SAMIR Tahraoui has vowed to force his way back into Jimmy Lowes' plans after being axed for the Bulls' past four games.

The close-season signing from Whitehaven played in the win at Dewsbury on Easter Monday but has not featured since.

Paul Clough and Adam Sidlow are firmly established as the Bulls' first-choice starting front-rowers and competition for bench spots is intensifying.

Steve Crossley recently arrived from Castleford and Karl Davies stepped up his comeback from a long-term injury with an appearance for Oxford at Newcastle Thunder on Sunday.

Dan Fleming and Epalahame Lauaki were the Bulls' two interchange props in the weekend win over Sheffield but Tahraoui is working hard in training to convince Lowes he is worthy of a recall.

"In my last game against Dewsbury I made a few errors, which personally I feel I shouldn't have made," said Algeria-born Tahraoui.

"I've got to fix up in a few areas, and all the other front-rowers are fit, but hopefully I'll get my chance in the next week or so. When I do, I need to stake a claim to get my place back and keep it.

"I'm fully fit and up for selection. The fact that I've played a few games does give me confidence but I'm my own worst critic. If someone tells me I've had a good game, I will know there are other areas I can improve on for the following week.

"Now we've got a fully fit and healthy squad, Jimmy can chop and chose who he picks each week.

"I think it's going to be difficult to find a settled team but once we do that, we will carry on winning games. It will definitely bring the best out of everyone because every player now has got to fight for a position.

"At the start of the year, there was only three fit front-rowers in myself, Ziggy (Sidlow) and Cloughie. But now there are seven of us, so it's keeping us on our toes and competition brings out the best in players, which can only be a good thing."

If 24-year-old Tahraoui is recalled for the forthcoming weekend's trip to Whitehaven, then it would be apt. He spent last season with the Cumbrian outfit and his performances attracted the attention of Bradford, who handed him a two-year full-time deal.

Tahraoui said: "I enjoyed it up there. It was different but it's a good club with a good bunch of fans, so it made for quite an interesting year. I travelled up to training with Shaun Ainscough, so it was quite an interesting two-hour drive!

"Whitehaven was only a one-year deal and every player wants to go full-time. As soon as my season finished, the opportunity to join Bradford came up and I wanted to take it with both hands.

"We beat them in the first game at home but to play them at Whitehaven will be tough because it's quite a hostile environment up there. But if we stick to our game-plan, we should make an easy day of it."

Meanwhile, the Bulls' home Championship encounter with Featherstone has been rearranged for Wednesday, July 1 with an 8pm kick-off.

The game was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 17 but has been postponed due to Rovers' commitments in the Challenge Cup.

The Bulls have also dismissed speculation linking Jarrod Sammut with a return to Odsal after his partner set tongues wagging by tweeting: “Wonder what the big announcement is at Bulls today?”

The club said there were no current plans to re-sign Sammut, who joined Wakefield at the start of last season but is not part of coach James Webster’s plans and played for London Broncos last weekend.