IT is an open secret at Bulls that they want to lift the 1895 Cup at Wembley in June, so head coach Eamon O'Carroll knows there is no point in trying to hide that fact.
It is a far cry from half-a-decade ago, when in the competition's inaugural year in 2019, John Kear sent out the youngest Bulls side in history for their opener, which came away to Barrow on a Wednesday night.
That second-round tie inevitably ended with the Bulls being knocked out, after a huge 50-6 defeat, though there was at least debut for a young forward called Ebon Scurr, along with nine other first-timers from the academy.
A much, much stronger side will take to the field at Dewsbury on Sunday, as Bulls look to knock the Rams out and set up what would be effectively a last-16 knockout tie against Keighley in the final Group 2 game in just over a fortnight.
On paper, Bradford are one of the favourites to win the competition, but O'Carroll knows a balance needs to be found between that rightful expectation and the side not getting too far ahead of themselves.
He told the T&A: "The first time I met (CEO) Jason Hirst, we set some playing objectives for 2024 and what it would take to achieve those.
"We have looked at the big picture, and where we want to end up eight or nine months down the line, but we also dialled it right back.
"That meant looking at what we wanted to do purely in pre-season, and what the expectations of the individual players and staff, including myself, were.
"With the 1895 Cup, we do want to win it, but we have to take the competition one game at a time.
"We have a tough, tough group stage to try and get through first, and we might re-assess where we're at if or when we get to the quarter-finals."
While Bulls were rounding off their pre-season programme with a 34-8 win over a young Leeds Rhinos side last Sunday, Championship new boys Dewsbury were suffering a humbling 35-6 Group 2 defeat away to League 1 Keighley Cougars.
It leaves the Rams on the brink of elimination from the cup already, with only the seven group winners and the best runner-up making up the last eight.
Asked if he was shocked by what transpired at Cougar Park last weekend, having watched the game on tape during the week, O'Carroll said: "I actually thought both sides looked competitive, and Dewsbury did start well and took the lead.
"I've looked more at us and what we've been doing really, just because it's difficult to see what other teams are doing exactly at this stage of the season.
"That was Dewsbury's first competitive game of the year, so in the meeting at training tonight (Thursday), we will look at their match against Keighley to help us with our preparations for Sunday.
"But we've also got to look at how we did against Leeds, where we've got better over pre-season in matches and where we still need to improve."
O'Carroll told the T&A he would be selecting his team for Dewsbury after Thursday's training session, with that set to be announced publicly today.
Jayden Myers has come through okay after the dead leg he suffered against Leeds and is fully fit, but Billy Jowitt's jarred back still needs assessing before Sunday, while one unnamed player is a slight doubt for the weekend due to illness.
Meanwhile, Bulls have confirmed that their Challenge Cup third round clash with North Wales Crusaders will take place at 3pm on Sunday, February 11.
Whoever wins that encounter will be at home to the Widnes Vikings or Doncaster in round four a fortnight later.
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