Down but not out. That was the message from the Bulls camp as they were pipped by potential play-off rivals St Helens in a real thriller at Knowsley Road last night.

Saints 33-25 success saw them move five points clear of sixth place Sheffield Eagles and favourites for a home elimination semi-final with the Bulls if the champions can hang on to fifth spot.

Coach Matthew Elliott knows they have a tough battle on their hands to achieve that with testing trips to Halifax - next Sunday - London and Wigan still to come but remained upbeat.

"If we do have to go back to St Helens in the play-offs, so be it. There were still some big plusses tonight with Graeme Bradley having one of his best games of the season and a few other key players starting to come back into form.

"What we need to do is get them all playing well. There were a couple who were a little quiet."

The Bulls led 21-20 as the hour mark approached after recovering from an awful start when Saints stormed into 12-2 and 18-8 leads.

But the turning point came when Jon Scales couldn't hang on to a testing bomb from Saints star man Sean Long and Paul Atcheson pounced for the decisive try.

Long then rubbed salt in the wounds by leaving a flat-footed defence for dead to take his match tally to 17 points.

"It was not like the London and Sheffield defeats when there were problems with attitude and mental preparation. We just need to brush up in a few areas," went on Elliott.

"We allowed Saints too much space in the first half and it took us too long to get our shape in defence after a kick. You can't afford to do that with players like Chris Smith and Sullivan around.

"But it was the sign of a side working hard that we addressed that at half-time.

"But in the end we paid the price for a slow start. We had one last week and got away with it but we did not get out of jail twice. It is something we need to look at closely as a team."

Jubilant Saints boss Shaun McRae said: "I thought the game typified what we are going to see in the play-offs. It was real cut-throat rugby league and if people were not entertained by that they can't be entertained.

"I was disappointed we were not further ahead at half-time but our commitment was excellent."

Asked whether his side had targeted Scales for special attention with the bomb he replied: "YOU can say that if you like but we may have to play them again!"

Meanwhile the Bulls were today starting preparations for the derby clash with the Blue Sox by making a check on prop Tahi Reihana who was forced to retire with an ankle strain.

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