ELLIOT Minchella has appealed to Bulls fans to help make Dewsbury's Tetley's Stadium feel like home when they move next season.

The forward was impressed with the backing Bradford received in their victory at the Rams last Sunday - and hopes that atmosphere will become the norm when they play there on a regular basis during their exile from the city.

A healthy contingent of Bulls fans made up the 2,285 attendance and certainly made themselves heard, which encouraged Minchella.

Asked if he thought the majority of supporters would travel to Dewsbury - Bradford's agreed home for the next two seasons pending RFL approval - he said: "I hope so because we need them.

"I’m a supporter of this club and if I wasn’t playing for them I would still support them, so we need the fans to come and get down in their numbers and really buy into it.

"Hopefully it’s temporary that we are there. We’ll do our job on the pitch but we do need the fans to come and support us off the field and make it feel like a home away from home.

"They did that last Sunday and if that’s what it's going to be like next year then it will be something to look forward to."

Bulls will be providing subsidised transport to their new venue, where the highest crowd of 4,068 was set on a visit by Bradford back in April 2015.

But Minchella, who was among the try-scorers in last week's 34-10 win, admits the challenge of playing away from Odsal will not be easy.

He said: "It’s going to be different and tough. It’s a different pitch which is smaller than Odsal and a bit windier.

"Obviously our job is to adapt to that and make sure we keep winning. That’s our job as players and the coaching staff to help us with that. We’ve got to deal with the cards we’ve been dealt and do our job."

Minchella was delighted by the character shown by the players on the pitch to keep their play-off hopes alive despite the shockwaves taking place off it.

He said: "It's been difficult as everyone’s got that emotional connection with the place and that’s our home. We’ve been dealing with that but also trying to keep our minds on the rugby.

"We showed some spirit and got the job done and we’ve got the week off which was well needed after the year we’ve had."

As one of a number of Bradford-born players in the squad, the Odsal exit hit Minchella particularly hard, coupled with the subsequent proposed move out of the city.

Strong opinions over the rights and wrongs of the decision continue to be voiced but Minchella vowed to concentrate his efforts on the pitch.

He said: "I went down to Odsal as a kid and watched them, and so has my dad and everyone else in my family so it’s a shame but if that’s the decision that the club had to make then who am I to argue with it – that’s for them to make and I’m just a player at the club so I’ll do my job and they are doing their job.

"Ideally we’d like to stay at Odsal or play somewhere else in Bradford but that’s not my decision and I can’t comment on the decision that people above me have made.

"I’m just a player at the club. I’ll do my job pulling a shirt on every week and do my best out there but yeah, I’d like to play in Bradford. We are the Bradford Bulls and I am sure all the fans think that.

"The previous owners have tried to make Odsal work and it hasn’t, so maybe that’s something that they’ve looked at."