FOR most players, the end of the 2008 season cannot come quickly enough.

As a miserable English summer fades into a chill, damp autumn, the prospect of several weeks' rest and recuperation beneath blue skies on a sun-kissed distant beach has never looked more appealing for the young men whose bodies have been bruised and battered for eight punishing months.

But not for Paul Deacon.

While other players' wives and girlfriends head for Thomas Cooke or log on to expedia, the Bradford Bulls captain has told his partner not to make any plans between now and Christmas because he has unfinished business.

If results do not go their way this weekend the Bulls could end the season in sixth place, their lowest finish in the Super League era and a scenario which is due in no small part to their
scrum-half's injury woes.

A nagging hamstring problem has forced Deacon to sit out 11 of Bradford's 29 matches this season. The Bulls have won just three of the 11 he has missed, a statistic which perfectly illustrates his importance to a team who have shown encouraging signs of revival since he returned to action last month.

With Deacon steering them around the field, Bradford proved more than a match for Hull and Hull KR to prompt coach Steve McNamara to put the 29-year-old forward as a contender for England selection for the World Cup.

Deacon insists a trip to Australia is not on his radar – for now at least – but feels he is in better condition than he has been for several years and knows he has a golden opportunity to put down a marker in the coming weeks.

"I'm feeling fresh and don't have many aches or pains which is unusual for this time of year," said Deacon. "I've missed more games this year than in any other season in my career. The worst time before this season was the end of last year and that was a hamstring problem as well, although on my other leg."

Just as Deacon has no doubts about the longevity left in his legs, he is convinced there is more to come from the Bulls in 2008, a year which has also seen them lose the likes of Glenn Morrison, Sam Burgess and Tame Tupou to season-ending injuries.

Victory at Castleford allied to defeats for Wigan and Warrington could see Bradford climb to the dizzy heights of fourth place but even if they stay where they are, Deacon warns it would be unwise to take his team lightly.

"We're just concentrating on ourselves this weekend," he said. "It's a big game for us at Castleford, they'll want to end their season on a high and we can't allow ourselves to be distracted by what may or may not be happening elsewhere.

"All we can do is win as well as we can and hope that's enough.

"I think we can be a force in the play-offs, definitely. We have had some continuity in our last three matches and that's been reflected in some decent performances.

"We have to keep it going and build on the momentum we've got. Once you get on a roll anything can happen – that's as true over the course of a season as it is during a game.

"We haven't been able to build much momentum this year because injuries and people leaving the club have been very disruptive. It's hard to keep going forward when you can't field the same team from one week to the next.

"We've started getting players back – and keeping them fit – at the right time."

Deacon concedes that 2008 has been the toughest period since he joined Bradford as a
teenager in 1997, but is optimistic about the club's prospects in both the short and long term.

With a rich crop of junior talent poised to break through into the first team and some exciting new signings taking place, including Nick Scruton, the 23-year-old Leeds Rhinos prop who yesterday agreed a three-year deal, Deacon insists the club's supporters can look forward with confidence.

"It's been hard for the fans, they've had a lot of success down the years and we have gone into a period of transition," he said. "A lot of new players have come in and a lot of familiar faces have left.

"It's very much a new team and it's going to take time for Steve to stamp his authority on the side. Success doesn't happen overnight and I think most of the fans realise that and are prepared to bear with us.

"Other clubs would have caved in faced with what we've had to deal with, but we dug in and have come through a lot of adversity to be where we are now.

"Bradford have often been at their best in times of adversity and I'd like to think we have a lot more games in front of us before our season comes to an end."

St Helens, Leeds and the three other clubs above them have been warned.