Dewsbury Rams 38 Bradford Bulls 12

SO THE wait to reach the elusive zero mark in the Championship goes on.

It is over seven weeks since the chance to completely wipe out their 12-point penalty first arose but seven defeats on the trot mean the Bulls are still stuck on minus two following this basement-clash blow.

More significantly they are now eight points adrift of Dewsbury and ten from third-bottom Swinton, who beat Oldham yesterday.

There is still enough time for Bradford to turn things round and newly-appointed club captain Scott Moore insisted prior to the match that there was no need to panic.

Yet this was a game they really needed to win against the side directly above them, having raised morale the previous week with a brave narrow defeat to leaders Hull KR at the Summer Bash.

The importance of the fixture was not lost on Dewsbury coach Neil Kelly, who likened it to something close to a war in the build-up.

The Rams had only beaten one Championship side prior to this success but that team happened to be Heavy Woollen neighbours Batley Bulldogs, who they have defeated twice in the league and also in the Challenge Cup.

Now they have claimed a second big scalp and perhaps a more important one, given the teams' standing in the table.

The Bulls had been dealt a blow with news that fans favourite Dane Chisholm would not be fit due to the knee injury sustained on his try-scoring second 'debut' for the club at Hull KR following his drawn-out return from Sheffield Eagles.

But they were boosted by the surprise appearance of on-loan prop Mikolaj Oledzki, who had recovered from a shoulder injury having not been named in the original 19-man squad.

It might not have been a war but the match was certainly a full-blooded encounter as the opponents traded blow for blow – quite literally in the second half as the match descended into a mass brawl at one stage.

The Bulls had the better of the middle period in the first half but the Rams started and ended the opening 40 minutes in control.

Poor defence from the visitors saw them go behind when James Glover pounced on a clever grubber kick from Gareth Moore, who was to prove a thorn in the Bulls' side throughout.

Glover added the extras but the Bulls thought they had made a swift response when Joe Keyes crossed, only for young referee Liam Moore – officiating in his first Championship season – to pull play back for a forward pass in the build-up.

It was much to the anger of the boisterous Bulls following – but the massed ranks behind the posts were soon cheering.

Again Keyes was involved as his superb mispass, cutting out at least three defenders, found Illies Macani wide on the left and he went over in the corner. Oscar Thomas made the difficult conversion from the touchline and the Bulls were in business.

Buoyed by their opening score, Leigh Beattie's side continued to pile on the pressure. But Vila Halafihi – who came in as a late replacement for Cameron Smith, who was injured in the warm-up – looked to have blown the chance when he failed to pass to the unmarked Macani on the overlap.

However, James Bentley spared his blushes as he went over for his tenth try of the season on the next tackle to edge the Bulls in front. Thomas did the rest with his trusty boot and things started to look good for the visitors.

It proved a false dawn though as the Rams replied following powerful play from Daniel Igbinedion, which saw Sam Day touch down.

Glover missed a relatively easy conversion but Kelly's side continued to become the dominant force again and only a last-ditch tackle on the line from Ethan Ryan prevented Igbinedion from scoring.

Then the Rams had the last word of the first half as Moore picked up a loose ball and put in Shaun Squires to cross. Glover's simple kick put Rams 16-12 up at the break.

The first half was close but the second turned into a procession as Dewsbury ran in seven tries in total. The Bulls could not get a stranglehold on the game as Dewsbury overpowered them.

They were not helped as referee Moore lost control of proceedings. But the reality is that errors crept back into Bradford's play and they lacked the nous to unlock the home defence.

They got off to the worst possible start when former Bulls player Lucas Walshaw crossed the line. Glover was off target with the boot again and Bradford were given a further let-off when Igbinedion's try was disallowed for offside.

Tempers began to flare when Keyes was flattened by a shoulder charge from Walshaw, which took the half-back out of the game.

The referee took no action and a full-on fracas between both sets of players broke out after Thomas had been bundled into the advertising boards trying to defend his own line.

The Bulls full back and Dale Morton were sent to the sin-bin but the officials had to intervene again after another scuffle on halfway. Dewsbury were awarded a penalty which Glover kicked between the sticks to make it 22-12.

Bradford were still in the game at this stage and threatened the Rams line but two sets of six yielded no points as the clock ticked down.

The killer blow seemed to be when Moore's pass around halfway was intercepted by Squires, who ran in unchallenged to the line for his second try. This knocked the stuffing out of the Bulls, who conceded two further tries.

First debutant Macauley Hallett was put in by the influential Moore and then Glover went over for his second.

It capped another miserable afternoon for long-suffering Bulls fans, many of whom still stayed behind to clap their beaten team off the field.

Leigh Beattie will have to raise his troops fast as time is running out in their survival fight. A tough test at home to top-four Featherstone next up will not make that task any easier.