BULLS hooker Sam Hallas has called for calm heads ahead of their crunch clash with Batley Bulldogs this weekend.

It comes after Bradford’s 25-12 beating to Widnes Vikings on Sunday, a loss which saw them suffer back-to-back defeats for the first time this campaign.

And in losing the fixture, the hosts missed a great chance to leapfrog Batley into third place, who they face at Odsal on Sunday.

Looking ahead to the tie, Hallas reiterated the importance of his side rediscovering their scintillating form, which saw them collect seven consecutive victories prior to the Featherstone defeat.

He said: “It’s going to be a tough game against Batley. Like Widnes, I expect them to be in and around the play-offs come the end of the season.

“It’s a third versus fourth fixture, so it’s vitally important we start picking up these wins again. If we do that, then we can start cementing ourselves into the play-off places, because it is certainly up for grabs at the minute.

“There’s a few teams looking to sneak in, so it’s really important that we beat Batley, but they have been excellent this year.

“They’ve surprised a few teams and have been playing some good stuff as well, so it’s not going to be a foregone conclusion. We will have to bring our A-game, then hopefully we can get back to winning ways.”

Hallas added: “These last two results haven’t changed our mentality. We’ve suffered a couple of losses, but we’ve still won the majority of our games.

“I certainly don’t think it’s crisis time yet. We are still on target for our goals, and every team loses. That’s what just happens in sport, so I don’t think we should hit panic stations just yet.

“We just need to remain calm and go back to what we know.”

A handful of injuries have set Bradford back in recent weeks, including the long-term injury to half-back Danny Brough, who proved to be the key man in the side’s seven game winning streak.

And in the defeat to Widnes, Bulls lacked a cutting edge in the final third as they struggled to break down the away side’s stubborn backline, but the return of Joe Keyes has given Hallas and the rest of the squad something to be optimistic about.

He said: “Brough has proved to be a big loss for us, but I thought Billy (Jowitt) was good for us at the weekend.

“Overall, I just think we were off the boil. The intensity was there, but we were not clinical enough and we missed that cutting edge in the final third.

“And when we did create chances, we just couldn’t get the ball over the line.

“Joe Keyes is coming in for us, which is good news as he’s a quality player. He will add a lot to us.

“With someone like Broughy (Danny Brough) missing from the fold, you’re going to miss him, but I think Keyes is a more than good enough replacement.

“He’s clever, he’s a calming influence and hopefully it will take a bit of pressure off Jordan Lilley.”