Bulls flattened by Saints’ replacements

It has come too late now but maybe the Bulls would have liked to suggest a return to the old days of just two replacements.

That is possibly the only way of diluting the devastating effect of St Helens’ awesome bench, seen here in all its ruthless glory.

Bradford’s brilliant start, in which they were such good value for a 14-4 lead, was blown apart by the introduction of Mick Potter’s big guns – fearsome props Maurie Fa’asavalu and Tony Puletua as well as England hooker James Roby. Paul Clough isn’t bad either.

The Bulls suffered huge damage at the hands of those replacements, with rampaging duo Fa’asavalu and Puletua causing pure carnage and Roby sniping away as always.

They were needed as well because the hosts were on fire early on, despite conceding a second-minute try to Francis Meli.

Sam Burgess got dragged into touch on only the second tackle of the match and from that position Meli strolled in at the corner following swift hands from James Graham, Kyle Eastmond and Leon Pryce.

But then it was all Bradford as the hosts immediately showed their intent.

Nick Scruton, who played like a man possessed in the first quarter, rattled Bryn Hargreaves with a big shot at the restart and then Graham was harassed into an error a couple of tackles later.

The Bulls accepted the gift and, at the end of the resultant set, Paul Deacon opted to take on the line rather than kick, his decision proving worthwhile as a massive gap opened up for Glenn Morrison to slice over back on the inside.

Deacon added the extras – and did so again when his side swept in for another try on the 12th minute.

They say a bad pass can often be one of the best. That was true as Terry Newton’s awful delivery ten metres inside his own half bobbled sideways to no-one. Steve Menzies picked up the loose ball as it bounced forward and suddenly a hole emerged in front.

The Aussie raced through, advanced and coolly held up Paul Wellens to send Rikki Sheriffe to the line.

With the likes of Scruton, Burgess and Andy Lynch rolling forwards with real steam, Saints struggled to keep hold of Bradford, who also shipped the ball wide with real flair.

They added an enthusiastic kick-chase, dominated Saints in the tackle and asked questions at every opportunity when in possession, while their last plays were markedly better than anything else this season. They looked like the side who should be top of the table.

The Bulls camped on Saints’ line for five consecutive sets, applying more and more pressure.

They forced one drop-out off Deacon’s clever kick, then Burgess and Scruton teamed up to force Hargreaves into spilling on the first tackle at a tap 20 restart, before impressive centre Chris Nero showed brilliant footwork to almost step through off a fine set-move.

Under-pressure Saints were rattled and couldn’t live with Bradford, illustrated as they conceded four consecutive penalties while desperately trying to stem the tide.

They withstood the barrage though and when they were pinged for offside again, Deacon opted against running once more and took the two points.

In hindsight, they might have been better having one last shot to try and break Saints. They did get over soon after, when Deacon touched down following Ben Jeffries’ kick, but an in-goal judge spotted a knock-on somewhere in the melee and insisted that referee Ben Thaler disallow the score.

Saints had a reprieve and soon they made the most of it. With Roby now on for Keiron Cunningham and quickening up play around the ruck, he linked up with fellow replacements Fa’asavalu and Puletua to get them running.

When Burgess was penalised for grabbing a foot after the tackle, Graham powered close and Roby quickly burrowed over from dummy half to reduce the deficit.

Young scrum half Kyle Eastmond – in for the injured Sean Long – got on the ball more and started dictating alongside Pryce.

He sliced through in midfield as the Bulls’ defence started to struggle but opted to kick for Ade Gardner, allowing Dave Halley to recover, when a pass would have left the full back stranded.

Halley, who signed a new contract last week, bombed though when he hesitated and let Wilkin’s kick bounce and sit up near the touchline.

He fumbled, Saints pressed, forced a drop-out and then struck in the next set, Chris Flannery the unlikely kicker setting up Wilkin under the posts.

Eastmond’s second conversion put Saints back ahead 16-14 and their confidence was back, shown when Fa’asavalu rampaged 50 metres downfield straight from the kick-off.

Morrison injured his ribs trying to halt the Samoan giant at the start and Julien Rinaldi was also left grounded along the way, before last man Halley was casually swatted aside.

It needed Mick Worrincy to finally bring him down – and he was there again at the end of the set to deny Fa’asavalu once more. The Saints prop had bumped off Craig Kopczak bulldozing towards the line on the last but Worrincy nipped in to thwart him.

He was denied again soon after but it needed three Bulls defenders hanging off his back and, with the defence subsequently in disarray, Roby was able to sharply send Flannery over from dummy half.

Eastmond knocked on to relieve the pressure on the Bulls but, with just seconds remaining, Steve Menzies allowed himself to be bundled into touch straight from the scrum, handing Saints one more shot.

Typically, they found the target, this time Puletua’s power proving crucial as they kept it alive on the last, although there was a touch of fortune as Eastmond picked up a loose ball to go over.

He converted again to make it 28-14 and the hooter sounded with breathless Bradford trying to work out what had happened.

They returned for the second period in better shape and had ample opportunities to respond as Saints got sloppy – Roby, Graham and Fa’asavalu were all guilty of coughing up early in the count and in their own half.

However, frustratingly the hosts were equally as careless. Halley threw a shocking pass to Menzies just as space opened up, Menzies later spilled playing the ball on the first tackle while inches short of the line, Jeffries was done for crossing as he attacked in the Saints 20 and then dropped a simple pass with no-one near him.

The stand-off redeemed himself by finding Nero with a great pass that allowed the centre to set up Tadulala on 62 minutes.

It should have signalled a Bulls rally but, with Rinaldi following Morrison off injured, Saints decided to show their ruthless streak once more and put the game to bed with three late tries.

There was no stopping Fa’asavalu after Pryce picked up Jamie Langley’s ill-advised off-load, then he set off on another barnstorming run to hand Puletua the position to score, before Meli had an easy walk in following Gardner’s break at the death.

It was Saints’ 16th straight Super League away win – a new record that, just to rub it in, beat the Bulls’ own previous best of 15 set back in 1997.

Attendance: 10,599