Bradford Bulls had double cause for celebration today with derby success over Halifax being followed by the news that Kiwi hero Henry Paul, pictured, was on the mend after a major injury scare in Sydney.

The 20-2 victory over the Blue Sox came after fears that Paul would face a lengthy lay-off after a sickening fall on his head during the Anzac Test against Australia earlier in the day.

But during the derby Odsal officials managed to confirm in calls to Sydney that the damage had been diagnosed as nothing worse than a trapped nerve in his neck.

Paul, playing at hooker, was voted Man of the Match after inspiring a courageous New Zealand effort as the underdogs went down 20-14 to Australia at the Olympic Stadium.

But four minutes from time it looked as if he had been seriously injured. He was twisted in a tackle by Gorden Tallis and Laurie Daley and his neck buckled as he was driven into the ground.

As a neck brace and a medi-cab were bought onto the field, the Bulls stand-off brushed the medics away. He got to his feet and hopped onto the vehicle, to the applause of the 30,000 crowd, the biggest for a Test in Sydney in six years.

A relieved Bulls coach Matthew Elliott said: "It is a proud day for the club and the whole squad has been talking about the tremendous performances of Henry and Robbie. It's great to hear the damage to Henry doesn't appear too bad."

Victory over the Blue Sox takes the Bulls to joint top of Super League with St Helens after they scored four tries at rain-lashed Odsal.

Bulls hooker James Lowes said: "We knew it was going to be a night where mistakes happened and that we had to be patient and defend well.

"We're playing well at the moment, particularly at home and everything is going well for us. We're all enjoying it and team spirit is pretty good."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.