Bradford Bulls were anxiously awaiting medical reports today after fears that Aussie centre Danny Peacock had suffered a recurrence of the knee ligament injury which threatened his career 12 months ago.

The popular centre, who played a key role in the side's 1997 Super League title success, was carried off on a stretcher after falling awkwardly as he attempted a tackle in yesterday 18-18 draw at Castleford.

Later he hobbled away from Wheldon Road on crutches prior to a full assessment but an obviously concerned coach Matthew Elliott admitted: "It is not looking great. I don't want to say too much at this stage. I just hope we may be proved wrong."

Peacock, 31, had astonished doctors with the speed of his recovery after severely damaging the same right knee against London Broncos last May.

After complex reconstruction surgery lasting over three hours he worked his way back to fitness and returned to senior action in the Challenge Cup fifth round tie at Wakefield in February.

He has missed just one game since then but if early fears are confirmed it could spell the end of his career.

Meanwhile Elliott has launched a stinging attack on Lee Harland following the dismissal of Bulls prop Paul Anderson for alleged use of the forearm on the Tigers forward.

"I thought the sending-off was a little bit of over-reaction," said Elliott. "The bloke that got hit laid on the ground when he wasn't hurt. It makes me sick. Rugby league players shouldn't do that. It should be an unwritten rule among all players, it is among my players".

The Bulls, who had led for most of the game, had just gone 18-16 behind when they were reduced to 12 men, but loose forward Steve McNamara rescued a point with a fifth successful kick at goal three minutes from the end.

Tigers coach Stuart Raper was also critical of referee Steve Ganson. "I'm left scratching my head about some of the decisions," he said.

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