BRADFORD Bulls head coach Eamon O’Carroll admits the club are debating what to do about their current half back situation.

With Lee Gaskell tearing his hamstring in Bulls’ defeat to Wakefield on the opening night of the Betfred Championship season and Tom Holmes still working his way back to full fitness following treatment for cancer, Jordan Lilley is the club’s only recognised first-team half.

Veteran forward John Davies has done a fine job in there as cover over the last few weeks, but he had a poor game in the 25-14 defeat to York on Sunday.

Furthermore, with second-row duo Chester Butler and Zac Fulton both forced off during the match at the LNER Community Stadium, with hip and head injuries respectively, Davies’ presence could be desperately required in the back row when Bradford host Widnes this Sunday at Odsal.

O’Carroll said after the game: “We’ve known that we’d have to cope without Lee and Tom for some period now, so I won’t be using that as an excuse for this defeat.

“John does his job and I thought he did it well, especially given he had to play three positions today, going from the halves, to the middles, then the back row when we lost Chezzy (Butler).

“He’ll always try and nail whatever role he’s in, that’s what he does, and whatever’s happened today doesn’t change anything in terms of trying to look at who we might bring in or who’s coming back into contention for us.

“We’ll keep looking at that, but we won’t react just off the back of this one defeat and simply get the next man available before Widnes.

“We’ve got some good players in this group and Tom Holmes and Gasky are not far off returning, but if we still have to keep looking into the transfer market, we will.

“Nothing’s changed after today’s result in that sense, because we were looking at the market for a half back regardless.”

Repeating the need for calm, O’Carroll insisted there was no need for him to read the riot act when the coaching staff and the players review the York defeat in training this week.

He said: “We won’t do anything differently to what we’ve done after we’ve won a game.

“If you could see our reviews, you’d see we probably only spend about 20 per cent of them looking at what we’ve done well in the game.

“The rest of it is looking at where we want to be better and that’s how you get better as a side each week.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Bulls' win at Featherstone earlier this month felt like something close to perfection, but Eamon O'Carroll insisted there were still plenty of things to analyse and try to improve on from that day.Bulls' win at Featherstone earlier this month felt like something close to perfection, but Eamon O'Carroll insisted there were still plenty of things to analyse and try to improve on from that day. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“It’s important to look at the good things too, because even with today’s game, we can show the players there were elements of what we’re looking for as coaches, but we just didn’t do those for long enough periods of time.

“We probably lacked some connection in our attack today and defensively we were off the high standards we’ve been setting.

“We need to reinforce that with some vision of how we go forward and get back to work.”

While it is far too early to hit the panic button after one poor performance, there were few obvious positives up at York.

One though was the return of Ben Blackmore, the winger back in the side after over two months out with an ankle injury.

He had warmed up for his Bulls return a week earlier, scoring a hat-trick for the club’s dual registration partners Rochdale, in a 68-4 home win over Newcastle in League 1.

Talking about useful it is to have playing for Rochdale as an option for those returning from injury within his squad, O’Carroll said: “It’s a way of getting our lads match fit again but it isn’t just about that.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Ben Blackmore has had a disrupted 2024 so far, with Sunday marking just his second competitive game for Bulls all season.Ben Blackmore has had a disrupted 2024 so far, with Sunday marking just his second competitive game for Bulls all season. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“Playing for Rochdale gives our guys the opportunity to test the water and see where they’re at, just putting them into a different environment than training with us.

“It also shows that we can’t just have people coming straight back into the team if we’re playing well without them.

“People have to earn their spot, Blacky has shown some patience on that front, and he came back and did a decent job today.”