REPORT: It's another Belle Vue nightmare for the Bulls

THE Bulls endured yet another nightmare at Belle Vue.

It is still not two years since the club's bid for an immediate return to Super League ended in the agony of defeat against Wakefield Wildcats in the Million Pound play-off game.

Sheffield Eagles may only be lodgers at Belle Vue but they also stuck the boot into the Bulls - with a result that now heightens fears of possible relegation to League One.

The Bulls have suffered four consecutive defeats since beating the Eagles 48-16 at Odsal a month ago and are in desperate need of a victory to boost flagging morale.

With nine games of the league season to go, the Bulls are still bottom of the table on minus two points. and keep collapsing like a deck of cards. Confidence looks increasingly frail.

Interim coach Leigh Beattie made four changes to the starting 13 with Joe Keyes and Oscar Thomas returning from injury, Ethan Ryan stepping up from the bench, and Sam Hallas making only his third appearance of the season on loan from Leeds Rhinos.

Omari Caro and Brandon Pickersgill were not involved, Kevin Larroyer had returned to Castleford, and James Davies dropped to the bench.

New signings Sam Brooks and Ted Chapelhow, signed on dual registration last week from Widnes Vikings, started on the bench.

Unsurprisingly, there was no sign of Australian halfback Dane Chisholm whose proposed move from Sheffield to Bradford is still the subject of a legal wrangle.

Writing in his programme note, Eagles chairman Chris Noble had stressed that Chisholm is still on the Eagles' books and part of coach Mark Aston's squad.

The Bulls made an encouraging start, weathering some early pressure, and just managing to prevent Garry Lo scoring under the posts.

Loose forward Sam Hallas was tackled just short of the line and a Joe Keyes cross-field kick was agonisingly too high for Johnny Campbell to catch near the corner flag.

But the Eagles broke the deadlock after 11 minutes when Ben Blackmore broke from inside his own 20 metre line and exposed a huge hole in the Bulls's defence. His pass opened the door for Ryan Millar to touch down with relative ease. Halfback Simon Brown converted.

As often happens now with the Bulls , one try is swiftly followed by another.

Sam Scott charged into a couple of Bulls' defenders yet somehow managed to get over. Brown added a second goal to give the Eagles a 12-0 lead with 13 minutes gone.

The Bulls immediately looked in danger of collapse but a Scotty Wheeldon 'try' was ruled out for a forward pass.

After 20 minutes, the Bulls sent on both Chapelhow and Brooks for their first taste of action in a Bulls' shirt

The change nearly paid instant dividends.

Chapelhow was tackled after a powerful surge towards the posts. The ball was played out wide but a loose pass from Oakes made it impossible for Ryan to stay in play as he dived spectacularly for the touchdown inside the corner flag.

The near miss briefly served to lift the Bulls. Chapelhow made a gap for Hallas who narrowly failed to get the ball down under the posts.

Optimism lasted only a short time, however, and when Wheeldon went over for the Eagles's third try on 28 minutes, it was apparent that it was going to be another difficult afternoon. Brown duly added the extras.

Leon Pryce and Scott Moore both went close as the Bulls launched a rare attack but try-scoring opportunities remained few and far between.

An over-ambitious kick by Joe Keyes then resulted in another try for the Eagles. His kick was too short and was intercepted by Garry Lo who broke 50 yards. Although unable to get all the way to the line, the ball eventually found its way to Liam Johnson for try number four. Brown scored his fourth goal from fourth attempts.

Forward Jon Magrin needed lengthy treatment after a clash of heads and was replaced by James Davies just before halftime.

The Bulls might have got some reward before the change-around but Evan Hodgson was tackled by Whiteley near the line.

There was a growing sense of frustration among the Bulls supporters as their team nose-dived towards another heavy defeat.

It took just three minutes for Matty Fozard to increase the Eagles lead after the break as the Bulls fell apart again. Brown's kick made it 30-0.

There was another slap in the face for the Bulls when referee Tom Grant disallowed a try by James Mendieka for offside. Mendeika had dived over from close-range after catching a kick by Keyes.

The Eagles had more strength, pace, and displayed greater concentration than the Bulls. They increased the lead to 34-0 when Fozard broke clear to score his second try of the game. Brown converted.

With 25 minutes to go, the Bulls looked to be heading for their 'heaviest defeat' of the season for the second game in a row.

Former Widnes winger Paddy Kelly celebrated his debut for the Eagles with a try - leaving the Bulls defence stranded with a brilliant dummy in the build-up.

And just moment later, it got even worse as Kyle Trout proved too strong for Thomas on the line. Brown's kick made it 48-0.

Many Bulls supporters had now seen enough and headed for the exits.

Those who did missed a mini-revival.

Oscar Thomas broke the duck after collecting a pass from Pryce.

He took a blow to head in the process of and joined a growing list of players who finished the game battling through the pain barrier. Keyes added two more points with a kick from the touchline.

The Bulls scored again, courtesy of Campbell after good work by the heavily-strapped Mendieka, but Keyes was unable to add the extras.

When Hodgson scored with seven minutes to play it raised the spirits and reduced the deficit to 48-14. Keyes added the extras.

But why had it taken so long for the Bulls to get any sort of foothold in the game? Three tries in less than seven minutes was spectacular but unimportant to the final result.

Perhaps the Eagles had switched off in the closing stages? Certainly the game had been in the bag long before the end.

Sam Scott added the Eagles seventh try in the final minute to underline his side's superiority. Brown missed his first and final kick of the afternoon.

The attendance of 1,437 was the Eagles biggest attendance of the season. The majority of supporters were cheering (or, rather, hoping to cheer on) the Bulls.