ROHAN Smith felt the Bulls were “by far and away the better team” as they beat Halifax at the fifth time of asking.

Bradford had lost their previous four encounters against their West Yorkshire rivals but two tries apiece from Kieren Moss and Kris Welham illuminated a 44-22 success.

Smith was keen not to dwell on the five tries that his men conceded, preferring instead to focus on fine performances from Moss and Dane Chisholm.

Moss scored a brilliant long-range effort from full back in the first half and Chisholm was instrumental throughout in the second round of the Championship Shield.

Head coach Smith said: “We scored some spectacular tries and, although we lacked a bit of consistency, overall we were by far and away the better team.

“Conceding five tries wasn't great and the defensive performance wasn't good enough.

“We had some scrappy moments in the first half but I thought we started the game okay.

“The scoreline didn't really reflect that but I thought we played strongly enough.

“Moss and Chisholm have speed and support play, so when things happen they get the opportunity to finish things off.

“We certainly lacked that in the early stages of me getting here.

“Once Chisholm arrived and added to what Moss was doing, it now feels like every time we go through there is a chance of finishing it off.

“It's very good to have that threat and the try from Moss in the first half was special.

“It was a great catch and he's genuinely fast, even though he looks like he's doing it comfortably.

“They never got near him and I really like the way Dane went about his work too.”

Smith, who revealed he was unlikely to sign Lewis Charnock on a permanent deal at the end of his loan spell, also paid tribute to Stuart Fielden.

The legendary former Bulls prop presented Danny Addy and Matty Blythe with their jerseys for the game to mark the former’s 150th outing for Bradford and the latter’s 150th career appearance overall.

Smith explained: “Stuart came down before the game to present Matty and Danny with their jerseys.

“That's the start of what we want to create here – where former players are still felt around the place.

“We want that spirit throughout the place and Stuart had some great words for the guys.

“Reaching 150 games is a special achievement, so we wanted to do something special for Danny and Matty to make them feel appreciated.”

On-loan Wakefield hooker Stuart Howarth was forced off in the second half with a head knock and will be assessed.