Wayne Godwin believes the Bulls must fight fire with fire if they are to stand any chance of victory against Catalans Dragons tomorrow.
Faced by a physical Catalans side fresh from their win against second-placed Warrington, the experienced rake knows surrendering early points and possession would prove deadly.
Slow starts have proved devastating during a ten-game losing streak, Brad-ford conceding at least the first two tries on seven occasions during that run.
They gave Hull KR a 16-0 head-start before starting to play at Craven Park last week and only by going toe-to-toe with the Dragons’ powerful pack can Godwin see the cycle being broken.
He said: “Starts of games we’re giving a lot of quick-fire tries away and a lot of long-rangers and that’s coming down to individual blips in our game – whether it’s that missed tackle or that wrong read at the wrong time. We’re giving the lead away and chasing the game from the off.
“Catalans play with plenty of push, energy, enthusiasm and they’re a big set, so hopefully we can take them on rather than going 16 or 20 points down.
“We need to attack them and cut those errors out. It’s about preparing mentally and physically as an individual so that we don’t make those lapses.
“We’re coming back in games and scoring some good tries but we’re giving ourselves too much to do.”
Although Godwin has urged unity ahead of tomorrow’s encounter at Odsal, he stressed it was up to each individual to get themselves fired up for the game.
The 28-year-old has been faced by serious adversity in the past – as a member of the relegated Castleford side in 2004 and the Wigan team that flirted with the drop two years later – and insists an ‘any means necessary’ approach is the only way to get back on track.
He said: “We need to play with energy and enthusiasm. Whatever motivates you as an individual, you have to find that. Whatever you need to do this week, do it to make sure we get that result to get smiles back on faces.
“I know it sounds daft but that one win will do that. I’ve been in positions like this before at Cas and Wigan where we had tough spells and that win does change stuff.”
However faint the Bulls’ play-off hopes, Godwin is determined to continue looking up. Currently three points off the pace, Bradford likely need three wins from their remaining four games to stand a chance of cracking the top eight.
He said: “You can’t just be negative all the time. We do have to try and be positive even though we’re doing a lot of stuff wrong because we’re not getting the results and teams are scoring tries on us.
“It is tough at the minute but we have to keep fighting. Nobody here is going to throw the towel in as long as we’ve got any kind of chance. Hopefully we can get that win and that win can change things.”
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