THE Bulls will welcome back a leaner and meaner Ross Peltier in the Challenge Cup meeting with Featherstone tomorrow.

The barnstorming forward is set to play his first game for five months after recovering from shoulder surgery.

Peltier has been impatiently watching from the sideline since going under the knife at Christmas. That followed an accident at training when he landed heavily under team-mate Callum Bustin.

READ MORE: Peltier can't wait to get started

Having played a significant role in last season’s promotion from League One, Peltier is eager to make up for lost time.

And captain Steve Crossley is excited to have him back – even if there is less of the Jamaican international than before.

Crossley said: “It will be good to have Pelts back. It will be like having a new signing in the team.

“He can’t wait to get back out there. He’s trying to ramp it up a little bit more in training to get his body ready.

“He’s dropped quite a bit of weight as well so he’s getting himself in shape for it.

“Once he’s back in, I’m sure he’ll be running around like a headless chicken getting used to it again. It will be good to see him.”

Peltier’s return will help to carry the load for the Bulls pack. Crossley is accustomed to long playing shifts and the big men have been putting it plenty of minutes.

Crossley added: “It will be good to have someone else to come and take on the burden.

“There’s still James Green to come back in the forwards as well. There are so many around the team to come back this season, so we feel this season can only get better and better.

“It’s been a very long time for Pelts. It was just a freak accident in training with Callum how he did it.

“He had more or less the same injury that I had at the end of last year but he’s back now.

“We’re getting more players back. Chis (Dane Chisholm) is close to contention as well as Pelts, James Green will be back very soon I’m sure.

“Everybody’s fighting for places again, which is how it should be. Up to now we’ve been having to scrape some parts of the team together and playing people out of position.

“We’ve not played to our full potential but the good thing is that we are still picking up wins.”

John Kear is predicting another tense tussle at Odsal against Fev after the Bulls edged their opening-day Championship clash by a single point.

The Bulls coach said: “I’m expecting a similar type of tight game scoreline-wise, although a different one on account of the conditions.

“I think the processes might be a little different but I’m hoping the outcome is the same – and I’m expecting it to be equally as close.

“They’ll see a better Bradford side and we’ll probably be up against a better Featherstone one."