Bradford Bulls 34, Whitehaven 4

IT WAS difficult to put a price on the value of keeping Lee Gaskell at Odsal following last season's relegation.

The 24-year-old had attracted interest from Super League clubs and could easily have stayed in the top flight.

Instead, he chose to spearhead the challenge of returning the Bulls to where many people feel they belong.

That objective will take some doing but it seems that, with Gaskell in the team, anything might be possible.

On a bitterly cold and, at times, utterly miserable afternoon, Jimmy Lowes' men scored six tries.

Gaskell claimed three of them, created another for Adrian Purtell and also kicked three goals in an 18-point haul.

He was all things to the Bulls yesterday – the creative fulcrum, the try-scorer supreme, the man his team turned to for inspiration. In short, he was the difference.

There were a number of other impressive performers, most notably Jay Pitts and Adam O'Brien, but overall there will have to be a significant improvement for next weekend's trip to Featherstone.

There the Bulls will face men such as Garreth Carvell, Paul Wood and Paul Sykes – all seasoned Super League performers.

Whitehaven made life worryingly uncomfortable for Bradford yesterday. The Cumbrian visitors trailed only 10-4 at half-time before the hosts gradually woke up and made their superior fitness levels and quality pay with four second-half tries.

The opening 40 minutes was another view of life in the Championship – and it was not pretty.

Whitehaven are a team of part-timers and several of their players work at the Sellafield nuclear site. None of them are full-time rugby players, like every member of Bradford's squad.

Yet for much of the first half – after a minute's silence to honour the memory of club stalwart Debbie Charlton following her recent death – it was impossible to distinguish which side was which.

The Bulls squandered possession, struggled to complete their sets, kicked too early in the tackle count and generally failed to make the gulf in quality pay.

Passes were undercooked or misplaced and, aside from Gaskell's touches of class, there was precious little to warm the crowd on a bitterly cold afternoon.

Whitehaven, who are currently without a head coach following Steve Deakin's resignation just days before the season started, went toe to toe with Lowes' men.

Apart for two tries from Purtell and Pitts in quick succession midway through the first half, the underdogs kept the Bulls at bay. In fact, they grew in confidence as the half wore on.

When Jessie Joe Parker took Dion Aiye's pass to finish a flowing move for the Cumbrians in the 31st minute, life surged through the visitors' veins.

A 10-4 scoreline did not look good for Lowes, who would have made his thoughts clear during the interval.

Whatever his message was, it was heeded. Within ten minutes of the restart, two tries from Gaskell had effectively put Whitehaven out of sight.

Overall, the 80 minutes showed what life in the Championship is all about – something the Bulls are beginning to discover.

Lowes handed a start to fit-again Jean-Philippe Baile in the centres and Chev Walker was moved to loose forward with Danny Addy out injured.

The Bulls enjoyed plenty of early possession, and were on the right end of the penalty count, but initially struggled to find a way through the Whitehaven rearguard.

O'Brien, who enjoyed another fine game as an 80-minute hooker, combined with Harry Siejka and Gaskell to find Walker ten metres out in the Bulls' first real opening of the match.

Walker knocked on and the chance went begging, which set the tone for much of the first half.

The next chance saw Jake Mullaney spill the ball close to the line from Siejka's short pass as the conditions continued to make life difficult.

Whitehaven took confidence from the Bulls' shortcomings, and their own defensive solidity, but they fell behind in the 15th minute.

Gaskell cleverly created the space inside the left channel to breach the Whitehaven defence before showing intelligence to unselfishly send the supporting Purtell over from close range.

Siejka failed to convert but another quick pass from O'Brien then sent Gaskell marauding forward again before he was stopped in his tracks by a fine tackle from Ben Milburn.

The second try soon arrived as Siejka's kick bounced kindly for Pitts to arrive at pace to ground the ball.

Siejka converted and a 10-0 advantage should have been the signal for the Bulls to kick on and possibly take Whitehaven to the cleaners. It was not.

Bulls v Whitehaven match pictures

The Cumbrians, inspired by the intricate probing of former Hull FC play-maker Brett Seymour, hit back with a well-worked try from Parker in the 31st minute.

Whitehaven fashioned a well-worked handling sequence inside the left channel, with Aiye's neat pass sending Parker over the line.

That made it 10-4 at the break – but the Bulls increased the tempo considerably after the interval as Pitts twice set up tries for Gaskell.

Two minutes after the restart, Pitts broke superbly inside the left channel and expertly sent the supporting Gaskell scampering clear from 20 metres out.

Seven minutes later, the Bulls – and, indeed, Gaskell – struck again. This time O'Brien found Pitts and the former Hull FC second-rower sent Gaskell over the line from close range.

Whitehaven must have sensed the game was up at this point but they continued to battle on bravely.

Nevertheless, the Bulls scored again in the 67th minute when Gaskell underlined his predatory instincts to touch down a teasing kick from Siejka.

Adam Sidlow, who again impressed and while playing big minutes, then bagged the Bulls' sixth and final try in the 76th minute when he crashed over the line from close range.

So the Bulls collected their first win of the season in front of a crowd of 4,891 – a very healthy turn-out, given the horrendous weather.