JOHN Kear believes the Bulls young guns are showing him they can cope with the Championship.

Matty Storton, Olly Wilson and Alix Stephenson all impressed the coach in Sunday’s Yorkshire Cup win over Halifax.

That has convinced Kear they have the ability to flourish in the forthcoming campaign.

He said: “I spoke to Olly and Matty about the speed and intensity of the game afterwards.

“Olly came up with an error with his first carry. I think he was a little shocked.

“He may have played against the Australian Schoolboys but he hasn’t faced the Halifax team who are top-four in the Championship.

“That was a hell of a collision and the ball came free. He came out with a thumb injury but carried on after that and really gave a great performance.

“That’s pleasing for me in that his head didn’t go down. He kept playing and was confident in himself that he’s at that level.”

Stephenson played the full game in the 26-16 victory while Storton is the only member of the squad to have started both friendlies so far.

With the February 3 curtain raiser against Featherstone just over three weeks away, Kear can sense the excitement building around Odsal.

But he also stressed the Halifax trial clash was a taster of the intensity the Bulls will encounter every week.

“I thought the York game was tough and competitive and Sunday was similarly so,” he added.

“If you don’t bring your A game in the Championship, you’ll get beaten. That’s the top and bottom of it.

“How you manufacture your A game is dependent upon whether the players buy into the long-term vision, which they have, and also by keeping them competitive.

“They are looking over their shoulder and thinking ‘hey, there’s another centre or winger after my spot’. I think we’ve got that this year.

“That makes my job pretty easy because they’ll know there’s somebody snapping at their heels ready to take their place if they can.

“There is an air of positivity at the club. To see so many on the terrace for what was essentially a trial game was great.

“It does indicate the potential within this club. There is an air of excitement and this has whetted my appetite even more.”