THE Bulls will not appeal the Dec Patton verdict – even if that rules him out for the season.

Patton is set to find out tonight whether he is judged to be guilty of gouging during the Summer Bash loss to Halifax 10 days ago.

The charge by the RFL’s Match Review Panel carries a maximum ban of eight games – banishing the half back from the final month of the Championship campaign.

But coach Mark Dunning insists they will respect the tribunal’s decision whatever the outcome.

He said: “I’m personally not going to appeal or challenge anything. That’s up to Dec.

“I’m not going to condone the actions. Dec’s going to have to explain to the tribunal what his intentions were and we’ll let that take care of itself.”

Patton’s absence would leave the Bulls with a major hole in the halves for their remaining five matches. Dunning confirmed that Jordan Lilley’s ankle injury will keep him out.

“We won’t see Jordan Lilley this year,” he admitted. “We’re doing it tough, we’ve actually no senior half backs should Dec get suspended.

“But it’s the cards we’ve been dealt and we’ll work hard with what we’ve got.”

Myles Lawford made his debut on Sunday and is set for a run of games now. Dunning is also eyeing potential dual-reg assistance from Leeds or could look to move Elliot Kear.

The Bulls have just under a week until the TV trip to York but the mood has been lifted by the 48-18 win over Workington - ending a run of five straight defeats.

Dunning added: “It’s a good foundation to build on. We’ve been desperate to break the rut we’ve been in.

“I’m by no means going to paper over the cracks and say everything’s perfect. We saw in the first half we’ve still got things to work on.”