Archive
Sun, 08 June 2008
Bradford Bulls V Catalans Dragons
Bradford Bulls: Michael Platt, James Evans, Paul Sykes, Shontayne Hape, Dave Halley, Iestyn Harris, Ben Jeffries, Joe Vagana, Terry Newton, Andy Lynch, David Solomona, Jamie Langley, Sam Burgess
Subs: Matt Cook, Tame Tupou, Craig Kopczak, Simon Finnigan
Tries: Paul Sykes, Ben Jeffries, Sam Burgess
Goals: Iestyn Harris(2)
Catalans Dragons: Greenshields, Murphy, Wilson, Raguin, Pelo, Mogg, Bosc, Guisset, McGuire, Chan, Croker, Mounis, Carlaw.
Subs: Casty, Elima, Fakir, Duport.
Tries: Murphy, Wilson, Raguin, McGuire.
Goals: Bosc (4 from 5)
REPORT
Catalans Dragons overturned a 10-point deficit to cement third place in the engage Super League with a hard-fought win over Bradford Bulls at Odsal.
Mick Potter's side trailed 12-2 after half an hour but Casey McGuire, Sebastien Raguin, John Wilson and Justin Murphy all crossed to avenge their Carnegie Challenge Cup defeat at the same venue less than a month ago.
Sam Burgess and Ben Jeffries had helped the Bulls establish the early authority but Bradford appeared to tire as the game wore on and Catalans took full advantage to claim their 10th league win of the season.
Catalans started strongly and could have taken the lead through Murphy, only for a desperate tackle to deny the Australian in the corner.
Instead they had to settle for Thomas Bosc's 40-metre penalty five minutes later and Bradford began to threaten.
Dave Halley went close with a quick burst and while the Dragons' defence held firm on that occasion, Burgess dummied his way through from dummy half within a minute to push Bradford ahead.
The hosts stretched their advantage when Jeffries collected Iestyn Harris' smart chip after half an hour but Catalans refused to give in.
A sensational 90-metre chase from Halley halted Dimitri Pelo's long-range effort but the Dragons crossed just before the break when McGuire found the line from close range.
Pelo almost put the Dragons in front soon after the restart but was forced into touch by a three-man tackle from Tame Tupou, James Evans and Michael Platt.
Raguin's try briefly gave the visitors a two-point advantage but Paul Sykes quickly replied after galloping on to Burgess' long pass.
Another Bosc penalty brought the scores level before Wilson dived over in the corner and Murphy made the most of an horrendous error by Platt to confirm a deserved win for the visitors.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
Bulls boss Steve McNamara was left to lament his side's discipline as they slumped to a third successive home defeat.
"It was a frustrating afternoon," he admitted."
"We wanted to bounce back but it's not quite happened for us today. We had a really good go at it, but we lacked a bit of quality in some areas.
"We lacked some composure at the end and we went about it completely wrongly. For some reason we've gone from the most disciplined side in the competition to possibly the worst."
"If we're doing something wrong then we need to find out why and how we can fix that."
McNamara added: "It's a tough time, but we'll fix it. We've got enough quality out there and enough quality to come back into the team, and we're still in there in the top six.
"Things aren't going for us at the moment but we won't roll over and die."
Catalans Dragons coach Mick Potter said his side's self-belief allowed them to get back into the game after Bradford went 10 points ahead.
"The players have shown improvement in those three years since we got into Super League."
"They have come a long way and they are a bit more confident of their ability to compete at this level.
"The guys showed their confidence in themselves. We couldn't have done that three years ago. Can we hold on to third place? Your guess is as good as mine, but I'd rather be here than lower down the table."