Archive
Sat, 16 February 2008
Bradford Bulls V Huddersfield Giants
Bradford Bulls: Michael Platt, James Evans, Paul Sykes, Chris Nero, Shontayne Hape, Iestyn Harris, Paul Deacon, Joe Vagana, Terry Newton, Andy Lynch, Jamie Langley, Glenn Morrison, Sam Burgess
Subs: Dave Halley, Wayne Godwin, Matt James, Simon Finnigan
Tries: James Evans, Paul Sykes, Terry Newton, Glenn Morrison, Simon Finnigan(2)
Goals: Paul Deacon(7)
Huddersfield Giants: Thorman, Elford, Whaturia, Wild, Jensen, Brown, Robinson, Griffin, Hudson, Skandalis, Lolesi, Snitch, Raleigh
Subs: Crabtree, Gatis, Jones, Jackson
Tries: Whaturia, Robinson.
Goals: Thorman (2 from 2).
REPORT
The Bulls lost at Wakefield in their opening Super League fixture but responded by running in six tries during a comprehensive success against the Giants.
Simon Finnigan scored twice on his debut and Terry Newton and James Evans once each as Bradford opened up a 24-6 lead by half-time.
And further tries from Paul Sykes and Glenn Morrison after the break eased the hosts to victory. Paul Deacon enjoyed a perfect evening with the boot, kicking six conversions and a penalty for a personal haul of 14 points.
The Giants scored a try either side of half-time through Luke Robinson and Paul Whatuira, but never threatened to cause an upset and have now lost their opening two fixtures, having also been well beaten by Leeds last weekend.
The opening try was created by Sam Burgess, whose run straightened the angle of attack and left two Giants' defenders sprawled on the turf. He then released inside to give Newton a simple finish.
Deacon added the conversion for a 6-0 lead and the Bulls continued to dominate territory and possession during the first 10 minutes.
Huddersfield did eventually get out of their own half, enjoying four consecutive sets of six without collecting any points for their efforts.
And they were soon made to pay as Bradford extended their lead to 12-0 with a second try in the 17th minute. Deacon dummied inside one defender and skipped away from another before passing inside to put back-rower Finnigan - who had entered the fray as a replacement only moments earlier - across the whitewash.
The Giants responded with a try of their own on 28 minutes. Robinson finished off a flowing move and the video referee confirmed the score despite Eorl Crabtree obstructing Burgess to help clear Robinson's path to the line.
Chris Thorman slotted the extras to reduce the Giants' deficit to 12-6 before Bradford took control with two further tries before the break.
Evans powered his way over in the right corner on the half hour mark, while Finnigan got his second from close range three minutes before the interval.
Deacon was on target with both conversions to continue his 100 percent record with the boot and put the Bulls 24-6 ahead at half-time.
Huddersfield gave themselves hope by scoring the first try of the second half. New Zealand Test centre Whatuira finished off a long-range counter-attack for his first try in Super League after an under-pressure Deacon had kicked away possession.
And the Giants' comeback almost gained further momentum two minutes later when the video referee was required to rule that full-back Michael Platt had held up Shane Elford's attempt to ground the ball over the try-line.
But any Bradford nerves were settled by a Deacon penalty, quickly followed by a 90-metre interception effort from Sykes.
Deacon's fifth conversion put the Bulls 32-12 in front entering the final quarter of an hour and the result was iced in the 75th minute when Morrison stretched over for Bradford's sixth and final try.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Bradford coach Steve McNamara paid tribute to two-try debutant Simon Finnigan after the game.
"He got left out of the squad last week but he responded very well," said McNamara. "He took his opportunity with both hands."
"He is a fantastic support player and complements some of the things we are good at."
McNamara brought in Finnigan as part of a reshuffle following the Bulls' surprise opening defeat at Wakefield and he was delighted with their improvement.
"We under-performed last week but I thought there was enough to suggest we would be a reasonable side by the time the season finishes and tonight we backed that up."
"We made lots of errors and gave away too many penalties last week and tonight we didn't. That was the difference."
The Giants have conceded 68 points in their first two games but coach Jon Sharp detected a significant improvement on their 30-10 defeat by Leeds.
"I'm obviously disappointed with the scoreline in the end," he said. "It was certainly a closer contest than the scoreline suggests."
"We really improved on last week's performance. We showed a bit more patience and were in an arm wrestle with a very good team for large parts of the game. It's a matter of doing it for 80 minutes."
"We have conceded too many points in the first two games and that is something we need to address. We pride ourselves on our defence."