Easy-Leigh does it as Bulls show their class

Reeling after a seriously unproductive trip to Murrayfield the previous week, they needed a quick pick-me-up, and a break from Super League action provided exactly that chance.

Efficient rather than flamboyant, Bradford comfortably dispatched Leigh Centurions to plot a smooth passage into the quarter-finals.

It’s easy to see why Leigh are such a devastating force in the Championship – lesser sides would have allowed them to have more impact on the scoreboard – but not even the presence of the evergreen Robbie Paul could bridge the gap in class between the two divisions.

In what has to be, this time, his final ever Odsal appearance, the Bulls legend looked as sprightly as ever, even if that extra turn of pace has diminished, yet couldn’t create another piece of history on his old stamping ground.

All the talk in the build-up to the game had been about bouncing back from the embarrassing 19-0 defeat against Crusaders and the response was swift.

Leigh were under pressure right from the moment they allowed Paul Sykes’ kick-off to bounce before going straight out the back.

Andy Lynch was held up over the line after bursting onto the short ball from Heath L’Estrange and L’Estrange himself went close with a dart from dummy half.

But the opening try itself had more than a touch of good fortune to it.

Brett Kearney’s pass out wide bounced and bobbled, Steve Maden coming within a fingertip’s breadth of snatching a deadly interception.

Fortunately, the Leigh winger’s gamble didn’t pay off and Chris Nero cleaned up before racing through the gap he had left to score in the corner.

With Matt Orford absent, Sykes ensured his loss wasn’t felt, nailing the difficult touchline conversion.

That calmed any early nerves and two tries in the space of three minutes soon put the Bulls well in command.

A neat offload out of the back of the tackle from Kearney allowed Elliott Whitehead to break from the 30-metre line and he drew the full back before sending Sykes away on the inside with ten minutes gone.

Then a superb break from Rikki Sheriffe down the right flank sparked the follow-up, the Bulls winger speeding 40 metres before finding Steve Menzies supporting on the inside to score.

Sykes tagged the extras on both tries to make it 18-0.

Stuart Reardon bombed a great chance to establish an ever greater level of dominance, dropping the ball as he dived for the corner following a superb sequence of play from Bradford.

But, perhaps due to the comfort of their lead, a hint of sloppiness crept into the Bulls’ play and Leigh gave them a timely reminder of the need to stay switched on.

There was an escape when Sheriffe’s pass hit the floor rather than finding the hands of Dave Halley but they weren’t so lucky when Mike Worrincy threw a poor pass on his own 30-metre line.

Martin Ridyard picked off the simplest of interceptions to run in the try, converted by Mick Nanyn.

At that stage, another Centurions try would have really put the cat amongst the pigeons. Instead, Bradford got exactly what they needed to calm the nerves.

Leigh gave away a penalty for laying on in the tackle and from that platform, Lynch broke a tackle with another powerhouse run and found the support run from Kearney with a one-handed offload.

Sykes added the extras to the Aussie’s touchdown, providing the final points of the first half.

Within two minutes of the restart, the Bulls removed any element of doubt about the final outcome.

Making amends for his earlier error, Worrincy cut an angled run onto a short ball from Kearney and handed off the tackler to score, Sykes keeping up his perfect record with the boot to add the conversion.

Despite their spirited effort, Leigh simply couldn’t stop the Bulls piling on the points, their attacking play too crisp and incisive for the Championship side.

Sykes orchestrated much of it and played provider for the hosts’ sixth try, when his long, cut-out pass provided Nero with a stroll to the line.

The next score had more than a hint of deja vu about it. Bradford expertly opened space on the right flank for Sheriffe to stretch his legs and the winger drew Stuart Donlan to provide the decisive pass to Menzies on his inside, Sykes converting.

Two more tries followed in quick succession, with Nero having a strong hand in both of them.

Having accepted two pretty straightforward chances for his earlier scores, the powerful centre rounded off his hat-trick in style, stepping twice to waltz through the defence on his own and create a try from nothing.

The Aussie then made a strong break and provided a super offload out of the tackle to hand Wayne Godwin his second try of the season.

Sykes converted both before being withdrawn from the action for a well-deserved rest.

Stuart Donlan finished off a decent move to provide a consolation for Leigh before Glenn Hall rounded off the Bulls’ scoring.

The powerful back-rower celebrated a rare start by crashing straight through the middle off the pass from compatriot L’Estrange. For his next trick, Hall then stepped up to convert the try himself, much to the amusement of the Bulls fans.

Leigh did at least sign off in style, Dave Armitstead powering over from close range for their third try of the night, Nanyn adding the extras.