Bradford Bulls 36, Dewsbury Rams 22

CHAMPIONSHIP Shield success is no substitute for World Club Challenge glory; a sparsely-populated Odsal can never compare to that heady night at Huddersfield in 2006.

But the Bulls now have a golden opportunity to win their first piece of silverware since thrashing Wests Tigers in front of a huge crowd of over 19,000 at the John Smith's Stadium.

They were officially the best team in the world that night after Stuart Fielden and Co reduced their Australian counterparts to rubble in a 30-10 win.

Traumatic does not do justice to life at this famous old club during the past decade, but the Championship Shield final against Sheffield this coming Sunday at least offers Bradford the chance to finish the campaign on a winning note.

That is not something to be sniffed at and even though the bulk of the squad is departing, plenty of men who were at the heart of yesterday's victory are staying put.

Indeed, all but one of the try-scorers are contracted for next season and head coach Rohan Smith will build his team around the likes of Dane Chisholm, Alex Mellor, Kris Welham, Kieren Moss and Ethan Ryan in 2017.

They all touched down in a hard-fought win which meant the Bulls had the last laugh on their local rivals after the sides had won two games apiece earlier in the season.

Following last week's 80-0 annihilation of Sheffield at Odsal, Smith took the sensible decision to field the same 17 players.

In a season in which the Bulls have signed and discarded players at an alarming rate, it was heartening to see such continuity, even though it has come too late to save the season.

Head coach Smith had raised concerns with the manner in which Scott Mikalauskas officiated the Bulls' niggly win at the Tetley's Stadium last month.

This was his fourth Bradford game in recent weeks and another penalty-strewn affair, which naturally disrupted the flow of the game and left Smith unhappy once again.

Dewsbury came up short yesterday, as was perhaps to be expected given the depth of talent in the respective squads.

But they were not helped by the absence of on-loan Etu Uaisele and Lucas Walshaw, who were again denied permission to face their parent club.

Bradford have lavished over £1million on players this year and the Rams, in stark contrast, will have spent less than a fifth of that amount.

Dewsbury would have no doubt drawn inspiration from their previous two wins against the Bulls earlier this season.

They dumped their big-city neighbours out of the Challenge Cup in March and then won at Odsal during the regular season three months later.

Yesterday's kick-off was delayed by five minutes because not enough turnstiles had been opened – but when the action started, it was predictably feisty stuff.

Former Bulls player Jason Crookes made a late hit on Mellor but the Bulls showed they were not prepared to be bullied by their visitors. A strong challenge from Danny Addy forced the Rams to drop-out and from there Bradford soon led.

Addy was denied from close range but, on the next tackle, Adam O'Brien's simple pass sent Chisholm over unopposed in the left corner. The Australian was celebrating before he had even touched down and Lewis Charnock added the extras to make it 6-0.

Dewsbury had their moments and Matt Groat, whose elbow infamously broke Lee Gaskell's jaw when playing for Doncaster at Odsal last season, gave them plenty of physicality up front.

Yet Bradford always gave the inescapable impression they could move through the gears when the opportunities arose – and so it proved in the 13th minute.

Mellor collected a pass from Dale Ferguson inside the right channel and showed impressive pace and strength to back himself, fend off Dom Speakman and sprint clear into the corner.

It was a fine effort from the homegrown second-rower and a reminder of the talent that Odsal has spawned in recent years on a day when supporters trust BullBuilder presented their player of the year trophies to the under-16 and under-19 sides at half-time.

Six under-19 players are now full-time members of the first-team squad and 14 scholarship graduates have signed professional terms with the Bulls, which offers much promise for the future.

The penalties continued to come thick and fast during yesterday's match and Jay Pitts almost grabbed a third from O'Brien's short pass.

Yet after the Bulls were caught offside, Dewsbury fashioned a try as scrum half Andy Kain offloaded to Groat, took the Australian's return pass and then scampered through the Bradford defence and over the line.

Tom Hemingway inexplicably missed the conversion from a central position and Rams winger Dale Morton then had a try in the right corner ruled out for at least one forward pass in the build-up.

Nathan Conroy, a Bradford lad who made his debut for the Bulls in Super League in a home win against Huddersfield in September 2013, made his mark off the bench.

But Dewsbury's ill-discipline continued to undermine them and, on the back of yet another penalty, the Bulls soon grabbed their third try when Charnock's quick pass found Mellor and he evaded the attention of Crookes to touch down in the right corner.

Charnock failed to convert either of Mellor's tries, so it was 14-4 as the interval approached.

A minute before the break, Ryan did well to collect a superb kick from Chisholm inside the left channel before showing intelligence to usher the supporting Kris Welham over in the left corner.

This time Charnock did convert, leaving the Bulls 20-4 up at half-time if not necessarily in complete control.

Five minutes after the restart, Dewsbury hit back when Crookes was on hand to touch down in the left corner and cap a fine handling sequence.

Shane Grady's fine touchline conversion made it 20-10 and suggested it could be very much game on. Bradford had other ideas, though, and two quickfire scores put them beyond Dewsbury.

First, Chisholm found Moss 20 metres out and the full back's expertly-judged grubber kick bounced behind the Rams' defence and into the grateful arms of Danny Williams, who had a simple job to score.

Four minutes later, Mellor embarked on another surging run down the right flank and brilliantly found Moss 20 metres out, with the full back doing what he does so well in supporting the attack and racing clear.

Dewsbury refused to lie down and Josh Guzdek touched down a loose ball – and with five minutes remaining, Toby Adamson took Tony Tonks' pass to score from close range and Grady's goal made it 32-22.

But with time running out, Grady dropped the ball and Ryan ran clear down the left flank, being ankle-tapped by Guzdek before rising to his feet to ground the ball.

Attendance: 2,189