Green takes consolation from winning Shield as Bradford Bulls sign off with silverware

MARC Green, centre stage, around 20 minutes after Bradford had won their first piece of silverware in a decade.

“Coming out on top today, if nothing else, overturned the failure to make the top four and it put right that wrong in so far as we had no choice to make the best of the position we are in,” observed the Bulls chairman.

“Therefore not winning today would have been exceptionally disappointing.

“It has been ten years since we won anything and while you would prefer not to have been in the Shield, if you are in it then you have to win it.

“There are only six trophies to win and we have won one of them.”

Claiming the Shield marked the Bulls’ first trophy since the World Club Challenge in 2006, when they thumped Wests Tigers 30-10 at Huddersfield.

For Green to say that yesterday’s success had compensated for that abject surrender at Featherstone on the final day of the regular season would be stretching it.

That 20-0 loss at Post Office Road, when Rohan Smith’s men were condemned to fifth spot, confirmed Bradford’s worst season in living memory.

It marked a monumental failure that has lost the trust of many supporters and those bridges will take some rebuilding.

Steve Ferres, who turned up yesterday, and Robbie Hunter-Paul both quit in the wake of that Featherstone debacle.

Jimmy Lowes threw in the towel just two months into the season and into his place came Smith.

The Australian could not steer Bradford into the Qualifiers, so winning the Shield was the very least his team wanted to end the campaign with.

They managed to do that yesterday, just about, although the Bulls do nothing the easy way.

This was a performance that in many ways summed up Bradford’s season.

They scored inside 22 seconds and two more tries put them 18-0 up by the 22nd minute.

But the crisis-torn Eagles, who were thumped 80-0 at Odsal a fortnight earlier and are in the midst of a financial crisis, fashioned a highly impressive response which saw them breach Bradford’s defence and make it 18-12 at the break.

Smith’s players were due to be paid on Friday – the last working day of the month.

Alas, they were not.

For the third month in succession, wages were not paid on time and the players were waiting to receive their wages today.

Perhaps that was preying on their minds when they began to take their eye off the ball midway through the first half.

The Bulls scored almost immediately when Dane Chisholm collected his own short kick-off and advanced forward at pace.

His progress was halted but Adam O’Brien was on hand to dive over the line from close range to continue his recent renaissance.

The Eagles initially steadied themselves after their nightmare start but the Bulls continued to look dangerous with the ball in hand.

Departing duo Jay Pitts and Adrian Purtell combined to find Kris Welham in space inside the left channel but the opportunity came to nothing.

Yet Bradford continued to probe and Purtell had time and space to collect a superb long pass from Kurt Haggerty and touch down in the left corner.

Purtell's try came after more good work from O'Brien, who wriggled through a gap 20 metres out and almost scarpered over the line.

He was stopped just short but Purtell was soon on hand to ground the ball.

Sheffield forced a drop-out but Bradford had their third try and O'Brien his second in the 22nd minute when Adam Sidlow drove forward deep inside Sheffield territory.

O'Brien was on hand to scoot over from close range and Lewis Charnock booted his third goal from as many attempts.

A commanding 18-0 lead should have been the signal for Bradford to take their visitors to the cleaners.

Again, it was not.

After Kieren Moss knocked on ten metres from Bradford's line, Sheffield worked the ball from the resultant scrum to centre Menzie Yere, who touched down inside the left channel.

That 26-minute try poured confidence into Sheffield and they scored again five minutes later when Moss inexplicably threw a wild pass to no-one and Rob Worrincy was on hand to ground the loose ball in the right corner.

Cory Aston converted both tries and suddenly Sheffield were right back in it at 18-12.

It was comical stuff at times and hardly befitting of a final of any description but, crucially, it made for an intriguing second half.

The Bulls also lost Sidlow to a torn calf during the 32nd minute and he was replaced by Mitch Clark.

Sidlow headed straight down the tunnel and was soon seen on a pair of crutches.

The second half began as a similarly scrappy affair with both teams struggling badly for cohesion.

Aston kicked a penalty to cut Bradford’s lead in the 48th minute but genuine try-scoring opportunities grew scarce for both sides.

Nevertheless, Aston booted another two-pointer in the 55th minute after referee Jack Smith again penalised the Bulls for holding down, making it 18-16.

Moments later the Bulls forced two goal-line drop-outs in quick succession, with Addy moved to hooker after O’Brien was withdrawn.

But they could make it pay?

Clark came within inches of diving on Chisholm’s teasing grubber kick after Welham had gone close in the left corner, but the quality was sadly lacking.

Rookie Ross Oakes also replaced Purtell on the left wing midway through the second half and O’Brien came back on with 17 minutes remaining.

But Sheffield fought as if their lives depended on it and continued to ask questions of the Bulls’ defence.

After Bradford forced Sheffield into another goal-line drop-out, they claimed the match-clinching score from Welham.

The ball was worked out to the centre inside the left channel and he showed impressive pace, strength and footwork to race through two Sheffield defenders and score in the corner.

Charnock missed the touchline conversion but moments later Chisholm had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed.

Breaking from inside his own half, the Aussie playmaker had Moss to his right and Oakes to his left but instead tried to beat the Sheffield defender in his way and was promptly tackled.

He should have passed and he knew it but later in that set Chisholm had the presence of mind to pop over a drop-goal to make it 23-16 and put Sheffield further out of reach.

The Eagles were not helped by the second-half loss to injury of their hard-running centre George Tyson.

With four minutes remaining, Welham added the coup de grace, again bursting through the Sheffield rearguard inside left channel for his 30th try of the season.

Welham celebrated with gusto and it was fitting that he should have the final say, having emerged as the Bulls’ best player in his debut season at Odsal.

Attendance: 3,518