Bulls coach Brian Noble hailed the character of his side as they won a spine-tingling play-off encounter against St Helens at Knowsley Road to earn a Grand Final rematch against Leeds Rhinos.

Paul Deacon's late drop-goal and Shontayne Hape's double saw the Bulls through 23-18 after Saints had fought back furiously from an early 12-0 deficit.

"It was a tremendous spectacle and a credit to the athleticism of both teams but we feel we can play a lot better," said Noble.

Hape's opener and a fine effort from Paul Johnson saw the Bulls shoot into a handy lead inside ten minutes but they were pegged back and then overhauled by makeshift stand-off Jon Wilkin's hat-trick.

Jamie Langley's blistering solo effort kept the Bulls on terms in the second half but the game was in the balance until Deacon showed incredible composure to slot a one-pointer nine minutes from the end.

"It was a fantastic achievement from a team that has gone 11 on the bounce now," said Noble.

"Now the players are talking about one more. I keep reminding myself that, midway through the season, no-one gave us a price. It just goes to show that when the players put their minds together and stick together what they can achieve.

"I take my hat off to St Helens, they really stuck it to us. But the character of our team was intact. Our win was as much about the character of this team as the quality of their skill."

Saints may have been shorn of a host of game-breakers but that didn't stop the Bulls almost succumbing to a near-fatal case of stage fright against their bogey side.

"We were nervous, you could see that right from the kick-off," admitted Noble.

"We've been there before and lost but this time we've come through the other side.

"We had to do it the tough way. We've done really, really well to get there but it's important we don't put our cue on the rack.

"We are in at practice today and we will need to play a little bit better next week. We are not satisfied. We are still hungry."