THE Bradford Bulls under-16s side brought the curtain down on their 2018 campaign with a hard-earned 44-26 win over City Of Hull Academy.

They lost only one game and secured third place in the table.

John Bastian and Leigh Beattie went on the pitch at the final whistle to congratulate every single member of Mark Dunning's side, with the players receiving a standing ovation from the supporters present on a special night at Odsal.

The young Bulls got off to the best possible start and scored after just 35 seconds, a probing attacking raid down the left-hand side seeing Lewis Adams show great composure to beat the Hull full back to score in the corner.

Harry Shackleton opened his goal-kicking account with the successful conversion.

Lewis Adams and the Bulls may have grabbed the opening try, but the next 10 minutes belonged to the visitors.

Hull winger James Driver going over from 50 metres for an eye-catching score that Sam Bailey converted, and it was soon 12-6 to Hull when Jason Gray sent Driver over the line for his second score with a neat pass.

The Bulls then found some momentum and went close to pulling a try back.

Hooker Josh Milnes was stopped just short of the line, before Isaac Coleman levelled the scores up at 12-12, crashing over at the right-hand side of the posts. Shackleton adding the conversion.

Bradford then produced the game's memorable moment when Shackleton breathtakingly beat five Hull defenders from the base of the scrum to waltz over under the posts from 10 metres out for a try which he also converted.

However, the City Of Hull Academy quickly found their feet again after the Bulls had made a mess of restart and two tries before half-time restored their narrow advantage, as the Bulls went to the sheds 20-18 down, in what had been a thoroughly entertaining opening half.

Will Clerehugh's try after half-time was the catalyst for the Bulls to cut loose, as they ran in five second-half tries.

The young Bulls were indebted to a scoring burst of three tries in nine minutes with further scores from Shackleton, Adams and a first of the night for Kieran Brining.

With the result being put beyond doubt by Bradford centre Brining after 63 minutes when he opened up the Hull defensive line to cross out wide and take the Bradford lead out to 40-26. Shackleton hit the extra two points wide, his only miss of the night.

Ciaran Dickinson completed the scoring with an opportunist try in the dying minutes. The young prop ran the ball home underneath the sticks to put the icing on the cake.