It was sweet revenge for the Bulls on Saturday as they avenged for their first round loss to Inverell 39-19, and as a bonus wrested the Kookaburra Challenge Cup from the Highlanders' grasp.

They have held it since Round 6.

"It was a really important win for us and great to get a win against Inverell, who really beat us well in the first round," Bulls coach Jack Travers said.

They were disappointed with that first round effort and the sting of the 46-22 loss was, he said, "a big motivator" for them on Saturday.

The win saw the Bulls close to within three points of the top four, but they had to work hard for it.

It was only in really the last 15 minutes that they pulled away, hooker Jack Ticehurst's 62nd minute try a turning point.

At that stage Travers said the game "could have gone either way".

"We happened to score next," he said.

"We were able to [then] get a couple of tries on top of that."

Noting that the Highlanders are "a good side" and "playing a good style of footy", he was really pleased with the way they were able to execute the game plan they had devised.

Knowing that Inverell like to play a wide game, he said they tried to play it "tight and through the middle", and praised the forwards for the amount of work they got through.

The backs then also defended really well, he said.

It was their third straight win and reward for the hard work they have been putting in at training. It has been a bit difficult with "things going on" but they have been "trying to train as hard as we ever can".

Their second win over a top four side this season, the challenge now for the Bulls is to string good back-to-back performances together against the top sides with Pirates waiting in the wings this Saturday.

Ticehurst was one of the Bulls best. He picked up the one point behind Alex Barker, who Travers said was strong at inside centre and "scored two really good tries" and his centre partner Jono Spain.

He "defended well" and chipped in with some valuable points with his boot.