Potter plots Saints mission

Mick Potter said he would be addressing Bradford Bulls' defence as "a matter of urgency" before a trip to St Helens.

The troubled Odsal outfit put aside fresh reports of financial turmoil and a heart attack suffered by centre Adrian Purtell to edge Castleford 46-32 on Bank Holiday Monday thanks to a Shaun Ainscough hat-trick of tries. The win moved Bradford back above local rivals and defending champions Leeds Rhinos in the play-off places, although Brian McDermott's men have a game in hand on the majority of their rivals. Potter said he was satisfied with the enterprise shown by his players but acknowledged they would have to tighten up to keep Saints at bay in four days' time. He said: "I was happy with our first-half performance although I probably wasn't happy with some of the defensive things we did. "That needs to be addressed with a matter of urgency, although we haven't got much time given that we have the St Helens game on Friday." He added: "There are some things to address and we are coming up against a team (St Helens) who can play a lot of rugby and can put a lot of points on you."