Sheffield Eagles 32, Bulls 30

THE phoney war has nearly run its course; the real battle is fast approaching.

Next week's Odsal showdown with Leigh marks the next phase of the season. The proper work starts here as the Super Eights home into view.

In the grand scheme, yesterday's game meant little – and the Bulls will be grateful for that. Because this was a terrible day at the office.

They say a sloppy dress rehearsal is a good sign. Let's hope so because the first half non-performance at the Keepmoat did nothing to suggest they will get their lines right in the coming weeks when it really matters.

Leigh's convincing win over Featherstone earlier in the day effectively put top spot beyond Jimmy Lowes' men. But that should be no excuse for what followed.

Incredibly, the Bulls still came within a whisker of salvaging something from a spirited final 20 minutes – and might well have done if Jake Mullaney had stayed on the pitch.

Sadly he pulled up after downing his third try as yet another hamstring injury cut his game short.

But anything less than a Sheffield win would have been a travesty.

Perhaps there was something in the Doncaster air after Sheffield's landlords had snapped a 20-game losing streak earlier in the afternoon with their first win of the season.

Whatever it was, the Bulls for large parts showed little evidence of a team capable of taking Super League scalps in the 'Eights'.

Sheffield, of course, will be there in the mix as well and maybe not the whipping boys that most will have expected.

After hefty defeats against Leigh and Featherstone in recent weeks, they really needed two points to safeguard their top-four place and that hunger was clear in the one-sided opening period. They wanted it more.

Lowes had talked about shuffling the pack in the closing weeks of the championship and made three changes from the romp at Hunslet.

He reshuffled the backs but new signing Omari Caro started from the bench. Adam Henry was back in the centres, while Epalahame Lauaki and Chev Walker moved into the pack, which was missing the workhorse Paul Clough.

After a probing kick from Danny Addy failed to bring any immediate reward, it was Sheffield who posed the early questions. The Bulls had to be diligent after a menacing break from Menzie Yere.

The defence held firm to force a turnover before the visitors then cashed in with the opening score on 12 minutes.

Adam Sidlow was heavily involved in the build-up. After being held up inches short, he showed good hands to offload from the floor on the next tackle and Mullaney, fresh from his four-try exploits the previous week, found a big hole to dive through.

Ryan Shaw improved the score but that was as good as it got as the first half quickly went down the pan.

Their lead lasted barely a couple of minutes before the Eagles took advantage of a slack line, full back Quentin Laulu-Togagae proving as tough to tackle as his tongue-twisting name to cut through the white shirts.

Former Bull Kyle Briggs kicked to level the scores ahead of a concerted spell of home pressure. At first the defence stood firm – it had to – as Bradford survived two penalties deep in their own half.

Scott Turner tried to plunge in at the corner from a bouncing pass by Briggs but winger Etu Uaisele did enough to get him in touch.

The respite, however, was brief. The Bulls coughed up possession once again and Briggs was first to a grubber kick under the posts to give the hosts the advantage their adventurous play warranted.

Things swiftly went from bad to worse. Adam Henry spilled a high kick to keep the Eagles on the ball and they seized another scoring chance as Tony Tonks blasted over through a pile of bodies.

Still the agony was not over. Sheffield continued to find joy down the middle, busting their way through without needing to do anything fancy.

Having ground out more yards, they switched the play wide and Sam Smeaton sent in Rob Worrincy, brother of former Bulls player Michael.

The half-time hooter briefly lifted the siege – only for Sheffield to come back out in the same ruthless mood. Another penalty again triggered the problems before the Eagles switched swiftly from left to right for Worrincy to score again.

Sheffield v Bulls match pictures

The winger landed with a bang on his head and needed to go off for treatment. But it was the Bulls who were seeing stars after Briggs delivered a dead-eye kick from wide out to fire Sheffield 22 points ahead.

There was a hint of a response but Uaisele lost the ball with the line in his sights. That summed up Bradford's day up to then.

Caro finally got his chance in the 50th minute but was thrown straight into more backs-to-the-wall action as the Bulls coughed up their fifth penalty of the half. He looked on helplessly as Briggs landed another two.

At that point, Bradford began to find some life about their play. They created some promising openings, only to waste the opportunity with an over-eagerness to keep the ball alive.

When they settled it down, the Bulls found a way through. A clever reverse run from Lauaki bulldozed a hole in the Sheffield ranks and Mullaney swept round to claim his second try, with Shaw goaling well.

The tide was suddenly turning and the Australian turned provider with a powerful attacking run to send in Shaw for a third try.

With Sheffield reeling, the pair then combined again as Shaw returned the compliment for Mullaney to claim a hat-trick for the second successive game. Shaw's kick brought the Bulls within one score but their joy came at a heavy cost, with the try-scorer forced to hobble out of the action.

Briggs landed a penalty which should have eased home nerves – but back once again came Bradford.

Jay Pitts tried to play in Shaw, the rebound fooled the defender and the Bulls loose forward was on the stray ball in a flash to score.

It was just a two-point game with four minutes left. But a knock-on in midfield cost the Bulls one last charge and Sheffield hung on for the win that should have been theirs for the taking.

Attendance: 2,153