Wakefield 10, Bulls 29

It has taken two years but the Bulls are finally back among Super League’s top four.

A hard-fought win at Wakefield allowed them to leapfrog Huddersfield in the table, at least until the Giants meet league leaders Wigan tomorrow.

Even if their performance did not hit the heights, Bradford’s jump into the leading pack highlights the improvements they have made this year.

The best teams find a way to win even when the odds are stacked against them and the Bulls faced no shortage of adversity at Belle Vue.

Trailing 10-4 at the break, they looked completely incapable of picking up the points due to a pretty inept opening 40 minutes.

But the response couldn't have been any better. Knowing what needed to be done, they tweaked, they made adjustments and they scored 25 unanswered points.

All this without the influential Brett Kearney too after the Aussie had departed at half-time with a foot problem. This was a true triumph over adversity.

The first half had been lost in a flurry of daft errors and questionable decisions, the Bulls unable to get going despite leading the penalty count.

A big hit from Steve Menzies on Michael Korkidas had actually set them off to an ideal start, dislodging the ball from the big prop’s hands and starting a sequence of four consecutive sets deep in home territory.

Stuart Reardon came agonisingly close to making the early possession count, cutting an angle onto Chris Nero’s pass and heading for the corner.

With Sean Gleeson coming across to close the gap, it was always going to be tight and the Bradford winger was just forced into touch before grounding the ball.

Had they capitalised on their opportunity, it was easy to see the Bulls developing some pretty strong momentum. Unfortunately, they didn’t.

An errant pass from Dave Halley, which fell behind Rikki Sheriffe, handed possession to the Wildcats and they piggy-backed on two successive penalties to open the scoring.

Halley and Andy Lynch combined to make a stunning try-saving tackle on Sam Obst but Wakefield got over the line on the next tackle.

When the ball was played wide, full back Aaron Murphy stepped on the gas and used his strength to go right between Kearney and Michael Platt before stretching over the whitewash.

Not the start the Bulls had wanted – but it soon got worse. Wakefield forced a drop-out and a slaloming run from Obst put them firmly on the front foot.

The pressure proved too much for the Bulls and they could not prevent Paul Johnson scoring from close range off the dummy-half pass from Tevita Leo-Latu. Paul Cooke kicked the conversion to put the sparky Wildcats ten points ahead.

They did make a foray into the opposition 20 after Platt had tackled Cooke into touch at the opposite end of the field.

But there was no way through the hosts’ spirited defence and Paul Sykes ended up having to make a superb tackle on Damien Blanch to prevent him making a dash for the line after picking off the Bradford stand-off’s grubber on the last tackle.

A poor 40 minutes with the ball seemed to be summed up when Sykes’ pass on the last tackled hit James Donaldson square on the head while the visitors desperately chased a try before the break.

But just as a forgettable first half was about to be consigned to the rubbish bin, the Bulls produced a piece of magic that changed the complexion of the game.

Two sublime passes from Elliott Whitehead created the opportunity, the first an offload popped up out of the tackle and the second an improvised pass out of the back.

It sent Menzies haring away down the left, he and Sykes opened space and the stand-off played the killer pass to Chris Nero, who powered in at the corner, the try quickly verified by video referee Steve Ganson.

That appeared to be exactly the fillip the Bulls needed, even considering some half-time reorganisation necessitated by a foot injury suffered by Kearney.

Heath L’Estrange moved to scrum half and instantly made his mark on proceedings, putting in a lovely grubber kick for Menzies to score within two minutes of the restart.

Sykes added the extras to tie the game up but the Bulls struck again four minutes later.

A great break from Reardon made 40 metres and the ball was shifted left, Halley and Whitehead combining to release Nero.

The finish was by no means easy but the Aussie centre backed himself and powered over the whitewash despite a last-gasp effort from Murphy to force him into touch.

A Sykes penalty edged his side further in front but Wakefield responded in spirited fashion.

They forced three successive drop-outs before a wild pass was picked off by Nero to provide some much-needed relief.

It was hearts in mouths time when Whitehead and Platt clashed heads, a blow the Bulls could ill-afford with Kearney already off injured.

It did not look good as both lay pole-axed on the floor but they slowly got to their feet and a quick patch-up job on Whitehead allowed him to continue.

Needing something to calm the nerves, Sykes provided it, dropping back into the pocket to knock over a drop goal and provide a reasonable cushion on the scoreboard.

A couple of scares were averted and the Bulls put on some reasonable pressure as the match entered its final ten minutes, Sykes forcing a drop-out when his useful kick was spilled by Murphy.

Sheriffe was halted yards from the line and some energetic defence kept the hosts reasonably well contained until Obst and Blanch combined to make a decent break down the right.

For a moment, the Bulls appeared to open up but luckily, Blanch’s chip bounced out of bounds for a welcome escape.

Defence was quickly turned into attack and Mike Worrincy made a promising break as he weaved through the broken field. Halley was denied with a chip and chase but Bradford soon provided the killer blow.

Wakefield’s goal-line defence had been fairly resolute for much of the game but they slacked off enough to allow Wayne Godwin the chance to scoot over from dummy half for his first league try of the season.

A final flourish was provided when L’Estrange pounced after his own kick had hit the post to score his first try in Super League. Sykes added both conversions to bring up 200 career points for the Bulls, a week after recording his career 1,000.