Two-try Aussie ace leads Bulls back from the dead after trailing by 20 points (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Two-try Aussie ace leads Bulls back from the dead after trailing by 20 points

6:30am Saturday 6th March 2010 in

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Bulls 22, Wigan 20

The Bulls’ little general led them back from the brink to transform a seemingly hopeless situation into the most remarkable of victories.

Booed off at half-time, Bradford deserved the fans’ ire as they were wretched throughout the first 40 minutes against a rampant Wigan.

But, guided by scrum half Matt Orford, they showed unbelievable resolve, tenacity and no shortage of craft to recover from a 20-0 interval deficit and inflict a first defeat of the campaign on the Super League leaders.

Glenn Hall scored the decisive try with almost the final play of the game but the night was Orford’s.

Poor throughout the first half, struggling to find range with his usually flawless boot, the former Dally M medal winner responded to put in one of the best 40-minute performances of the season so far, possibly one of the best in recent memory.

Claiming two tries himself, he found gaps in the Wigan defence that previously had not been there, taking on the line, creating a string of opportunities with his delightful variety of passes and keeping the pressure on with his kicking game.

It quickly transformed desolation into jubilation, providing more hope than ever that this Bulls team can challenge for honours.

Rikki Sheriffe’s absence with a hamstring injury was always going to be a big miss for the Bulls, considering his impressive early-season form, and that point was driven home within three minutes.

Steve McNamara opted to go with Jason Crookes on the flank and the 19-year-old was given a harsh reintroduction to Super League life.

Playing his first game for almost a year due to injury, Crookes’ first involvement saw him spill a high bomb, gifting Wigan an early chance.

They did not waste it as Darrell Goulding took advantage of poor sliding defence, scoring in the corner off a long ball from Amos Roberts.

The Warriors appeared strong throughout the early stages, good kicking early in sets and an equally impressive kick-chase keeping the Bulls pinned back.

But a couple of errors proved the league leaders are only human and Bradford could, possibly should, have got themselves right back in it.

A half-break from Brett Kearney appeared promising but, getting a rush of blood to the head, Dave Halley tried to force an offload and Martin Gleeson snatched possession back.

Soon after Chris Nero almost barged over off a clever short ball from Orford and Nick Scruton also came close before Roberts dealt with the grubber from Kearney behind his own line.

Despite having their fair share of possession, the Bulls’ problems were exactly the same as they had been in earlier defeats to Huddersfield and St Helens.

Rather than taking their time to complete sets and lay solid foundations, they seemed to play with impatience, eager to get themselves off the mark.

Too often, overcomplicated offloads were thrown when it would have been better to take the tackle and the basics suffered, kicks failing to offer much of a challenge to the Wigan defence.

The Warriors simply had to make them pay – and that’s exactly what they did.

A stunning break down the left flank by Pat Richards deserved a try and it looked as if the winger would provide it until he was stopped in his tracks by Halley. Still, Sam Tomkins looked certain to score but could not keep hold of Richards’ offload.

The young England stand-off soon made amends though. Another poor Bulls kick went straight down Roberts’ throat and the full back made a dazzling 70-metre break, slaloming his way through Bradford’s fragmented defence before Stuart Reardon finally made the tackle.

With the Bulls on the ropes, Tomkins provided the attacking punch, bursting through a tackle to send in Harrison Hansen, Richards improving.

Richards very nearly added to the tally six minutes later, touching down in the corner only for play to be called back for a forward pass from Sean O’Loughlin.

But the missed chance almost didn’t matter. With Bradford completely shell-shocked, Wigan soon grabbed a third try anyway.

Sharp and intelligent, Roberts made a dart from dummy half to part the defence and Sam Tomkins scored off the inside pass from O’Loughlin. Richards added the extras to make it 16-0.

And it did not stop there. Harrowing memories from the Bulls’ drubbing at the hands of St Helens in their home opener were brought back to life as the visitors scored again two minutes before the break.

Another impressive play and a good interchange of passing saw the Tomkins brothers combine to send in Richards on the left. It looked every bit man against boy as the winger steamrollered opposite number Crookes to stretch over the line.

The game looking dead and buried at half-time, a few sarcastic remarks in the press box about a potential comeback seemed exactly that – until the Bulls emerged for the second half completely re-energised.

At first it appeared the two teams had decided to swap shirts well in advance of the full-time whistle, such was the extent of the turnaround as Bradford put themselves right back in with a shout.

Within five minutes of the restart, Craig Kopczak burst onto a smart inside ball from Orford and charged straight through the line. Godwin offered the support run and darted another ten metres before releasing Kearney for the try, Orford improving.

Remarkably, they struck again within three minutes. Wigan knocked on inside their own ten-metre line and Orford took Godwin’s pass from dummy half, bursting through an almost non-existent gap and squeezing through three tacklers to score. The Aussie scrum half then converted his own score to bring his side within eight points.

Having clawed their way back into the game, the Bulls had to show resolve to ensure they kept Wigan out.

In complete contrast to the first half, their goal-line defence stood up well to any challenge thrown their way and they denied the Warriors for three consecutive sets before Thomas Leuluai knocked on over the try-line.

At the opposite end they were also made to work for everything they got, so it was fitting master yeoman Jamie Langley set the platform for their third try.

A superb tackle bust from the back-rower blew the door wide open and up stepped the little general once more, Orford cutting a lovely angled run onto Heath L’Estrange’s pass before selling the dummy to score.

The scrum half missed his conversion but it was another of his kicks that created the platform for the winning score.

Roberts actually claimed the high bomb but then knocked on in the face of a good chase and Hall put recent indifferent performances behind him to power his way through the goal-line defence. A final stroke of Orford’s boot sent Grattan Stadium into delirium.