Featherstone Rovers 44 Bradford Bulls 18

HAPPY Easter? Forget that. The Bulls will be glad to see the back of this holiday period after suffering back-to-back defeats and a major reality check.

Beaten at home by West Yorkshire neighbours Halifax on Good Friday, they were all but dead and buried by half-time against promotion-chasing Featherstone Rovers.

Short of bodies and short of experience, this was arguably Bradford's worst display of the season as they trailed 38-0 at the interval.

Granted, they may have won the second half, but the game at the LD Nutrition Stadium was over by the break when Rovers started to switch off.

With 11 games gone, the Bulls are still four points adrift at the bottom of the Championship and still a victory away from wiping out the 12-point penalty imposed by the Rugby Football League.

With another tough one to come at Toulouse in two weeks' time, there is unlikely to be any 'zero party' before at least May 7 when the Bulls visit Sheffield Eagles.

Both Leon Pryce and Colton Roche were unavailable for the Bulls after suffering injuries in the defeat against Halifax.

Captain Pryce had suffered a recurrence of knee trouble and Roche, who had been used as interchange three days earlier, had a broken finger.

Pryce's absence prompted a reshuffle, with Oscar Thomas switching to stand-off, Johnny Campbell returning to full back and Ilies Macani coming back into the starting line-up on the wing. Scott Moore wore the captain's armband.

Loanees Jordan Lilley (Leeds) and Daniel Murray (Salford) were still unavailable after being recalled by their parent clubs for the Easter programme – and with Lee Smith ruled out by an ankle injury and new signing Dane Chisholm stuck in limbo amid a dispute with former club Sheffield Eagles over his registration, there was a first appearance on the bench for young second-rower Keenen Tomlinson.

Featherstone included former Bulls prop Richard Moore – after suspension – and also had Jack Ormondroyd, currently on dual registration from Leeds Rhinos, among the interchanges. Ormondroyd, who grew up in Bradford supporting the Bulls, is the son of former Bantams striker Ian Ormondroyd.

Rovers had lost on Friday to runaway leaders Hull KR but are still sitting third in the table with their sights set firmly on a a top-four finish.

The difference in quality between the two sides became obvious almost immediately. The Bulls gave the ball away on the second tackle straight from kick-off and were duly punished.

Featherstone switched the ball to the flank where winger Misi Taulapapa dived over near the flag. Cory Aston's kick drifted wide but it was still a terrible start for the Bulls.

The pressure continued to build as Rovers looked to take full advantage of the sloping pitch. Full back Ian Hardman was held up just a yard from the line but it would not be took long before the lead was extended.

There were just ten minutes gone when James Lockwood passed to John Davies, who threw the ball out wide for Hardcastle to dive over near the flag, Aston missed again but the writing was on the wall.

Bradford's body language did not look good at all and the defending was poor.

Rovers scored a third try within a minute as this time Chris Ulugia set up Scott Turner, who strolled through to put the ball down under the posts. Aston added the extras to give Rovers a 14-0 lead with less than 15 minutes played.

There was no sign of any spark from the Bulls as Featherstone maintained their grip on the contest. Davies nearly scored a fourth try but failed to hold on to the ball as scrambled over the line.

Moore's high tackle on Ulugia then led to a Rovers penalty 20 yards out but they opted not to kick and failed to take advantage.

The Bulls sent on Evan Hodgson and James Davies in an attempt to halt the Rovers charge. Things started to improve, albeit briefly, and the visitors were unlucky not to score when Joe Keyes went in under the posts but referee Liam Jones ruled out the try for an obstruction by Jon Magrin.

Rovers had been rattled for the first time in the game but any revival was quickly nipped in the bud when Andy Bostock bulldozed his way over and Aston added the extras to make it 20-0.

The agony got worse as Aston showed invention to score the fifth try of a depressing first half for the Bulls before kicking the goal. Turner then added a sixth try after skipping past a challenge from Macani and Aston struck a beautiful kick over from the touchline.

There was still time for Rovers to add a seventh before half time and Aston duly skipped through with Bradford's defence in complete disarray.

The Bulls were facing an exercise in damage limitation and their first-half performance had left a great deal to be desired. Trailing 38-0 at the interval and struggling to cope with Featherstone's physicality, this was a true reality check for the Bulls.

But they made the best possible start to the second half when Ross Oakes intercepted a Featherstone pass and sprinted 50 metres to touch down in the corner, Oscar Thomas adding the extras.

It was no more than a false dawn as Featherstone No 8 Darrell Griffin added Featherstone's eighth try. Aston kicked his sixth goal and the lead was back to 38 points with 30 minutes to go.

Featherstone were reduced to 12 men when Bostock was sin-binned after petulantly kicking the ball into the Bradford supporters when he narrowly failed to add a ninth try.

Bradford, who had lost Keyes to injury at the interval, gave away their tenth penalty of the afternoon after 58 minutes – underlining the inadequacy of their afternoon's performance.

Luke Cooper charged over the line as Featherstone looked to score again but a good tackle by Campbell prevented the prop from grounding the ball.

The Bulls got their second try with 15 minutes to go when Thomas' cross-field kick was palmed back by Omari Caro, allowing Oakes to dive on the ball near the flag, Thomas converting his second goal.

Campbell was pole-axed by a dangerous off-the-ball body-check from Taulapapa. The Rovers wing was sin-binned as a result and Campbell played on only after lengthy treatment.

The Bulls made the most of the numerical advantage and reduced the deficit four minutes from the hooter when Caro scored in the corner. Thomas added his third goal but it was too little and far too late.