Cup ace may miss final!

The Aussie was having X-rays on a damaged hand and coach Brian Noble admitted his appearance in the final hangs in the balance.

"He is worried about it, and so am I," said Noble. "He managed to battle through the last five minutes after sustaining the injury.

"But at this stage we don't really know the extent of it beyond the fact that he is going for an X-ray on a possible hand fracture. He might be out for a week, it might be six," he confessed.

Withers notched two tries in the Bulls final win over Leeds Rhinos last season and has now scored in eight successive cup ties.

Worries over his availability for the April 28 showdown with the Saints overshadowed the Bulls' 24-6 victory over London Broncos at Valley Parade which maintained their 100 per cent start to the season.

Noble was happy with the victory which left London still looking for their first league win.

He said: "I thought we were the better side by a long way in the first half and I was delighted that we were able to restrict a quality team to only six points.

"We played some good stuff again and we really knuckled down defensively when things started to go against us. We just got on with the game which was the pleasing aspect."

London coach Tony Rae praised his side for a gutsy display after the break and felt that things were starting to go their way.

"I thought our defensive effort in the second half was outstanding, especially with Shane Millard in the sin-bin," said Rae.

"There is a good spirit in the camp. We are gradually coming together."

Meanwhile Noble and his squad were today beginning preparations for a hectic Easter schedule which features a visit to Wakefield on Thursday night followed by a high noon showdown with Wigan at Valley Parade on Easter Monday.

Winger Tevita Vaikona (ankle) and Aussie back-rower Daniel Gartner (arm) may both be back in contention for the trip to Belle Vue.