Archive
Mon, 24 March 2008
Bradford Bulls V Harlequins RL
Bradford Bulls: Dave Halley, James Evans, Paul Sykes, Shontayne Hape, Semi Tadulala, Ben Jeffries, Paul Deacon, Andy Lynch, Terry Newton, Sam Burgess, David Solomona, Chris Nero, Simon Finnigan
Subs: Wayne Godwin, Craig Kopczak
Tries: Dave Halley, James Evans, Paul Deacon, Sam Burgess, David Solomona
Goals: Paul Deacon(6)
Harliquins RL: Wells, Clubb, Gafa, Howell, Sheriffe, Hill, Paul, Temata, Randall, Ward, Worrincy, Purdham, Mbu.
Subs: Haggerty, Melling, Barker, Grayshon.
Tries: Paul, Worrincy (2), Barker.
Goals: Paul (4 from 4)
REPORT
Paul Deacon produced an inspired performance to help Bradford Bulls return to winning ways with victory over struggling Harlequins.
Deacon’s try and six goals saw him collect 16 points which helped the Bulls restore some pride after their loss to West Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos on Thursday night.
The result leaves the Bulls level on points with the Quins in seventh place on eight points.
Steve McNamara’s task got no easier in the wake of the Headingley Carnegie fixture with six of the Bulls’ squad ruled out through injury.
The Quins had problems of their own with Danny Orr unavailable and things got even worse for the visitors when Scott Hill was withdrawn after just five minutes with a suspected broken wrist.
Bradford were quick to take advantage and ruthlessly exposed the Londoners’ shortcomings on their way to an 18-0 lead inside the opening quarter.
Sam Burgess was first to cross when he broke through two tackles after galloping on to Ben Jeffries’ neat pass.
Jeffries was the provider again two minutes later, this time setting Dave Halley on a clear run to the line.
Quins looked well beaten when David Solmona touched down to further extend the Bulls’ lead but Rob Worrincy’s quick-fire double gave Brian McDermott’s side a glimmer of hope.
However, Bradford regained the initiative with two more tries before half-time. James Evans leaped above Worrincy to collect Paul Deacon’s high kick before Deacon twisted over from close range.
Harlequins were given another chance when referee Ashley Klein sin-binned Craig Kopczak for a professional foul on Henry Paul.
Paul crossed while Bradford were down to 12 men after quick thinking by Chad Randall but that was as close as they got.
Solomona produced a tremendous tackle to deny Rikki Sheriffe in the corner while Matt Gafa wasted a four-on-one overlap with an awful pass to Tony Clubb.
Deacon’s penalty in the final quarter maintained his 100% kicking record and confirmed the home side’s superiority, despite Dwayne Barker's late try.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Bradford coach Steve McNamara was pleased with the win but admitted the best is still to come from his side.
"We started well but our bodies took over after 25 minutes. I can't be too harsh but I'm certainly not happy with our overall 80 minutes," he said.
"Quins were very good in the second half but we're just thankful we've got the two points. We've won three out of four without playing particularly well."
Harliquins RL Coach Brian McDermott, who made over 250 appearances for the Bulls, admitted the result could have been different if his side had applied their game in the first half.
"We certainly had more then enough chances to win that game," McDermott said.
"We attacked the second half and whenever you play like that you will drop some balls but I will never discourage the players from playing like that."
"The first 10 minutes killed it. We didn't seem to have any resistance near our line and that hacked me off."
"We kept them try less in the second half and if we'd have had that resistance from the off it would have been a different story."
McDermott also revealed that Australian star Scott Hill could be set to be unavailable after he was withdrawn after just five minutes with a serious arm injury.
"It's not looking good," McDermott said.
"The doctor seems to think he's either broken his arm or done some long-term nerve damage."
"He had a whiplash case a few weeks ago against Hull and it might be related to that."