Whitehaven 10, Bradford Bulls 46

IT is early days, and far greater tests lie ahead, but it already feels as though Bradford are better placed to challenge for promotion this year.

Last season Jimmy Lowes’ side survived a torrid trip to Whitehaven by scraping to victory with a flurry of late tries.

At the Recreation Ground on Saturday evening, with temperatures approaching the sub-zero mark and the pitch resembling a mudbath, this game was effectively over after 20 minutes.

At that point, the Bulls were 24-0 up and in total control.

They were ruthless, fast and took their chances with deadly aplomb.

Yes, they switched off shortly before and after the interval as the spirited Cumbrians scored two tries to cut their visitors’ lead to 14 points.

But there was no denying the gulf between a team of part-time players, several of whom have day jobs at Sellafield nuclear power station, and a full-time outfit with aspirations to return to the big time.

Head coach Lowes said: “We haven’t played on a pitch as heavy as this for a lot of years, but both teams tried to have a go on it which was pleasing to see.

“We conceded a soft try at the end of the first half and another one at the start of the second half, but apart from that I thought we were very comfortable.

“We’re trying hard to work on certain combinations because, even though there is a decent squad here, you’ve still got to build those combinations.

“There will be times to rest and rotate players, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.

“We were disappointed in some areas which we had worked all pre-season, but it’s my job to get that right.

“Irrelevant of the opposition, I am going to put out a respectful side for everybody and get those combinations right for the big games.”

Much is made of the disparity in spending power between the bottom four Super League sides and the Championship’s top four clubs in the middle eights.

Yet there is also a huge divide in the second tier between the haves such as Bradford and Leigh and the have-nots such as Whitehaven, Oldham and Swinton.

Quite simply, a full-time professional outfit should be comprehensively beating a part-time team and the Bulls should be applauded for highlighting the class divide.

Certainly the manner in which they ripped Whitehaven apart in the opening quarter was a joy to behold.

The hosts simply could not cope with the Bulls’ ruck speed, with Adam O’Brien again orchestrating proceedings at acting half and plenty of runners ready and willing to support him.

The Bulls aim to sign a scrum half ahead of the all-important Qualifiers later in the year, but a settled side is beginning to emerge and certain players are making themselves indispensable.

Kurt Haggerty is one of them, with the close-season signing from Leigh having quickly settled into life at Odsal and established himself as a starting second-rower.

With Mitch Clark and Rhys Lovegrove coming off the bench to make their debuts up front, there has to be a question mark over the future of Epalahame Lauaki, who was nowhere to be seen on Saturday.

Adam Sidlow is currently leading the way in the Bulls’ pack and was outstanding again up front.

If the Bulls do go up this season, Sidlow is likely to play a pivotal role.

Lowes said of the prop: “Adam is a great player and a great bloke who works extremely hard and never ever gives up.

“Whether he plays 40, 50 or 80 minutes, he will try right to the end.”

The Bulls led inside the third minute when, after Whitehaven were penalised for interference at the play-the-ball, O’Brien helped to engineer a neat handling sequence which culminated in James Clare diving over in the left corner.

The noisy and sizeable contingent of Bradford supporters roared their approval but things were about to get better. Much better.

After Omari Caro almost broke clear down the right from Danny Addy’s pass, Haggerty went close and Sidlow was held up over the line before Gaskell scored the first of his three tries in the 11th minute.

It was an effort which so typified the stand-off’s belief in his own ability as he grubbered the ball behind the defensive line and had enough pace to scamper past the Whitehaven full-back to touch down.

The Bulls’ third score soon arrived when Jay Pitts underlined his ability to sniff out a try as he collected Addy’s pass and powered over the line.

In the 20th minute, it was time for Dale Ferguson to take centre stage with a quite exhilarating individual effort.

The second-rower’s Bulls career has been plagued by injuries but his ability has never been in doubt and he showed delightful footwork and impressive pace to weave his way through the home defence from around 35 metres out.

With Addy converting those four tries, a commanding 24-0 advantage should have been the signal for the Bulls to run riot.

Yet Whitehaven, who enjoyed spells of decent field position but struggled to find the guile to make it pay, refused to raise the white flag.

They claimed a well-deserved try on the stroke of half-time when a kick from Grant Gore fell to Jay Chapelhow inside the in-goal area and he grounded the loose ball.

Suitably inspired, James Coyle’s men came out firing after the break and scored again in the 47th minute when Connor Holliday touched down another kick from Gore in the right corner.

Yet the Bulls always gave the impression they could move through the gears when the opportunities arose and they grabbed two more scores from O’Brien and Gaskell.

O’Brien spun out of a tackle to score from acting half before Gaskell outfoxed the home defence from close range to claim his second.

Pitts then grabbed his second when he touched down after a Whitehaven defender spilled Gaskell’s lofted kick before skipper Adrian Purtell unselfishly sent Gaskell clear after the final hooter.

Addy kicked seven goals from eight attempts as the Bulls overcame the heavy pitch by making their class pay to make it two wins out of two ahead of Saturday’s clash with Swinton Lions at Widnes.

Lowes revealed some of his fringe players could be sent out on loan to play elsewhere, adding: “We’ve got a strong squad and there will be movement within that trying to get players games – wherever it may be.”

Attendance: 878