Bradford Bulls prop James Green hopes his side can avoid a repeat of August’s 24-18 defeat to Workington Town on Sunday, as he candidly admitted that emotions got the better of them in that encounter.

Bulls tackle Leon Pryce’s men again in the Betfred League One play-off final, and having lost twice to the Cumbrians already this season, Green knows what needs to be done to avoid that fate again.

He said: “I think when we played Workington at home, emotions got the better of us. We read too much into what they said in the press and we went out there trying to knock the life out of them.

“They’re a big set and us middles tried to show who was toughest and tried to run over them. That’s not the way to do it. I think playing with speed and moving the ball around is what’s required.

“We went away from task last time and gave away some daft penalties in the defeat, me included, so just keeping our heads is going to be the main thing.

“We need to stick to the gameplan and execute it with energy on Sunday.”

Green believes that Bulls should have won the league, so the play-off final is at least a chance to put things right.

He said: “We slipped up because we should have finished top.

“We let Workington get the better of us and we had that hiccup against York but I do believe we’re the best team in this competition.

“We let ourselves down but those 26 rounds mean nothing now. This last week has allowed us to build some confidence and it comes down to showing that on Sunday in the do or die game.”

The prop said another season in League One was not an option for Bulls, and he declared: “All we’ve spoken about is getting up. Anything else is a failure.

“I’ve only been here for a third of the year and it’s my team-mates who’ve gone to the awful away trips in rubbish weather and trained on the cold dark nights.

“They’ve done the hard yards so to see it pay off for them would be fantastic. I want to get this team where it belongs, in a division where we’ll be much happier, with less travelling and stronger competition.”

Green, who joined on loan from Castleford Tigers but has signed a permanent deal for next season, is loving his time at Bradford and said: “It was a no-brainer to extend my contract.

“I’m playing in a decent team, with good facilities, under a coach that I like and with the way that we train, I’ve been able to pursue things away from rugby.

“I actually approached John about getting a couple of days off to pursue a course and he said I should do whatever I need. It’s given me a full life balance.

“Working with these lads has been an absolute pleasure as well and it’s the happiest I’ve been in rugby league for a long time.”