Round 5
Bradford Bulls 18 d. Hull FC 12

2006 English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: English Super League

Bradford Bulls
Lesley Vainikolo [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
Marcus St Hilaire [FB] 4 Pts; 1t
Karl Pryce [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
Paul Deacon [HB] 2 Pts; 1g

Hull FC
Shaun Briscoe [FB] 4 Pts; 1t
Sid Domic [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
Danny Brough [BE] 4 Pts; 2g



Volcano returns to seal Bulls victory
Sat March 11, 2006
Source: www.bradfordbulls.co.uk

Lesley Vainikolo scored two tries on his return to action as Bradford battled to an 18-12 victory over Hull.

The New Zealand international crossed the line in each half to take his tally against the Airlie Birds up to 22 and extend the Bulls' unbeaten run to 11 matches.

However, the visitors were far from a pushover, despite going into the match without seven first-team regulars and on the back of two straight defeats.

The Black and Whites last visit to Odsal came in the play-offs last season when they were smashed 71-0 by the eventual champions and memories of that thrashing must have come flooding back when they fell behind inside the opening two minutes.

Jamie Thackray's handling error coughed up possession and the visitors were made to pay when Iestyn Harris worked the ball out wide for Karl Pryce to score.

However, the early fireworks soon fizzled out on a damp playing surface as defences dominated for much of the opening half.

It took Bradford until shortly before the interval to extend their lead as Vainikolo got his first of the night thanks to a fine cut-out pass from Pryce.

Paul Deacon's successful conversion made it 10-0 and it appeared that would be the score at half-time until Hull hit back with a try of their own in the final minute of action, although they were indebted to the officials for missing a blatant forward pass.

Richard Horne made the most of the opportunity to play on with a well-weighted kick beyond Bradford's defensive line that allowed Sid Domic to score on the left.

Danny Brough's touchline conversion cut the gap down to four and gave John Kear's injury-hit side something to to cheer about.

However, the coach would have been fuming to see his players fail to learn from the opening half as they once again allowed Bradford to score in the opening minutes.

After Vainikolo had won a second set of six with a fine tackle on Domic, the giant winger was on the end of a flowing move to dive over in the left corner.

But the Kiwi turned from hero to villain as he allowed Hull to stay in touch when he failed to gather Shaun Briscoe's grubber kick.

Kirk Dixon, making his first start of the season, quickly ran in to touch the ball down before it went dead and, with Brough converting, the difference between the two teams was down to just two.

With the game on the line it was likely an error would prove crucial and Richard Whiting's kick straight into touch gave Bradford the chance they needed to clinch victory.

Debutant Marcus St Hilaire crossed in the right, although Deacon missed the conversion to keep Hull within a converted score of levelling the match.

It appeared they were certain to tie things up when Peter Lupton's offload found Briscoe but, with the line at his mercy, the full back let the ball slip from his grasp.

That missed opportunity was to prove Hull's last chance of snatching anything from the match as they became the latest team to fail to stop the Bulls marching on.

Report source: www.bradfordbulls.co.uk

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