Bradford Bulls prop Stuart Fielden today praised referee Steve Ganson for having the courage to rule on what he saw last Friday night.

The St Helens whistler sent off Fielden's fellow Great Britain prop Barrie McDermott for punching in the 31st minute at Valley Parade in a contest Leeds Rhinos lost 46-18.

The 22-year-old Bulls prop, who is often seen as the guilty party rather than the victim, said: "Before the incident I was caught around the face, and there was a nice head-butt in there as well, and I said to the referee 'I cannot take this much more. I am going to have to do something'.

"And he said 'Leave it to me', so I did, and it happened again, we had a bit of a scrap and Barrie got sent off.

"Also Ryan Bailey gave me a nice uppercut, and Ganson said 'Try and keep your head', and I tried to."

Fielden added: "It was good to see a referee in general, rather than just about my incident - whether he was wrong or right - putting his foot down and making a decision.

"It isn't my job to say whether he was wrong or right - that's not my place - all I am saying is it is good to see a referee rule on what he had seen. That is great to see and we need a lot more of it."

As for what happened when McDermott was sent off, Fielden said: "He caught me high around the head and I carried on and he then threw the first punch.

"Then we had a scrap, and while that was going on one of the Leeds players (Bailey) has given me a nice uppercut while I was being held.

"It wasn't Barrie that did that. He knows who he is and any decent man out there would agree that that is cowardice."

As for the difficult situation Fielden often finds himself on the pitch, he said: "Retaliation is looked upon in the Rugby Football League's book as being as bad as the first sin, but you do need to stand up for yourself.

"Maybe I need to look after myself a bit more because it is becoming a bit of a joke."

Looking towards today's disciplinary hearing for McDermott, Fielden said: "What excuse are they going to come up with this time for hitting me around the head?

"Usually it is 'He went with his head high' or 'He went with his knees', but there was none of that here, so maybe it will be another excuse like 'He has shrunk a foot' and I am now 5ft 3in!"

Fielden didn't think the dismissal had any bearing on the result.

He said: "We were in control before Barrie's sending-off, but gave away a very soft try after it.

"Overall, we were the dominant team by far, and it was the best we have played since the Wigan game away on March 1.

"We can take heart from that, and take it into our tough away game at Halifax on Friday.

"It is great to see that we are finally putting it together because, in my opinion, apart from Wigan we have been poor all season."

Looking at the Super League table, Fielden said: "It is great that we are two points ahead, and maybe our points difference means it is three, but we need to start concentrating and putting in more performances like this.

"If we carry on playing like that then you should see us in the Grand Final - we would have a great chance anyway."