ROHAN Smith hailed the impact of Dane Chisholm after the debutant half-back destroyed woeful Whitehaven with a stunning display.

The Bulls battered the Cumbrians 64-18 and the new signing from Canterbury Bulldogs weighed in with two delightful tries and a hand in several others.

Bradford were 52-0 up at half-time and their biggest win of the season lifted them to within point of the top four on a day when rivals Batley and Halifax both lost.

Head coach Smith said of Chisholm: "He's got some confidence about him and real flair in how he plays.

"But he threw his body into some tackles so it was pleasing to see that side of his game as well.

"I spoke to him a couple of times on the phone before he got here, so I knew how confident he was.

"He keeps saying to me how comfortable he is in this environment and he carried that out onto the field today.

"It was a very strong start to the game and we showed a real ruthless streak to keep our foot on the floor.

"I've not looked at the table – that's for you guys in the media to do. I just have to get our team to prepare as best we can and play as well as we can.

"My job is to get us ready to face an Oldham team who will be desperate.

"It's good that results went our way but I just want the Bulls to play well every week and represent the fans and the city as best we can."

Ethan Ryan also caught the eye with a hat-trick of tries after replacing Omari Caro on the wing and the home-grown youngster is expected to sign a new deal shortly.

Ryan combined superbly with Kris Welham all afternoon and Smith said: "There was a lot of play created inside that gets those guys into some space.

"I've seen Welly be good over a long period of time and Kieren Moss and Chisholm were also queuing up in support. That was probably the most pleasing aspect of our first-half performance."

Smith axed Oscar Thomas and replaced him with fit-again St Helens loanee Lewis Charnock, who dovetailed effectively alongside Chisholm.

The Bulls coach said: "I really liked Charnock's game today. We changed a few things structurally and he was on the front foot and supported play a lot more. That was pleasing to see."

Welham was sin-binned early in the second half for his reaction to reportedly having his testicles squeezed.

Kieren Moss took a whack to the head and was withdrawn late on but Smith confirmed the knock was nothing serious.