JOHN Kear believes the Bulls squad can cope with the continuing early-season knockbacks.

They prepare to face Toulouse at Odsal tomorrow with another rejigged half-back pairing.

Jordan Lilley’s one-game suspension, on top of the injury absence of Joe Keyes and Rowan Milnes has left another department of the team fully stretched.

That follows on from the issues in the pack where the Bulls have been short from the start without Ross Peltier and Olly Wilson, but Callum Bustin is back.

READ MORE: Kear's quotes after York defeat

Kear admitted: “As daft as it sounds, we’re in round five and our squad depth has already been tested. It’s unbelievable.

“I expected that to happen after Easter or when we’ve got the 1895 Cup, which is basically a midweek competition.

“I didn’t expect to be tested five weeks into the regular season. But we are and I’m confident that we can handle it.”

Kear maintained before the campaign began that the Bulls would have enough options to cover every position. His conviction has not been shaken as he prepares to shift Matty Wildie across into a pivot role against the French.

He said: “I think our squad depth has already been proved. We’ve won two and lost two but we weren’t given a good hiding in the two defeats.

“We could have won both of them with a bit more good fortune and intelligence.

“We’ll be competitive in every game, no matter who we put out, and that will be the same this week. But obviously we want to be the right side of the scoreboard.”

Toulouse share the same record but arrive at Odsal having won their last two outings. With their cavalier style of play, Kear is anticipating a very different type of contest to the York game.

He added: “They’ve got a really good full-back in Mark Kheirallah, the French international who scored a great try against Australia in the World Cup and is still causing havoc in the games we’ve watched.

“Their main go-to player is Johnathon Ford, who plays predominantly on their left-hand side. They really are a left-side dominated team.

“They are very threatening and on the back of that have got some really tough forwards.

“It is a completely different dynamic to the York game.

“I felt York played quite conservatively. There were a lot of scoots from dummy half and their major tactic was the completion rate.

“They only made about four or five errors all game and it worked out for them.

“Toulouse certainly don’t adopt that strategy. With Toulouse, it’s ‘give us the ball, we’re French, we’ll produce some brilliance and you’ve got to answer it’.

“We’re going to be challenged. But we’re in the Championship so we want to be challenged.”

There will be a poignancy about the Bulls’ first appearance since the death of legendary Bradford Northern coach Peter Fox.

Kear, who worked with Fox in radio commentary, said: “I was with Peter in France at the birth of Super League.

“So, there’s an irony that in the week of Peter’s passing, the club I’m coaching is going to play a French team.”