CHEV Walker believes the Bulls must learn some valuable lessons from last weekend’s Challenge Cup defeat to Hull KR ahead of the promotion-deciding Super Eights.

The club captain was left with mixed emotions from the 50-30 fifth-round loss as Jimmy Lowes’ men led the Super League outfit heading into the final quarter of the match.

Four late tries killed off the Bulls’ spirited challenge and Walker admits they must wise up against top-flight teams in the end-of-season play-offs.

Walker, who enjoyed a fine game at centre against his old club, said: “We showed what we are capable of – but on the flipside, we had a lesson about what we need to get right for the Super Eights.

“We need to fine-tune a few things because you can’t knock our effort or attitude, it’s just the game smartness that we need to work on.

“At times against Hull KR we were trying to play how we had been playing in the Championship.

“If you mess up against better-quality opposition then they punish you, whereas we’ve been getting away with it in the last few weeks.

“We now know that come the middle eights, we will probably have to play a more reserved style of rugby in terms of building field position.

“I don’t think we were a million miles off, we just weren’t smart in certain periods and it cost us.

“We probably need to become a little bit boring and kick long, defend it well and feed off the opposition, rather than letting them feed off our mistakes.

“We know where we went wrong and we need to learn from it.”

The Bulls’ promotion hopes will be decided in the end-of-season play-off lottery.

Walker said: “We can go into the Super Eights with confidence as long as we learn to keep doing the good things and limit the rubbish.

“The sooner we do that, the better we will be. Leigh did that against Salford at the weekend – and credit to them because they know how to win.”