Round 9
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 24 l. Bradford Bulls 36

2007 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Solomona shows the way at Belle Vue
Tue April 10, 2007
Source: www.bradfordbulls.co.uk

Bradford Bulls second-rower David Solomona ignored the Belle Vue boos to help condemn his old to a second engage Super League defeat in four days.

The New Zealand Test forward, who controversially quit the Wildcats at the end of last season, set up the game's first try for compatriot Lesley Vainikolo and scored the second to give the Bulls a flying start with a 12-0 lead inside 15 minutes.

When Vainikolo added a second, courtesy of a length-of-the-field run, in the final minute of the first half to give his side a 24-6 interval lead, the Wildcats looked set for another hammering following their 56-12 rout at Huddersfield Giants on Good Friday.

They did however hit back early in the second half to briefly lift the hopes of the Wakefield crowd but Bradford finished strongly as they drew level with St Helens and Leeds Rhinos at the top of the table.

Wakefield were a pale shadow of the team, which beat last year's Grand Finalists St Helens and Hull FC, in a dismal first half in which they fell down on the basics of the game.

Already without New Zealand international Shontayne Hape, the Bulls lost James Evans, with a leg injury early in the game but Chris McKenna proved a useful third-choice centre and scored one of his side's six tries.

Vainikolo opened the scoring on 13 minutes, taking Solomona's inside pass and smashing through the flimsy home defence, and his second try on the stroke of half-time put the result beyond doubt.

Wakefield were pressing for a try that might have got them back in the game when Vainikolo intercepted Matt Blaymire's floated pass and enjoyed an uninterrupted 100-metre run to register the 139th try of his Bradford career.

In between, Solomona finished off good work from Evans to score against his former team-mates and also set up the position for hooker Ian Henderson to jink his way over for a solo try.

Wakefield's response came from full-back Blaymire, who took a Ben Jeffries pass close to the line to plunge over for his fourth try of the season, to which Jamie Rooney added the conversion.

Wakefield centre Kevin Henderson, older brother of Bradford hooker Ian, restored respectability in the Henderson household when he took another Jeffries pass to touch down seven minutes into the second half and then winger Peter Fox won the race to Paul March's kick to the corner.

Rooney was wide with both goal kicks and they slipped further behind on 64 minutes when Bradford full-back Michael Platt went in for his ninth try of the season to make amends for an earlier blunder in defence.

Fox claimed a second try for the home side before McKenna responded with Bradford's sixth try, but Wakefield had the final say when Rooney went over for a consolation try in injury time, kicking his second goal.

McNamara admitted he had to pick his side up from their last-gasp 18-14 defeat by Leeds on Thursday and was proud of the way they responded.

"It was definitely not our smartest performance but it was one of the bravest," he said.

"We had a lot to overcome after Thursday, not only physically but emotionally, and we were down to 15 players today because of injury. I take my hat off to the players.

"It was a low-intensity affair but that's what you get when you play two matches in four days. I can't be too harsh on the players with the amount of effort they put in."

Wildcats coach John Kear said, "I think six tries to five was a true reflection of the game and it shows what a valuable goalkicker Paul Deacon is."

Report source: www.bradfordbulls.co.uk

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