Bradford Bulls were shaking off the effects of hypothermia today as they gear-up to begin their defence of the Silk Cut Challenge Cup against Widnes at Valley Parade on Sunday.

Brian Noble's much-weakened side went down 26-0 to Hull in their final warm-up game in freezing conditions at the Boulevard yesterday, but of more concern to the new Bulls coach was the welfare of some of his players - especially Aussie Shane Rigon and Kiwi prop Joe Vagana.

"The conditions were pretty awful and we had one or two guys with hypothermia - especially Shane Rigon who was really suffering.

"Joe has struggled more than most in the cold conditions. He hasn't asked for a transfer yet but he might be asking for a sun lamp!

"There was a lot of doubt about the game going on at our end because of the snow and I think that left us a little under-prepared.

"It was a good defensive work-out for the kids but other than that there were no benefits at all and I am not reading anything into it.

"Having said that, I was a bit disappointed with the way some people performed because there were still spots up for grabs against Widnes and it may cost those people a place at the end of the day.'' While the visit to Belle Vue at least provided them with a decent work-out it was virtually impossible to find any plus points from this low key work-out.

The Bulls squad had spent the morning wondering whether the game would be on and the afternoon looking like they wished it hadn't.

Instead of snow they were greeted with driving icy rain at the Boulevard and the result was a uninspiring performance which will have done nothing to assist Brian Noble's preparation for their Challenge Cup opener against Widnes on Sunday.

He most certainly gleaned more about the opposition than he did about his own side with Hull showing some good touches and bags of enthusiasm which the Bulls simply couldn't match.

Big close season recruit Jason Smith showed some superb touches and set up a first-half try for former Leeds winger Gareth Raynor before falling victim to the frozen conditions himself.

Full-back Steve Prescott also impressed with two tries on his return to the club while scrum-half Tony Smith and Paul Cooke grabbed their other tries in a win which never looked in doubt.

By comparison the Bulls offered very little as an attacking force and the nearest they got to scoring came when Lee Radford just failed to get the touchdown after charging down an attempted clearance.

Centre Lee Gilmour also looked lively on occasions but with so many key players missing the Bulls looked woefully short of ideas and too often resorted to the hopeful kick.

Real competitive action is what is needed now and some slightly milder conditions wouldn't go amiss either.

Bulls: Sykes; Lewis, Naylor, Gilmour, Wilkinson; R Paul, Deacon; Vagana, Stanley, McDermott, Parker, Radford, Rigon. Subs: McDowell, Anderson, Fielden, Birchall, Brown, Reardon, Johnson, Myler, Smith.

Hull: Prescott; Smith, Bird, Horne, Raynor; Cook, T Smith; Broadbent, Jackson, King, Felsch, Maiden, J Smith. Subs: Campbell, Carvell, Craven, Crowther, Fletcher, Gene, Last, Parker, Poucher.

Referee: Russell Smith (Castleford)

Attendance: 3,119

Half-time: 12-0

Scorers: Hull tries Prescott (2), Raynor, Cook, T Smith. Goals. Prescott (3)