The Bulls will not be pounded into submission.

After watching his side come back from a 20-0 deficit to defeat Super League leaders Wigan last week, Steve McNamara is confident his side can now take the knocks.

Mental toughness has played its part but physical condition too has been vital.

McNamara believes his players are in better shape than ever and credits the Bulls’ fitness staff for honing their powers of recovery.

Australian Geoff Evans was appointed head of physical performance in the summer and his methods, which include heavy application of sports science, already seem to be reaping rewards.

McNamara said: “We’ve worked extremely hard on our fitness. I’ve got to give real credit for the way our players have been looked after, conditioned, rested, recovered and all the bits that go with it.

“To take the pounding we did in that first half, to be able to get back up off the ropes and recover is great work from Geoff Evans, (physio) Martin Higgins and the rest of the staff.”

Preparation has also paid off on the injury front.

McNamara said: “You do need an element of luck with injuries. We don’t want to count our chickens too early but the work we’ve done on making the players fit and strong, coupled with good fortune, is very good for us.

“We’ll probably have Rikki Sheriffe back this week and we’ve picked up no new injuries. Michael Platt looks like he’ll play reserve grade.

“Danny Sculthorpe is one we have to be careful with. He’s had a tricky operation and he needs to be looked after.

“I’m very confident in the staff looking after him and making sure he doesn’t rush himself back.

“It’s frustrating for us and the player but I’m still very pleased we’ve got him in our organisation because I think he’ll be very good for us in the future.”

On the back of three straight wins, McNamara’s side travel to second-placed Warrington tomorrow (5.30pm) – a club with an embarrassment of riches in their playing squad.

McNamara said: “They are packed with extremely good players. They’ve got some real financial clout behind them from the owner and they’ve got all the ingredients in place to do well and they’ve started in that fashion.

“But the game’s not played on paper and I’m very happy with the group we’ve got. We need to keep improving. We’re not getting too carried away.

“The drama of last week’s game was good for everyone but there were areas of quality there where we were down.

“Hopefully we’ll go there and perform a whole lot better for the full 80 minutes this week.”