Kingstone Press Championship preview: Featherstone Rovers v Bradford Bulls

Featherstone Rovers coach Andy Hay was pleased with his side’s win at Doncaster last week, particularly as they struggled against them last season.

“They made it very tough,” he said. “It was a great performance by us, especially in defence.”

Rovers face another tough test on Sunday against Bradford Bulls: “If you looked at the fixtures at the beginning of the year, everyone was talking about Leigh and Bradford,” said Hay. “It’s going to be one big game, especially with it being a west Yorkshire derby.

“We know what to expect from Bradford, they’ve had a great off season and will have prepared well. They’ve got a taste of the Championship now and will be looking to spoil our first home game.”

Jack Bussey and Ian Hardman are both back in training and available for selection.

James Lowes, the Bradford coach, admitted his side put in an unconvincing first half performance against Whitehaven last week: “We were very poor and we said so at half-time. I didn’t have to give them a roasting. We carried the ball a lot stronger in the second half,” he said.

He acknowledged that his team will have to carry that second half performance into this week’s game.

Lowes will be without Danny Williams and Harry Siejka, both suspended following incidents in the match against Leigh.