James Lowes is hoping to silence the Headingley boo boys and maintain his impressive record against the Leeds Rhinos in tomorrow's crunch Super League derby.

The Bulls hooker has run the gauntlet of the vociferous south stand crowd since he turned his back on his hometown club to join their deadly rivals in March 1996.

"It is a special game for me and I always like to do well there," insisted last year's Super League Player of the Year and Man of Steel. I haven't been on the losing side there since I left and I don't intend to start now."

But he accepts the Bulls face the stiffest task yet if they are to help him achieve his goal as the Rhinos put their 100 per cent home record on the line.

"Leeds will be very difficult opponents for us and we will have to be at our very best to beat them. But we showed a lot more spirit last week and I know that we will be up for the game.

"They are full of confidence and I suppose that we won't be going into the game as favourites but we are capable of winning.

"There aren't too many players left from my time at Leeds and they have a new coach in Graham Murray but it is still the club I want to win against more than any other.

"We need the points to stay in the top five and hopefully get into the top three so we know what we have to do and there is no where that I would like to do it more than at Headingley."

Rhinos officials are expecting a crowd of between 16,000-18,000 but Danny Reuben of the media office said: "We would love to beat the 19,000 that the match attracted at Odsal earlier this season. It is always a special game and it won't be any different tomorrow," he said.

Leeds coach Graham Murray has provisionally named the same side that won at Warrington last week although he could be tempted to start with prop Barrie McDermott who scored after coming off the bench at Wilderspool.

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