McNamara hoping Bulls can cash in

They entertain Leigh Centurions this evening (8pm) looking to reach the quarter-finals and go on to win the famous competition for the first time since 2003.

It would be the perfect send-off for McNamara before he leaves Odsal to take on his role as England coach at the end of the season.

But he said: "It's not so much personally – the Challenge Cup gives everyone a real financial incentive.

"It's important for this club we go as far as we can as achieving a Challenge Cup final success would make things a whole lot easier financially for the people involved the following year.

"For us, there's some importance attached to the competition with that and certainly as a group we see it as an opportunity.

"I think Leigh will be doing the same but if we can get past this stage we're two wins away from making an appearance at Wembley."

Championship high-fliers Leigh – with former Bulls star Robbie Paul rolling back the years – are on a 12-match winning run and are looking to become only the fourth lower-division club to succeed in the cup away against Super League opposition.

McNamara, a beaten finalist with Bradford alongside Paul in 1997, is set to largely retain faith in the side that lost 19-0 to Crusaders at Murrayfield on Saturday.

It was their first loss in seven games and the only enforced change is at scrum-half after Matt Orford failed to shake off a shoulder injury.

Teenager Cain Southernwood, a recent signing from Wakefield, could make his debut although McNamara is more likely to re-jig his half-back combination.