Archive
Sun, 25 August 2002
Castleford Tigers 44
Bradford Bulls 14
Bradford Bulls: Michael Withers, Tevita Vaikona, Scott Naylor, Nathan McAvoy, Lee Gilmour, Robbie Paul, Paul Deacon, Joe Vagana, James Lowes, Stuart Fielden, Lee Radford, Jamie Peacock, Mike Forshaw
Subs: Leon Pryce, Lesley Vainikolo, Paul Anderson, Brian McDermott
Tries: Leon Pryce, Paul Deacon
Goals: Michael Withers, Paul Deacon (2)
Tigers: Darren Rogers, Jon Wells, Michael Eagar, Andrew Johnson, Waine Pryce, Danny Orr, Mitch Healey, Michael Smith, Wayne Bartrim, Andy Lynch, Lee Harland, Dale Fritz, Ryan Hudson
Subs: Tom Saxton, Barrie-Jon Mather, Nathan Sykes, Mark Lennon
Tries: Mitch Healey, Waine Pryce, Andrew Johnson, Danny Orr, Jon Wells, Lee Harland, Barrie-Jon Mather
Goals: Danny Orr (2), Wayne Bartrim (6)
The Bulls were defeated 50-22 last week by Saints, and have now allowed their lead at the head of Super League to slip, with only four more games remaining before the Play-Offs.
After going in front with a Paul Deacon penalty, Waine Pryce and Mitch Healey helped the Tigers into a 12-2 lead before Leon Pryce and Andy Johnson traded tries to leave the home side 16-8 up at the break.
But the Play-Off chasing Tigers mauled their visitors in the second period, with Jon Wells, Barrie-Jon Mather and Danny Orr giving them a 32-8 advantage before Deacon forced himself over.
Wayne Bartrim added three penalties in the final 15 minutes, and Lee Harland's try ensured the points.
Ironically, the reigning champions were at full strength for the first time since May, welcoming prop Paul Anderson back from a broken arm.
But their defence has leaked 92 points in its last two matches - a remarkable statistic when you consider that they had needed the previous six matches to concede the same amount.
They started brightly enough, with Scott Naylor having a try ruled out early on when Joe Vagana was adjudged to have knocked on when he tackled Danny Orr.
Two penalties for interference allowed Deacon to kick the Bulls ahead on seven minutes.
Castleford scored the first try on ten minutes, and never lost that lead, with Danny Orr's long ball allowing Waine Pryce to dive low into the corner.
Bartrim missed the conversion attempt, and then found himself in the sin bin on 16 minutes for interference, with Bradford's Jamie Peacock following him only seconds later as referee Steve Ganson clamped down.
From Peacock's indiscretion, Orr kicked a penalty, and Mitch Healey then grabbed his third try of the season when he chased an Andy Johnson grubber and was rewarded when the ball bounced past Michael Withers and the scrum half collected for his third try of the season.
Orr converted, and his cross-field kick caused havoc soon afterwards, with Barrie-Jon Mather touching down but the score being disallowed for Jon Wells tackling Nathan McAvoy in the air.
When Healey kicked the ball out on the full when looking for a 40-20 on the half hour, the Bulls hit back, with Leon Pryce crashing over from close range, Deacon's goal cutting the score to 12-8.
But Castleford restored the cushion going into the break, when Ryan Hudson's offload and Orr's long pass enabled Johnson to thrust between Pryce and Naylor before racing 30 yards to the line.
The Tigers have won seven of their last eight matches, and their only defeat came at Bradford, but they moved closer to this win with the opening score of the second period.
Robbie Paul's knock on enabled Hudson to work a scrumbase move and Wells powered through the middle to touch down, the goal opening up a 22-8 lead.
Nathan McAvoy's fumble of Healey's grubber on 50 minutes, under pressure from Wells, saw Mather gifted the next try, and when Orr dummied past Paul and sprinted 50 yards to the line, the game was as good as over at 32-8.
Michael Eagar's tackle to send Tevita Vaikona into touch at the corner typified the Tigers' spirit, although a quick tap from Deacon saw him reach over and also cut his head in the process of scoring the try, Michael Withers having to convert.
And, when Bartrim broke through but the supporting Waine Pryce fumbled his pass, there was a glimmer of hope for the Bulls to come back.
But Castleford's defence held firm, with Bartrim adding a penalty before Orr sent Lee Harland through a gap from close range to secure the win on 68 minutes.
Bartrim's kicked the conversion and he went on to add two more penalties in the final ten minutes to complete the rout and secured their first four-match winning streak since the end of 1999.
"I'm highly delighted," said Tigers coach Graham Steadman. "It was a tremendous performance and everyone contributed.
"We have been playing in spasms and we knew we had to play for the full 80 minutes today.
"Admittedly, Bradford were not at their best but we never panicked. We absorbed the pressure and hit them on the counter-attack.
"We've had several guys playing out of position and that shows the importance of versatility."
Bulls coach Brian Noble conceded: "We have to put Humpty back together.
"We were trying too hard to put things right and there was a lot of anxiety, but we don't become a bad team overnight and we have a great opportunity to put it right next week.
"There are a lot of competitive games to go. All teams have a sticky patch. We know we have got some work to do. We are not unrealistic. We have to play smarter."