MATT Diskin admitted the Bulls were way off the pace as they crashed to a 30-16 defeat at the hands of promotion rivals London.

The Broncos strengthened their position in the top two behind leaders Leigh with a deserved win which raised further question marks over Bradford’s promotion credentials.

Interim head coach Diskin said: “We had practised exceptionally well all week but mentally we weren’t up to speed today.

“We didn’t carry anything out that we had done on the training pitch – nothing that we did transferred on to the field.

“London had a lot more enthusiasm and were a lot more clinical with the opportunities they had.”

Injuries to Lee Gaskell and Adrian Purtell forced Diskin to deploy Kurt Haggerty alongside Danny Addy in the halves.

Diskin added: “We have no half-backs, which has been well documented for a while, but I thought Haggerty and Addy tried hard in that position.

“It’s not their natural position, so I think it’s hard to judge them too much and they are trying their best there.

“But is having no half-back the reason why we lost the game? No it isn’t.

“If we had carried out the plan how we practised, I was 100 per cent confident we would win the game.

“But the lads turned up with a totally different mindset that what we practised with.

“Finishing in the top two is still do-able. Is this result the be-all and end-all? No it’s not.

“We want to finish as high as we can but as long as we’re in that top four, that’s the main thing.”

Manly assistant coach John Cartwright and Gold Coast assistant Rohan Smith, son of former Bradford boss Brian Smith, have emerged as the leading contenders for the vacant Bulls job.

Diskin said: “The new coach coming in has a task ahead of him.

“But he’s also got a very talented group of players who at the moment are struggling to find some form and consistency in what they are doing.

“They haven’t turned into a bad side overnight – they are just lacking a bit of confidence.”

Diskin used former Broncos player Oscar Thomas in the centres and put James Clare at full back.

“Oscar is a very talented young kid but he’s still naive in his understanding of the game,” said Diskin.

“At the moment, tactically, I thought James Clare was a better fit for full back and was one of our better players today."