UNTIL last weekend's defeat to Wakefield, winger Jayden Okunbor had scored for Bulls in every game he had played at Odsal.

But he was a shock absentee for Sunday's edgy 36-28 win over York, when many would expect him to be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Head coach Eamon O'Carroll has explained the situation, which presented itself due to the Australian still technically being on the books at Hull FC.

He said: “Jayden’s loan is up so we’re just going through the process of getting a Visa for him and hopefully he’ll be back next week to face Widnes.

“The long-term plan is for him to be here for the rest of the season, but we just had a bit of paperwork to get over the line.

“We feel we’re at the point now and that we can start the Visa process.”

Chester Butler has been missing for the last month with a damaged hamstring and looked set to be a welcome returnee on Sunday, but though he was named in the initial 21-man squad, he did not make the matchday 18.

O'Carroll confessed: “We’re putting lads in the squad who are injured, just so we can name a 21-man squad.

“I don’t like naming a 19 or an 18, so Chester Butler was in ours for York but he wasn’t fit to play.

Bradford Bulls second row Chester Butler has seen his season badly disrupted by injuries, and he is not ready to return yet.Bradford Bulls second row Chester Butler has seen his season badly disrupted by injuries, and he is not ready to return yet. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“Hopefully we’ll have some additions and some bodies back fit soon, so I can start having difficult conversations with the lads, because I’ve not had to have one yet.”

There were nearly some difficult conversations to be had at full-time, as Bulls almost let a 20-point lead slip.

But O'Carroll reflected: "“I think that shows where the group’s come from, because I think we’d have probably blown that in round five or six.

“It’s never nice leaking that many points, certainly in the manner we did, but it’s another page for us.

“We have to learn the lessons from it, and the review will be tough.

“We are going to have be better going into the end of the season, but sometimes you have to win ugly.

“We’ve not been able to do that this year until that game, so I look at us winning this as a positive.”