Bradford Bulls 44, Halifax 22

HAVING lost their previous four meetings with Halifax, this was a welcome victory for the Bulls and their supporters.

It was entertaining, exhilarating even at times, and another step closer towards ending a disappointing campaign with silverware.

In many ways, it summed up Bradford’s season – flashes of attacking brilliance but undermined by a soft underbelly.

They conceded five tries, which tells you something.

The Bulls still struggle to defend and, in the midst of victory, that will give head coach Rohan Smith plenty to think about this week.

On the flipside, Kieren Moss and Dane Chisholm are difficult to stop when in full flight.

How every Bulls follower must be wishing they had arrived several weeks earlier.

They are men who Smith will build his team around next season as he patiently writes a new chapter at Odsal.

They were signed by Smith from NRL clubs and both played prominent roles in this success, with Moss’ first try so good you simply had to sit back and applaud.

Chisholm was the attacking fulcrum to whom Halifax simply had no answer as he laid on both of Kris Welham’s scores and further scores for Jay Pitts and Moss.

Season-ticket holders were granted entry to the match as part of their membership but the Rooley Avenue end of the ground was closed.

Therefore, the small cluster of Halifax supporters grouped together at the top-right corner of the Northern Terrace.

Fifty minutes before kick-off, there were little more than 50 fans in the ground.

Chairman Marc Green’s plea for fans to arrive earlier and spend money on food and drink inside the stadium rather than in nearby hostelries had clearly fallen on deaf ears.

Mercifully, the crowd picked up closer to kick-off and it turned out to be a high-scoring opening 40 minutes as the Bulls established a 30-12 interval lead.

Bulls legend Stuart Fielden was a guest of the club in corporate hospitality in another reminder of the glory days.

He even imparted a few words of wisdom to Smith’s players before kick-off and presented Danny Addy and Matty Blythe with their jerseys.

Addy was making his 150th appearance for Bradford and Blythe was making his 150th career appearance.

Skipper Adrian Purtell marked his return to the side at right centre with a try after over three months on the sidelines following shoulder surgery.

The Bulls threatened early on when Chisholm's high bomb was spilled by James Saltonstall, forcing Halifax to drop out.

Lewis Charnock then twice went close from Adam O'Brien passes but Halifax's forwards began to make plenty of metres through the middle.

Thus it came as no surprise when second-rower Adam Tangata collected Gareth Moore's short pass and outmuscled the Bradford defence to score inside the right channel with seven minutes on the clock.

It was poor defending from the Bulls and another unwelcome reminder of the soft centre which has undermined them all year long.

Yet the Bulls always looked dangerous when attacking their visitors with Chisholm the fulcrum and at the heart of everything.

Welham went close in the left corner and the home pressure told in the 15th minute when Alex Mellor raced on to Addy's expertly-weighted grubber kick to score.

Nothing, it seems, can stop Mellor right now.

He scored a hat-trick in the centres at Whitehaven a week earlier and yesterday, back in his preferred position in the second row, he was at it again with his seventh of the season.

But Halifax regained the lead in the 19th minute when hooker Brandon Moore ran straight through Adam Sidlow 20 metres out before racing over the line.

It was embarrassing stuff from the Bulls but, two minutes later, Moss seized centre stage. And how.

Fielding Gareth Moore's last-tackle bomb on his own 20-metre line, Moss was under pressure to deal with the kick.

Not only did he do so superbly, he showed remarkable awareness to spot a gap in the Halifax rearguard and incredible speed to dart through it inside the left channel.

Moss outstripped the defence down the left flank and scarpered over the line for a brilliant individual effort and certainly the best seen at Odsal this year.

Four minutes later, Bradford scored their third try when Chisholm followed Addy's earlier kick by producing a similarly perfect grubber behind the Halifax defence for Welham to run on to and score.

It was now turning into a rout and Purtell marked his comeback with a well-taken try in the 33rd minute, collecting Lewis Charnock's neat pass to race through from 30 metres out.

It was a sweet moment for a player who has been helpless to save the Bulls' season in recent months following his injury-enforced absence.

Purtell seems certain to leave Bradford at the end of the year, but the service he has given to the club in the past five seasons should not be underestimated.

Two minutes later and the Bulls scored a fourth try, which was again down to the individual class of one man.

This time it was Chisholm, impishly weaving his way through a statuesque Halifax defence before a perfect pass sent the supporting Pitts over from 10 metres out. Delightful stuff.

But how many times this season have Bradford switched off?

Well, they did so again on the stroke of half-time when Halifax kept the ball moving and Saltonstall touched down in the right corner.

Charnock, who impressed at times in the opening 40 minutes, converted all five of the Bulls' tries, whereas Scott Murrell missed his three conversions attempts.

That made for a slightly lop-sided interval scoreline of 30-12 to Bradford.

Two minutes after the restart, Danny Williams got in on the act, catching a chipped kick from Kurt Haggerty ten metres out and plunging over the line.

Charnock missed his first conversion attempt but Halifax refused to lie down.

In the 56th minute, Tangata grabbed his second and his team's fourth when he powered over again in the right corner.

Again the try was unconverted, leaving the score at 34-16 to Bradford, who lost Stuart Howarth to a head knock as the final quarter approached.

He was replaced by Adam O’Brien and tensions mounted at times with a couple of late hits from Halifax players before Welham grabbed his second with 15 minutes remaining.

After Charnock had been denied from close range inside the right channel by a high tackle from Ed Barber, the Bulls were awarded a penalty.

They worked the ball out to the left channel where Chisholm’s neat pass sent Welham bustling over the line for his second.

Barber then charged under the posts in the 77th minute for a fifth Halifax try but, fittingly, Chisholm and Moss combined for the final score in the last minute.

Chisholm burst clear through the middle and offloaded cleverly to Moss, who completed his brace.

Attendance: 3,498