Chris Nero believes the Bulls must replicate Warrington’s own safety-first mantra if they are going to beat the Wolves on Sunday.
The Aussie centre saw signs of a Bradford revival when they picked up their first win in three games against Wakefield last week.
But he admits they have to up their game again to beat Warrington, who have thrown off their ‘fancy-dans’ tag under new coach Tony Smith to win seven from their last eight matches.
Nero admitted: “They are playing well. I saw them against Hull a few weeks ago and they just stuck to their game plan, completing sets and got the ball down the other end, which is a little bit unlike Warrington.
“That makes then ever harder to play. In the past, they’ve been a pretty good footballing side without maybe being able to stick in the arm wrestle but now they’re doing that and are a tough side to beat.”
Nero feels his side have to tighten up and improve their ball control if they are going to have a chance of toppling the Wolves at Halliwell Jones Stadium.
“There were a lot of positives versus Wakefield but still a sense we have plenty to work on,” he said.
“We started like a house on fire but then went a little bit away from what we were doing well. We tried to play a little too expansive and throw the ball out without going forward first.
“At times we got a little carried away. With the team playing well, we wanted to put our foot down and really go expansive. That’s good as it’s a sign of confidence but sometimes we needed to just stick to the plan.
“We were earning our points, making good runs and good yards while defending well and not letting Wakefield come off the line.
“But it doesn’t matter how good your defence is, if you give the ball away at the wrong end of the field, teams are going to hurt you.
“We did that a few times against Wakey, so we just need to keep finishing our sets on Sunday.”
Nero, 28, hit some terrific form against the Wildcats, doubling his try tally for the season with a well-taken brace.
He had not scored in Super League since the opening day and his only other effort was in the Challenge Cup in Perpignan more than two months ago.
But the shoulder injury that has thwarted him recently looks to have finally gone and Nero said: “I felt I started the season okay before doing my shoulder. I just want to get back to playing like that.
“The shoulder wasn’t great against Salford but it’s just been a case of getting used to how it’s going to be feeling and used to the pain.
“There’s not much I can do now until I get it sorted at the end of the season but I am a bit more comfortable with it and that showed versus Wakey.
“It was good mainly to get the win more than anything else but it’s always enjoyable if you can get over for a couple of tries too.”
Nero is set to be partnered by Steve Menzies at centre after Paul Sykes pulled a hamstring in training and could be out for two weeks.
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