Halifax Blue Sox - 18 Bradford Bulls - 25

The Bulls will be glad to see the back of their enthusiastic neighbours this season after another distinctly uncomfortable afternoon at The Shay.

Four weeks ago they were lucky to come away with a share of the spoils and, while they just about deserved this win, it raised more questions than it answered about their Grand Final aspirations.

Seeing Darryl Cardiss and Marvin Golden pulled out of the Sox side as a disciplinary measure by Gary Mercer and Andrew Dunemann ruled out by injury, they must have expected an easier ride this time around.

And that view was reinforced as they opened up well to build up a 12-2 lead inside the first 15 minutes.

But they just failed to go on with it and, perhaps more worryingly, lost their composure as the Sox kids turned up the heat.

Stand-in skipper James Lowes would find someone to argue with in an empty room at times, and while the performance of referee Steve Ganson was frustrating to say the least, the hooker's indiscipline could well have tipped the balance in Halifax's favour.

Lowes had two spells in the sin-bin for dissent and with Leeds to play on Friday, it would have been a complete nonsense had he talked his way into a red card and missed that one.

The Bulls need him concentrating on what he does best in the crucial weeks ahead, like the moment just before the break when he borrowed through from close range to give his side an 18-6 half-time cushion.

His dart also set up the second try from Paul Deacon who again showed good finishing speed to score despite Damian Gibson's challenge.

Michael Withers had also shown his supporting qualities to go over from Jamie Peacock's fine pass and a large Bulls following sat back expecting the floodgates to open.

But Halifax swarmed all over them at times and when Mike Forshaw lost the ball on the line they swept upfield through Oliver Marns before prop Andy Hobson plunged in from Greg Florimo's pass.

It was a terrific response from Hobson who was in the spotlight after his tackle in last month's meeting left Robbie Paul nursing a punctured lung and two broken ribs.

Lowes' try gave the Bulls a platform for the second half but they again failed to build on it with some of Ganson's rulings just adding to their frustration at not being able to get into top gear.

They were on the receiving end on the restart as Ganson gave the Bulls advantage after Paul Row-ley knocked down Lowes' pass only to see Paul Deacon's pass intercepted by teenager Danny Halliwell who raced 90 metres to score with Justin Brooker and Withers seeming to leave the tackling to each other.The Bulls then had a narrow escape as Marns somehow squeezed out a pass to the impressive Danny Tickle whose plunge for the line fell inches short.

On attack the Bulls were again a little short on ideas and their movement of the ball to the flanks lacked any real conviction.

Instead it was left to the mercurial skills of Henry Paul - whose first goal saw him move past Eddie Tees' Bradford record for points in a season - to get them out of trouble.

Leon Pryce, who tried as hard as anyone to spark the side, made the initial inroads with a fine break and when the ball was moved to the right the Kiwi stand-off danced through in great style.

The way he slammed the ball down hinted at the relief he felt on a frustrating afternoon but there was still more work to do before the win was theirs.

Deacon added a drop goal to stretch their advantage to 25-12 and, with Lowes in the sin-bin for the second time, it began to look an excellent move from the scrum-half especially when Gibson went in from Tickle's fine pass to help cut the deficit to seven points.

Finally Bulls did manage to string some passes toegther as Paul Anderson, Henry Paul, Pryce and Peacock sent Nathan McAvoy powering over the line only for the substitute to loose the ball in Lee Greenwood's despairing tackle.

But fittingly, after another wholehearted effort, the Blue Sox finished on top with another youngster, Casey Mayberry, going desperately close on the right flank.

It all made that 62-2 hiding at Odsal in May seem a distant memory.