The Bulls are down but not out, insists skipper Jamie Peacock.

Monday's narrow loss at St Helens meant the club emerged with nothing to show from their Easter endeavours and are now languishing in sixth place. But Peacock believes his side will bounce back for Sunday's fourth-round Powergen Challenge Cup tie at Featherstone.

"Everyone was particularly down on Monday," admitted Peacock, pictured.

"They were really quiet in the changing rooms afterwards and on the trip home. When you put that much effort in and come away with nothing it is particularly disappointing. But we will bounce back, we are not going to sulk."

Too many errors early in the tackle count once again proved the Bulls' undoing against a Saints side there for the taking at Knowsley Road, said Peacock.

"It was one we should have won but once again there were too many mistakes right from kick-offs. It was stupid stuff. A team like St Helens love to play in your half so we really shot ourselves in the foot. It wasn't a total disaster but to put in quite a bit of effort and to come out with nothing is a bit disappointing."

As for Paul Deacon's bizarre late field goal that closed the gap to 28-27 with just five minutes remaining, Peacock is starting to see the funny side.

"He's supposed to be good at maths, Deacs, so I wasn't sure what he was up to there. But if he'd got another drop goal it would have ended up being a smart play. If he'd got that second one we would have taken a point out of the game, which would have been fair.

"We are not far off. There is still some way to go but to win these big games there is quite a bit more needed from us. We are improving, we are playing a lot better than we did at the start of the season. If we can cut out a few more mistakes then we will be right in there.

"There are a lot of people playing okay at the moment but we are missing a little bit of strike power. We have four international backs out and that does make a difference when we get into the opposition's half of the field. At the moment there is a lot of effort but not as much quality as we would like."

Featherstone have an impressive five-win three-loss record against Bradford in the cup and Peacock knows there will be no room for self pity on Sunday.

"It will be their biggest game of the year and if we don't prepare well mentally it will be a difficult time for us."