It was like Wembley 1996 re-visited as the Bulls indecision under the high ball handed the opposition an escape route.

This time Nathan Graham was watching from the bench as Odsal old boy Glen Tomlinson and half-back partner Gary Lester assumed the role take by Bobbie Goulding for St Helens two years ago. But fortunately the failure to deal with the aerial threat, although just as apparent, wasn't so costly. But it was a pretty close run thing.

At 16-6 and 22-10 up the Bulls appeared to have done the hard work but the Sharks clearly sensed a weakness under the high kick and it almost reaped a rich dividend in a rousing finish.

With Jimmy Lowes happily restored at hooker and the rest of the forwards responding well with some bruising charges the Super League newcomers were in danger of being ground into the dirt in the opening 40 but once again the finishing touches were not always forthcoming.

Two tries in the closing eight minutes of the second-half helped underlined their dominance though and if they had been able to grab the first score after the break the Sharks could have been in even stormier waters.

But instead they got on the board themselves with Lester hoisting a diagonal bomb which was first fumbled by Stuart Spruce and then Tevita Vaikona before ex-Dudley Hill man Graeme Hallas made some sense of it all with a pass which sent skipper Alan Hunte in at the corner.

All looked to be well again within three minutes as Tahi Reihana went plunging forward to within feet of his first try for the club and somehow slipped out a fine pass for the supporting Danny Peacock to notch his second try.

But once again they couldn't add the knock-out punch and spirited Hull came bouncing back with Steve Prescott sending Logan Campbell tearing in from 40 yards.

Abi Ekoku then went close on the left flank after a neat blind-side move from the scrum by skipper for the day Shaun Edwards and Steve McNamara. But moments later Tomlinson's towering kick left Mike Forshaw badly exposed and in a virtual action replay Hallas scooped up to allow Jamie Smith to brush off a hesitant defence and the touchline goal left the outcome on a knife edge.

The tension boiled over as Peacock and Hepi clashed to earn a spell in the cooler but crucially Stuart Cummings ruled that the Kiwi had been the instigator and from the resulting penalty the Bulls grabbed what proved to be the decider.

Edwards, who only showed up in flashes after a heavy early clash with Tomlinson, engineered it with a perfectly weighted kick and Calland used his momentum to leap high above Smith before cantering over.

But even then the danger wasn't over and there was more chaos in visiting ranks as this time Vaikona was left badly exposed under Tomlinson's kick but the Tongan did well to parry the ball back to Spruce to avert the danger.

They were under the cosh again quickly though and a spell of further pressure and some slick handling saw Fili Seru power over.

Fortunately for the Bulls Hallas couldn't land the difficult goal and the champions made their experience count as they ran down the clock effectively.

But once again there were too many tentative moments going forward despite plenty of hard work right across the side.

Lowes greatly improved the quality of service from acting half-back and there were encouraging signs of an understanding with Edwards, but the support work was not of the standard Bulls fans have come to expect over the last couple of years.

On the plus side Calland and Peacock both finished their chances well and Vaikona showed glimpse of his power as well as adding a try against his former club.

Warren Jowitt grabbed his chance well of the bench and McNamara handled the pressure of his return to the Boulevard with an assured performance despite some fearful barracking from the ever gracious home fans.

Hull gave notice too that they'll not be the push over many expected and at the end of the season the Bulls may look back on the two points with more satisfaction.

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