Leigh Centurions 22 Bradford Bulls 20

IT is not over yet, but it certainly felt that way when the final hooter sounded to signal a heartbreaking defeat which left every Bulls player and supporter devastated.

Rohan Smith’s men produced their best performance of the season, or at least their best 65 minutes after a sluggish start which saw them concede two early tries.

It was still not enough. Again.

Like the Summer Bash defeat in May, when Micky Higham’s late try handed Leigh victory, the Centurions once again proved just too strong.

This time it was Reni Maitua's turn to stick the knife in, collecting a last-tackle pass from Josh Drinkwater to cross the line with four minutes remaining.

That levelled the scores and there was still work for Lee Smith to do with the conversion but his right boot did not falter and the ball sailed between the posts to edge Leigh 22-20 in front.

It was an advantage they did not surrender during a tense finale.

Leigh supremo Derek Beaumont punched the air pitchside at the end alongside Salford owner Marwan Koukash, who must have wondered where the Bulls would be now had his bid to buy the club proved successful.

For Bradford’s battle-weary players, several of whom were left bloodied and bruised after an epic battle, came the realisation that the dream could soon be over.

This loss left the Bulls three points adrift of the top four places with only three games left.

They are relying on Batley or Halifax slipping up in their remaining games – not once but twice – while knowing they must beat Whitehaven, Oldham and Featherstone to have any chance.

Even maximum points in those games might not be enough to spare Bradford the indignity of competing in the Championship Shield.

That scenario is not what Smith signed up for when he gave up his job on the Gold Coast as Titans assistant coach and moved his young family to the other side of the world to take the reins at Bradford.

Yet that is the grim prospect, and the financial nightmare that would accompany it, facing the Bulls.

Smith was proud of his players after this performance but the following question has to be asked.

Why can’t Bradford play like this every week?

The 17 men on duty gave blood, sweat and tears for the cause with a stirring display which had the Championship leaders on the ropes for much of the second half.

Ultimately, however, the Bulls will rue conceding two tries inside the opening 15 minutes.

Higham was at his scheming best early on and Leigh's pressure told in the eighth minute.

The hosts worked the ball across the face of the Bulls' defence at pace as Drinkwater and Travis Burns combined to send former Leeds man Smith in at the left corner.

Fuifui Moimoi, Gareth Hock and Dayne Weston served as real battering rams up front for Leigh and in the 14th minute, they scored again.

With the hosts camped inside the Bulls' 20-metre line, Hock crashed over the line from close range after collecting Drinkwater's clever delayed pass and outmuscling the Bradford defence all too easily.

Worryingly, Drinkwater had a handful of team-mates queueing up to support him and cross the line.

There appeared to be a few cross words exchanged as the visiting players stood behind the posts as Leigh's second try was converted.

Whatever was said among the group appeared to have the desired effect as the Bulls gradually woke up.

Bradford scored in the 19th minute when, in their first meaningful attack, Danny Addy threw an exquisite long pass out to Omari Caro in the left corner and he touched down.

The Bulls were up and running, with Caro's try coming after the impressive Ben Kavanagh and Oscar Thomas had gone close earlier in the set.

Thomas, who had a decidedly mixed opening 40 minutes but grew in influence as the game wore on, threw a wild pass which gave Leigh a scrum ten metres out.

From there, Leigh again breached the Bulls' defence for a third time as Greg Worthington powered through the Bradford defence all too easily inside the left channel.

The Bulls then forced a drop-out with a short grubber kick from Thomas and scored from the repeat set as Kieren Moss took Kurt Haggerty's smart inside pass to dart over the line from close range.

Addy's conversion made it 14-10 but Smith booted a penalty on the stroke of half-time to make it 16-10 at the break.

In a half where they had been largely second best, the scoreline ensured the Bulls were well and truly in the game.

The visitors always looked dangerous when in decent field position, with Stuart Howarth picked as the starting hooker and Adam O’Brien not called upon until early in the second half.

The large and raucous Bradford contingent taunted Beaumont and Koukash as well.

"What's it like to see a crowd?" was the chant aimed at Koukash by the Bulls followers.

In over three years in charge of Salford, Koukash has had no success on or off the field and it is believed he still has one eye on buying Bradford if the opportunity ever arose.

The Bulls grew into the game as it wore on and Epalahame Lauaki made his mark after coming off the bench in the first half.

After the restart, Higham embarked on a searing break which threatened to take him all the way through.

He was denied but the pendulum began to swing significantly in Bradford's favour as energy, self-belief and a collective desire surged through the veins of Smith’s men.

James Clare touched down in the 50th minute to cap a delightful handling sequence inside the right channel.

At the other end, Tom Armstrong was held up in the right corner moments after Moss had done superbly well to deny Liam Kay as he threatened to burst clear.

Yet Bradford continued to probe and in the 56th minute they scored again after O’Brien, who made his mark after coming off the bench in the second half, had been denied from close range.

Time almost seemed to stand still as Addy, less than ten metres from the hosts’ line, sent the shortest of grubber kicks behind the Leigh defence and Alex Mellor pounced to score.

There was no disguising what the try meant to the homegrown forward, who leapt in the air and was mobbed by team-mates as he celebrated with gusto.

Addy improved the try with the two-point conversion and the Bulls were 20-16 up.

Leigh came back strongly, as was to be expected, and Bradford were forced to dig deep to repel several promising home attacks.

The second half was the Bulls’ best performance of the season from a defensive viewpoint as they threatened to nill a team who have swatted aside most opposition with ease all year.

But, with four minutes remaining, Leigh advanced again and Maitua was on hand to collect Drinkwater’s pass and dart through a gap in the Bulls’ defence.

Smith converted and the Bulls could not fashion another response as Leigh held on, thus extending their unbeaten league record to 19 games.

Attendance: 5,111