Bradford Bulls 17, Batley Bulldogs 16

THE contrast in the two camps could not have been greater.

Just minutes after the final hooter, a disgusted John Kear marched into the media room and vented his fury.

The Batley head coach was simply appalled by a 67th-minute try for Jay Pitts which turned the game in Bradford’s favour.

With the incessant drizzle having made conditions difficult in the second half, the impressive Lewis Charnock sent a teasing grubber kick behind the visitors’ defence.

Dominic Brambani, under severe pressure from Epalahame Lauaki, spilled the ball in his in-goal area.

Pitts, as he does, was on hand to touch the loose ball down for a predatory try and Kurt Haggerty added the extras.

Cue anger from Kear, whose side had looked every inch top-four material during a typically courageous and controlled display.

“Brambani grounded the ball,” said a visibly furious Kear.

“I’m absolutely adamant that he grounded the ball and if there had been a video referee here it would have been a goal-line drop-out.

“I’m absolutely spewing and pig sick because that was the turning point in the game.

“I’m very angry but also very proud of the boys’ efforts because they sweated blood out there.”

Moments later, Bulls counterpart Rohan Smith walked in and was all smiles as he reflected on a third win inside eight days.

A win which lifted his men above Batley and into third place in the Championship table.

Smith said of Pitts’ try: “In those situations, I look for the reaction of the defending team but it was an extremely tough call.”

At a rain-soaked Odsal, there were handling errors aplenty in the second half.

Yet Bradford did enough, just about, to eke out a potentially priceless victory.

Haggerty, a makeshift half-back, landed the winning drop-goal with five minutes remaining and the home faithful celebrated with gusto.

It was with good reason.

Smith has made good use of his squad during the past week to pick up the six points on offer.

He was again missing a clutch of key men yesterday in Danny Addy, Oscar Thomas, Lee Gaskell, Dale Ferguson, Adrian Purtell, Matty Blythe, Omari Caro, Ben Kavanagh and Rhys Lovegrove.

That meant Haggerty was forced to line up in the halves alongside Charnock, who made his home debut alongside Kieren Moss.

In a balanced opening, Mitch Clark hurt his knee and was forced off inside the eighth minute.

Tom Olbison came on to replace him and he was soon in the thick of things with a decent carry which saw Adam Sidlow stopped just short before Adam O’Brien lost the ball on the last tackle.

It summed up Batley’s tactics: cleverly forcing the turnover with impressive line speed and aggression.

Kear, a noted motivator who famously guided Sheffield and Hull to Challenge Cup final wins in 1998 and 2005 respectively, had clearly pumped his players up.

Batley were disciplined and organised, their performance characterised once again by a collective spirit.

To put it into context, Batley have spent between £150,000 and £180,000 on player wages this year.

Compare that to the £1million-plus that Bradford have splashed out on a large and full-time squad.

Bradford largely dominated field position early on and James Clare’s double inside the opening quarter was no more than his team deserved.

The Bulls led inside the 16th minute when Charnock flighted a high kick to the right corner, where Clare leapt above opposite number Alex Brown to catch the ball and ground it in style.

Haggerty skewed his conversion attempt horribly wide but the Bulls continued to probe and they had their second in the 21st minute.

On the back of conceding another penalty, Batley were forced onto the back foot as Bradford worked the ball across the face of the visitors’ defence.

Charnock’s pass found Alex Mellor inside the right channel and his swift offload sent the unmarked Clare over in the corner for his 16th try of the season.

Haggerty made a better fist of things with his second conversion attempt but was again off target to leave the score at 8-0.

Another high bomb from Charnock, clearly designed to exploit Clare’s height advantage over Alex Brown, almost worked a treat again before Batley survived.

Batley gradually steadied themselves and began to enjoy some decent field position of their own.

Hooker James Davey almost put James Brown over from close range and, as the visitors’ pressure continued, they duly responded in the 28th minute.

Pat Walker and Chris Ulugia were involved in a fine handling sequence which led to Alex Brown scampering down the left flank before showing intelligence to send the supporting Cain Southernwood racing clear.

It was a sweet moment for Southernwood, who played for Bradford in his younger days, and Walker’s conversion made it 8-6.

Now Batley had the scent and nobody was more motivated than Ulugia, who remains a Bradford player but is currently on a season-long loan at Mount Pleasant.

Ulugia had proved a huge thorn in the Bulls’ side during the 24-24 draw at Batley earlier this season and he was no less instrumental here.

In the 35th minute, Bradford’s right edge was ruthlessly exposed again as Ulugia rode roughshod with a marauding run which saw him choose to ignore the supporting Alex Brown and go over himself in the left corner.

It was a fine finish from Ulugia and a reminder of his talent against the club who brought him to these shores.

Walker missed the conversion and then a drop-goal attempt on the stroke of half-time to make it 10-8 to Batley at the break.

The second half grew into a scrappy affair with the drizzle making handling conditions difficult.

Within seconds of the restart, Clare almost claimed his third after Dave Scott failed to clear his lines in the opening set.

Batley then forced a drop-out but Bradford enjoyed plenty of possession at the other end, only to consistently struggle to make it pay.

Brambani kicked a 40-20 and, on the back of that, the visitors forced a penalty which Walker kicked to make it 12-8.

The Bulls enjoyed several sets deep in but O'Brien kicked straight into the arms of Alex Brown on the last tackle and then Wayne Reittie forced Moss into his own in-goal area, ensuring another Bradford drop-out.

Adam Sidlow then knocked on horribly at the other end from O'Brien's short pass before Ulugia committed a similar handling error as the conditions began to take their toll.

More solid defence from Batley, though, forced yet another Bradford handling error but the home pressure finally told in the 67th minute.

Charnock's grubber kick should have been cleared by Brambani in his in-goal area but, under pressure from Lauaki, he failed to gather and Pitts touched down.

The drama was far from over.

With nine minutes remaining, Batley drew level with a scrappy effort as Southernwood touched down for his second in the left corner from Walker’s kick.

Walker could not convert and with, five minutes remaining, Haggerty's one-pointer settled matters after Charnock’s earlier attempt missed the target.

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