Bradford Bulls today swooped for powerhouse prop Harvey Howard in an attempt to boost their Super League play-off hopes.

The final details of the short-term deal were hammered out last night and the former Leeds and Widnes forward will fly in from Australia tomorrow - his 30th birthday.

Howard will meet his new colleagues at training in the morning and has been named in the squad for Monday's crunch clash with Castleford Tigers at Odsal.

"We have been a bit light in the forwards through injuries and Harvey's signing gives us a significant boost," said coach Matthew Elliott. "He is a high quality player and will be a big plus in our push for a top-five spot."

Howard, who represented England in 1995, has been playing with Wests in Sydney since leaving Headingley in 1996.

He is still contracted with the Aussie club but could become available permanently if the clubs merger with Canterbury goes ahead as expected.

Meanwhile the Bulls will have an eye on the gate as well as the scoreboard at Monday's high noon showdown with the Tigers.

Gates for the last two home games, with Sheffield and Hull, have pulled in 11,000 and the last gate against the Sharks was swelled by a large travelling support.

Last season the Bulls topped the crowd charts with an average of 15,163 and so far the damage hasn't been too bad with an average of 13,800.

But concern is certainly growing and media manager Stuart Duffy said: "We know results and performances have not been good recently but the fans have stuck with us well. We are still in charge of our own destiny and the fans have a very important role to play."

Odsal eyes will be on Headingley tonight when Sheffield will move level on points with the Bulls if they can beat Leeds Rhinos.

Meanwhile former Bradford Northern ace Ellery Hanley was today named as the new boss of St Helens.

Hanley, who also played for Wigan and Leeds and was Britain's most successful skipper before also coaching the national side, has signed a two-year contract.

Hanley said: "I'm excited at the prospect of coaching at such a great club as St Helens. They're one of the major forces in world rugby and I intend to maintain that standard."

St Helens also announced today that captain Chris Joynt and Great Britain team-mate Paul Newlove have signed new three-year contracts.

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