Bradford Bulls forward wants side to learn from Featherstone

Bradford are guaranteed to finish third in the Betfred Championship but they will be underdogs in the play-offs, with Wakefield and Toulouse widely expected to be the two Grand Finalists.

Back in 2019, Davies was part of the Fev side that finished fifth in the second tier, pipping Bulls to the play-offs by one point.

But Rovers produced three sensational away wins over Leigh, York and Toulouse, who came fourth, third and second respectively, to book a shock Grand Final berth.

In that Million Pound Game, they faced runaway league leaders Toronto in Canada, and took a shock early lead, finding themselves 6-4 in front at the break.

In the second half, the Wolfpack roared back to claim a 24-6 win and a spot in Super League for 2020, as part-time Rovers just missed out on producing one of the biggest shocks in rugby league history.

Asked if his previous play-off experiences will help Bulls next month, Davies said: “It’s just having that mentality of not chasing games.

“It sticks out to me what we did at Featherstone in 2019, because we only just finished fifth, so it meant playing all our play-off games on the road and we had a bit of a siege mentality for those.”

Toronto and Featherstone line up for the 2019 Million Pound Game, with the latter arriving there after three straight away wins in the play-offs. (Image: Vaughn Ridley/SWpix.com)

Davies was up front about Bulls lacking patience, and how that needs eradicating.

He said: “Quite a few of our games this year, you could accuse us of chasing points, and whenever we have a good ball threat, we’re always forcing it too much in trying to score.

“That stood out in the Halifax defeat last weekend, we were either making errors or giving them seven-tackle sets.

“Sometimes, in those big matches, you just have to try and turn the ball over in the opposition’s corner and grind them out of the game.

“I thought our defending in the middle last Sunday, especially in the first half, was really good, as we restricted Halifax’s metres.

“If we can carry that on going forward, you put pressure on teams to try and deal with it.

“The longer that goes on in a game, you’re slowly waiting for your opponents to make mistakes, so it’s just about us showing more patience in our game.”

And Davies believes Bulls can put that into practice this Sunday, as they host a desperate Swinton side.

The Lions know a win for them, coupled with defeat for Barrow against Widnes, will guarantee their survival.

Davies said: “We want to master that patience this week against Swinton.

“They’re trying to survive, so it’ll be their biggest game of the season.

“But it’s a big one for us too, as ultimately you need to go into the play-offs carrying some form over.”

Bulls will not want to go into that top-six shootout off the back of two straight defeats, and discussing the mood in the Bulls camp after that surprise slip up against Halifax, Davies said: “We did make it hard for ourselves.

Franklin Pele was one of a number of Bulls players to blow a great scoring opportunity at Halifax last Sunday. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“But Halifax were up for it and it was a really intense game, which is what you’ll come up against in the play-offs.

“We’ve been on a decent run though, as we’d won four out of five prior to Halifax.

“We’re in a good place, it’s not doom and gloom, as we’ve secured third place and we’re the highest finishing part-time team this year.

“There’s a lot to celebrate there, but obviously there are still a few little things we need to work on.”