How fitting that former Bulls captain Jamie Peacock makes his 100th appearance for Leeds Rhinos in tomorrow night’s game at his old club.
The England skipper needs no introduction to Bradford fans or Grattan Stadium given his trophy-laden spell at Odsal.
He has also never lost there since joining the Bulls’ arch-rivals four years ago but expects a fierce contest this evening as Bradford bid to put their Challenge Cup nightmare to bed.
“They will be desperate after what happened at Catalans,” Peacock admitted.
“I imagine they will be hurting after how that game went. They will see no better thing that putting one over on us as the perfect way to get their season back on track.
“We played well against St Helens in patches and we need to play with that intensity against Bradford.
“A derby game is a great match to play in and a great way for us to pick ourselves up after last week.
“It is always good to go back to Odsal, although I am sure I will cop a few boos.”
Rhinos also suffered a cup exit at the hands of Saints, losing out 22-18, but are keen to keep the pressure on their victors at the top of Super League.
Leeds boss Brian McClennan said: “It is really important for us to have a good performance tomorrow.
“We want to get ourselves back off the canvas and experience the joys of playing sport again.
“We have got a good group of people here and it goes without saying that everyone was bitterly disappointed to lose that Saints game.
“However, we cannot turn back the clock, as much as we may want to at times, and we have to move forward now as a group.
“The one bright spot to come out of the defeat is the chance to have some periods during the season when we can either do extra training or rest players where necessary to make sure we are in the best possible shape come the play-offs.”
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