Bradford Bulls skipper Robbie Paul says the club's Grand Final mission is

still as strong as ever despite Friday night's agonising first-hurdle setback

at St Helens.

The Bulls now face deadly rivals Leeds in a mouth-watering do-or-die clash at Odsal on Saturday night following the Rhinos' 22-14 win over Castleford Tigers.

A bumper crowd in excess of 20,000 is expected as the curtain comes down on life in the old stadium before it is finally redeveloped

Victory for the Bulls would see them visit the losers of Friday night's major semi-final between Wigan and St Helens who clash at the JJB Stadium for a place at Old Trafford.

"Now we are forced into a position where we have to do it and I am confident we will," said the Kiwi scrum half after the 16-11 defeat at Knowsley Road when his side were sunk by Chris Joynt's try with no time remaining on the clock.

"I would say to the fans 'stick with us like you have all season'. We are still not out of this.

"We still have the opportunity to go on to the Grand Final and win it. I don't see any reason why - not even after a big setback like Friday night.

"We showed a lot of spirit against Saints and our defence was great. There are a lot of things we can take out of this game to help us against Leeds."

And he believes the nature of the defeat by Saints and one in similar fashion at Wigan a month ago will make them stronger for what lies ahead.

"I won't point any fingers at anyone other than ourselves. We had the opportunities to stop the ball one more time at the end against Saints but they broke our line and punished us.

"Everyone was tired but there was no excuse for it. If we had been a little more professional we would have completed the job. It is something we need to sort out.

"On a personal level, I am just glad to get a couple of games under my belt. I am looking forward to Saturday which is a massive game for both sides."

Leeds coach Dean Lance will aim to repair chinks in his team's defensive armour before Saturday's clash.

Castleford's right winger Jon Wells twice exposed Leeds' weakness under the high ball by outjumping his opposite number Karl Pratt to score one try and set up another for Barrie-Jon Mather.

Castleford coach Stuart Raper said: ''I believe Pratt is very vulnerable. It was part of our plan to kick to him and we got some success out of it.

"I am sure Bradford, St Helens and Wigan will all have watched that game and Dean Lance will probably have to change something."

Lance admitted: "I am worried. They obviously found a fault in our game and exploited it with two tries.

"We've got to sit down and look at it. We'll have to come up with an answer."

Tickets for the game went on sale at Odsal today.

The ticket office is open until 5.30pm each night this week with late sales on Thursday until 8pm and from 10.30am-2pm on Saturday.

Stand season ticket holders have until noon on Wednesday to reserve their seats.

The match is not all-ticket but with a massive gate in prospect fans are being advised to purchase them in advance.