BRADFORD Bulls winger Joe Brown claims he and his side are raring to go ahead of this weekend's crunch clash with Featherstone.

The Bulls have already faced Fev on two occasions in this campaign, however they were beaten comfortably on both occasions.

Loss number one came in March when the Bradford side travelled to The Millennium Stadium in the Challenge cup and were beaten 41-16.

However, it was the second defeat in June which caused the most concern as the Bulls were put to the sword and beaten 44-0.

It was at a time where Bradford had gone on a seven-game winning run and optimism was building.

But after the game, John Kear labelled the performance as the worst of the campaign, and since then Featherstone have continued their electrifying form by winning all 12 league games.

Bulls are back on the up - winning their previous two fixtures against Batley and Oldham - and after a two-week break, they are preparing to take on another huge test this weekend.

Brown said: "We have tried to put those two losses against Featherstone to bed now. They're in the past and we would like to build on what we've already done this year.

"Fev are a really good team and a team full of energy, so it's vital that we match their levels and put on a performance for our fans.

"Other than their energy levels, Featherstone have many qualities throughout their side. They've got a very strong spine and the players that play through the middle are brilliant at driving them forward.

"We have to match them in every department if we are going to get anything from the game this weekend.

"But it's a play-off clash- 1st v 3rd so it's a game that we are really looking forward to."

After 'Freedom Day' came into fruition on July 19 it now means that stadiums can be full to the brim with supporters again.

Bulls will host Featherstone on this occasion- after playing them twice away from home and Brown emphasised the importance of playing in front of home supporters in such a big game.

He said: "Playing in front of a home crowd is massive for a game like this, especially since the restrictions have been lifted on how many spectators can attend.

"We've really enjoyed being back at Odsal. It's given us a massive boost being back there and hopefully the crowd can give us that extra push at the weekend.

"Going away to Featherstone is a really tough challenge and it offers many difficulties, so now we've got the home advantage-hopefully we can capitalize on that."

Reflecting on the previous meetings, Brown pointed towards his side being more ruthless in the forward areas and insisted they may need to be more composed this weekend.

He said: "Based on the previous fixtures, I think we will need to execute our game plan better this weekend and when we get the chances- be more clinical. If we do that, I'm confident we can win."