BULLS centre Ross Oakes has admitted he is feeling more settled than he ever has before at the club, after seeing it all in a tumultuous five years with the first team.

The 24-year-old, who is from Bradford and came through the club's academy, scored his second try of the season in the home win over York last weekend, and is proving a key player on the left hand side.

The Bulls have won six in a row, their elite academy status has been saved, and they are back playing at Odsal, so everything is looking rosy.

And Oakes mused: "I probably feel the most settled I've been yet. When I first broke through, we got liquidated, which meant players left and I was thrown in at the deep end.

"I think in my third season I struggled with injuries and ended up in the reserves after that, so I had to try and get my foot back in the door.

"But now I feel full of confidence."

That will only have been boosted by John Kear after the win over York, where he praised the combination of Oakes, Joe Brown, Danny Brough and Aaron Murphy on the left.

Brown had been playing on the right, but with Miteli Vulikijapani taking that berth, he has switched sides to great effect.

The on-loan Hull man is out of this weekend's game through injury, so Brown could swap wings once again.

Oakes will hope not, and he said: "It's definitely working well on that left edge. Joe has only been on that side for two or three weeks, but he's settled in nicely.

"That first game was a poor day for all of us (against Sheffield) but from then we've started coming together and had some good results, which have given us confidence.

"On a personal level, I feel like I'm getting better each week."

And Oakes got to show that form off in front of nearly 4,000 fans at Odsal last week.

Asked how it felt coming back home to Bradford, Brown said: "It was good, because we've been playing at Dewsbury and had weeks without fans, which makes a massive difference."

A great roar greeted Oakes' try against York, and though that was a nice feeling for him, he said: "My first full season (in 2017) I scored quite a few, but I've not had as many from then on.

"I pride myself more on getting assists and putting in the hard yards for the team anyway.

"Tries are a bonus but contributing in other ways is just as important."

Discussing this afternoon's opponents Newcastle and their rise to the Championship, Oakes said: "They've done a good job.

"We've previewed them this week and I know they've not won many, but their performances are there.

"They're not getting hammered and they won't roll over, but the main thing is that we focus on ourselves."

As for the sight of a team from the North East doing well in the sport, Oakes said: "It's exciting to see how they're growing.

"They just need to gain a bit more experience and they'll only keep on getting better."