JOHN Kear’s Bradford Bulls side are down to the bare bones for tomorrow’s Championship clash with Halifax, but crucial half Jordan Lilley could return.

Versatile forward Jordan Baldwinson has come in from York on a week's loan too, a real boost for the big West Yorkshire derby.

Discussing team news, Kear said: “We’ve only got 20 players to choose from.

“Joe Keyes is missing with the head injury he picked up against Featherstone, Dan Fleming has a knee problem and Ben Evans has been pinged so he has to isolate.

“Tom Doyle and Aaron Murphy should be fine to return though, and we’ve got two players having late fitness tests, one of whom is Jordan Lilley.

“Matty Dawson-Jones is back doing straight line running, and will probably be available within the next four weeks.”

Despite Bulls’ ongoing injury problems, Kear is still relishing the prospect of taking on in-form Halifax, saying: “It’s third against fourth, a West Yorkshire derby, and the fans are allowed in.

“Everything you require for a big game is all there, so we’ve just got to make sure we turn up and give it our all.

“I believe it’s too far in the past to take inspiration from the win over them in April. We’ve had a seven-game winning run since, they’re on a similar one now, and we’ve seen changes in personnel.

“That’s especially true at our end, with suspensions, injuries and Covid issues.”

Bulls have been worst affected in the halves, and some are surprised to see young prospect Matty Race has been left out on loan at North Wales Crusaders.

But Kear explained: “I think it’s too soon for Matty to be playing in the first team. He’d gone 500 days without a game for us, so to put him into a West Yorkshire derby, third against fourth, wouldn’t have been fair.

“He needs more game time with North Wales and we’ll monitor how he’s going over the next few weeks.

“By then, we hope to have Jordan, Joe and Danny Brough fighting it out for spots, which would please me very much.”

Cameron Berry has just joined Race and Ethan O’Hanlon on loan at North Wales, and Kear said: “Anthony Murray is a good coach down there and they’re a club with good values.

“We hope our boys will develop at the club and hopefully help them to get some good results.”

An RFL remodelling and structures meeting took place yesterday, though there was nothing major to report from that initial consultation.

Championship and League One clubs were not told what their central funding payments for 2022 would be either, after delays in talks with the Super League realignment back to the RFL.

That is a source of frustration for Kear, who said: “How can you prepare for next year if you don’t know your income streams?

“We’ve calculated what we know from our other sources of income, but you need to know what you’re getting from your governing body too

“It’s up in the air for us in the Championship, which is frustrating, so I hope it’s sorted soon.”

JOHN KEAR'S 20-MAN SQUAD FOR HALIFAX:

Jordan Baldwinson

Joe Brown

Joe Burton

Steve Crossley

Thomas Doyle

Brad England

Rhys Evans

George Flanagan

David Foggin-Johnston

Brad Gallagher

Sam Hallas

Reece Hamlett

Jordan Lilley

Aaron Murphy

Ross Oakes

Brandon Pickersgill

Adam Rooks

Jack Sanderson

Ebon Scurr

Ant Walker