From sublime to ridiculous for Bradford Bulls (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Positives gained from beating Giants soon undone by ruthless Wolves

6:50am Monday 1st August 2011 in Match Reports By Connor Murphy, Bradford Bulls Reporter

Warrington Wolves 64, Bradford Bulls 6

So much for another upset. Hopes that had been raised so spectacularly by a 36-0 win over Huddersfield were dashed just as emphatically by a brutal, merciless Warrington side.

Rather than being the rule, the Bulls’ performance against the Giants has been shown up as the exception.

They were outmatched right from the kick-off and Warrington were in no mood to ease off the gas even after racing into a commanding lead.

Even if the play-offs are still a mathematical possibility, Bradford have quite obviously left themselves with far too much to do.

They might have battled gamely at the Halliwell Jones Stadium but they lacked the necessary quality and composure to make a dent in the hosts.

If the seemingly impossible was to happen and the Bulls were to snatch a play-off place, those deficiencies would become even more glaring.

Mick Potter justifiably kept faith with the team that had done a job on Huddersfield but they did not get off to the best of starts.

Patrick Ah Van’s kick-off sailed straight out of bounds, inviting early pressure the Bulls really could have done without.

Warrington thrive on the chance to rip into their opponents right from the off and did not need a second invitation to do just that.

Moving the ball wide they found numbers on the left, although they were matched man-for-man by defenders.

But numbers simply don’t matter when tackles are missed and Ben Jeffries dropped off Ryan Atkins far too easily, giving the centre an easy path to the line.

It quickly got an awful lot worse. Much as they had done in the previous meeting between the two sides, Warrington made metres far too easily, marching downfield almost at will.

Matt King’s grubber in behind was cleaned up by Bryn Hargreaves but the prop proceeded to lose the ball to Brett Hodgson in contact.

There had appeared to be two men in the tackle but referee Steve Ganson let it go and the Wolves raided down the left once more.

Richie Myler collected the ball from Hodgson on the loop and combined with Atkins to send King in at the corner, Hodgson converting.

But the Bulls regrouped and played some decent stuff in the process, throwing the ball about with abandon inside the hosts’ 20-metre line.

Paul Sykes was held up over the line after a scything, angled run but disaster almost struck when Joel Monaghan intercepted Brett Kearney’s pass out wide.

With a headstart on the chasing Bulls, the former Aussie Test star looked certain to score but Gareth Raynor remarkably hunted him down and intercepted his attempted pass to clean up the mess.

It was an utterly remarkable play, especially coming from Super League’s third oldest three-quarter – maybe age is only a number after all.

A try seemed almost inevitable when Warrington were penalised repelling Matt Diskin on their own line but a knock-on from Elliott Whitehead handed possession back and the defence crumbled.

Twice in quick succession, the Wolves targeted Bradford’s vulnerable right edge and twice they came away with perfect reward.

Ah Van flew out of the line while attempting to intercept Hodgson’s long pass, allowing King to feed Atkins for his second try.

Then provider turned scorer, King popping up to take the final pass from Atkins after Myler’s flat, cut-out pass had opened up space.

The Bulls were not without further opportunities themselves, Nick Scruton becoming the third player to be held up over the try-line, but where they struggled to find ways through, Warrington did so with ease.

Atkins enjoyed more success down the left, stepping past Ah Van and slipping the attempted tackle from Jeffries.

The England centre was extremely lucky not to concede possession after dropping the ball but, typically, it bounced backwards and Michael Monaghan’s looping pass found numbers on the opposite flank. Brother Joel was on hand to dive over the line, Hodgson adding the extras.

Warrington only continued to pile on the points after the interval and Hodgson found his way through on the angle to finish a sequence of play started by his own break.

The full back added the extras and was then on hand to take Chris Bridge’s pass after he had burst straight through the middle, touching down despite the best efforts of Raynor.

When the Bulls spotted a chance to halt Warrington’s progress, the door of opportunity was rapidly and forcefully slammed shut, Whitehead forced into touch as he attempted to break down the right.

Instead, the Wolves only heaped on more misery. Myler was stopped just short but Bridge spotted an overlap on the right, launching the ball out for Joel Monaghan to double his try tally, Hodgson converting.

Warrington’s Aussie winger then completed his hat-trick in disappointing fashion for the Bulls, picking off a pass from Herbert and running the length of the field to score.

Another try followed in almost identical circumstances, King this time picking off a loose pass, racing 60 metres, bouncing off Craig Kopczak and providing the scoring pass to Atkins, the former Bull completing his own hat-trick.

A wretched day was pretty much summed up when the Bulls won possession on their own 20-metre line, only for Ah Van to drop the ball straight from the scrum.

That position was not about to be wasted by the clinical Wolves and Atkins added his fourth try of the afternoon, diving in on the left.

Bradford’s body language said it all and, shoulders slumped, they conceded their 12th try, Michael Monaghan put in between the posts by Mike Cooper.

Bridge converted to round off his side’s scoring but the Bulls did at least ruin their clean sheet. Ah Van intercepted a pass from Bridge in the final minute to claim the most scant of consolations.

Attendance: 10,641.