Kopczak injury takes gloss off solid display as Orford impresses (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Kopczak injury takes gloss off solid display as Orford impresses

11:39pm Thursday 28th January 2010 in

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Hull KR 16, Bulls 18

Northern Beaches or north of England, none of it seems to make the slightest bit of difference to Matt Orford.

On a miserable night at Craven Park, the former Manly scrum half settled seamlessly into unfamiliar surroundings with a starring role in the Bulls’ 18-16 win against Hull KR.

His debut has been a month in the making. Held back from any of Bradford’s previous trial games due to a lack of field time, forced to wait four weeks for a taste of the action, there were no signs of ring rust as Orford finally hit the field.

The Aussie’s energy, organisational skills, variety of passing and short-kicking game all screamed class and team-mates were only too happy to follow his authoratitive lead.

Too much can never be read into pre-season trials, and the result certainly did not matter one jot, yet there were signs that a positive new era is in the offing at Odsal.

But the Bulls were forced to take the considerable rough with the smooth, Craig Kopczak suffering a suspected broken leg in only his third game back after knee ligament damage to sour the evening.

A nervy start had not helped. Committing errors inside their own half, the Bulls invited Rovers to make themselves at home inside their 20-metre line.

Caught in two minds about how to deal with Scott Murrell’s quickly-taken 20-metre restart, Paul Sykes carried the ball out of bounds, forcing his side to defend consecutive sets on their own goal-line.

That siege may have been withstood but a second slip-up did not go unpunished. Stuart Reardon fumbled as he tried to escape his own half and soon after, Paul Cooke took on the line, bouncing through a couple of tackles to score in the left corner. Michael Dobson’s kick made it 6-0.

At that stage, the Bulls desperately needed someone to exert a firm hand on proceedings. Inevitably that grip of iron came from Orford.

The Aussie scrum half injected variety and purpose into the attack and had a hand in both tries as Bradford established a 12-6 half-time lead.

Signs of a recovery had emerged before the first score. Attacking the line, Orford created a half chance and his short ball could, possibly should, have sent Rikki Sheriffe careering towards the try-line.

That chance was spilled by the winger but the Bulls quickly honed their finishing skills, down in no small part to Orford.

A short kick to the in-goal provided the opener on a golden platter, Mike Worrincy pouncing to ground the ball. Paul Sykes levelled the scores with a successful kick.

Minutes later, the game was turned on its head. Scott Wheeldon was penalised for holding on right in front of his own line and Orford’s angled pass opened the field up.

Steve Menzies seemed almost surprised to find himself in so much space but linked with Chris Nero, giving Reardon just enough room to squeeze through in the corner, Sykes improving.

It seemed to be smooth running for the resurgent Bulls until a couple of bumps in the road threw them slightly off course.

Injuries to Kopczak, stretchered off following a heavy tackle before the break, and Reardon, who limped off with a dead leg within two minutes of the restart, will have been a painful sight for Steve McNamara.

Insult was added soon after, Clint Newton palming down Dobson’s kick for Chaz I’Anson to score, Dobson adding the extras.

But the Bulls responded well to significant adversity and built another spell of pressure from which they scored the decisive try with 15 minutes remaining.

Orford played the role of creator once more as his cleverly delayed pass sent Elliott Whitehead over the line from close range. Sykes continued his perfect kicking record to make it 18-12.

There was still time for some late drama as Kris Welham exploited slack defence to hack on Dobson's kick and score in the corner with virtually the final play of the game.

But the usually reliable Dobson erred with the boot, allowing the Bulls to close an encouraging pre-season with a win.

Bulls: Dave Halley; Rikki Sheriffe, Paul Sykes, Chris Nero, Stuart Reardon; Brett Kearney, Matt Orford; Nick Scruton, Heath L’Estrange, Andy Lynch, Glenn Hall, Jamie Langley, Steve Menzies. Replacements: Craig Kopczak, Wayne Godwin, James Donaldson, Elliott Whitehead, Mike Worrincy, Jason Crookes.

Hull KR: Shaun Briscoe; Peter Fox, Kris Welham, Michael Ratu, Liam Colbon; Paul Cooke, Michael Dobson; Rhys Lovegrove, Scott Murrell, Scott Wheeldon, Clint Newton, Matt Cook, Ben Galea. Replacements: Mick Vella, Liam Watts, Josh Hodgson, Ben Cockayne, Chaz I’Anson.