STEVE Price has urged the Wire players he brings into the team for Saturday’s Challenge Cup Fifth Round tie with Bradford Bulls to “really give him something to think about.”

The likes of Dec Patton, Harvey Livett and Morgan Smith are all set to be heavily involved when the League One side visit The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Dom Crosby (ankle) and Mike Cooper (hamstring) will miss out, but Price is set to rest a couple more of his key names.

However, the Wire head coach says that does not mean the Bulls are being underestimated.

“I’ll give a couple of guys a rest. It’s an opportunity for some of the guys who haven’t had a decent crack at it,” he told the Guardian.

“The likes of Dec, Harvey and Morgan will get their opportunity. It will be a good test for those guys.

“They have been chomping at the bit to get a crack for a while.

“I want them banging on my door and putting pressure on other team members.

“That’s what we want at this footy club. We want competition within our squad.

“They’ve got a chance on Saturday afternoon to really give me something to think about.

“We won’t be underestimating Bradford Bulls. We show respect to every opposition team and Bradford will be no different.

“They’ve had a lot of turnover in personnel and staff in the past few years, which is unfortunate.

“They still have a lot of quality rugby league players in their team.

“It is really important that we keep improving as a team, but we’re really driven and focused on what we can control.

“I was disappointed to our start to the game against Hull KR. That’s been addressed and I expect better this weekend.”

Crosby and Cooper are both expected to return for The Wire’s next Super League game against Huddersfield Giants next Friday.

That match should also see the return of Ben Murdoch-Masila, who has missed the past two games with a knee injury, but the absence of Toby King (hamstring) is likely to stretch into next month.

Before then, however, Price will get his first taste of a competition The Wire won three times under his predecessor Tony Smith.

The Wolves boss is calling upon his side to further the “massive gains” they have made since the start of 2018.

“I watched a fair amount of the Challenge Cup in Australia. I have a lot of admiration and respect for the competition,” he said.

“I know we as a club have had some really good years in the competition recently. The plan is certainly to continue that.

“This weekend is a stepping stone for us and a chance to put our best foot forward to get our campaign off to a positive start.

“We have made massive gains but we still have a lot of improvement to come.”