

And Noble also hinted Pryce's future role may be in the centres.

"I thought he was great against Castleford.

"He played wing when he started here and he was outstanding there. He's played full back and centre and been great and while we are working really hard on him at six it may be that he gets used in the centres as well. It is exciting for us that he played so well there."

Noble's thoughts on his top side won't be fully revealed until the Bulls travel to St Helens next Saturday but if he chooses to keep the faith with young hooker Aaron Smith, the scramble for playmaking roles will be even more congested. Tomorrow, however, Noble may sidestep the issue by resting Paul, who is still not completely over the ankle injury he picked up on Test duty last month.