More Millennium misery for Bulls

5:59pm Sunday 4th May 2008

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Bulls 26 Leeds Rhinos 40

The scoreline may have been closer than Headingley and there was none of the cruel injustice of the previous Millennium Magic, yet somehow this Bulls defeat will be the hardest to stomach.

While Bradford were destroyed by a team on fire in March and a pair of bungling officials last May, on Saturday night they were simply undone by their own obvious failings.

The fact it came against a Leeds side bereft of seven regulars, including talismanic players like Gareth Ellis and Jamie Jones-Buchanan, just made it worse.

The Super League champions were there for the taking in Cardiff, not only at the start but at the midway point too, when Steve McNamara's side led 10-6.

But they capitulated spectacularly to throw away a glorious chance to narrow the gap on the leaders and give themselves a real shot in the arm in their own quest for success.

As soon as Eric Anselme gleefully finished off a sweeping move from deep with just 46 seconds on the clock after the restart, Leeds looked like they would motor on and inflict yet another demoralising defeat on their fiercest rivals.

Bradford opened up as easily as all the bars waiting for the masses of supporters to descend on the Welsh capital this weekend. It was very un-Bulls-like as Leeds struck from their own half time after time.

Soon after, Danny McGuire set Simon Worrall charging through for Keith Senior to finish off and then Tame Tupou - caught ball-watching when Scott Donald raced down his touchline for Anselme's score - was found wanting again.

The big Kiwi winger was supposed to come on as a prop against Leeds, with his 18-stone frame utilised to give the Bulls forwards some much-needed ballast while missing Joe Vagana and Chris Feather.

After all, there's only so much the ever-willing Andy Lynch and Sam Burgess can do on their own.

But when James Evans pulled up early with a dead leg, Tupou was deployed in his usual spot. How he must have wished he had have been mixing it with the forwards instead.

He came in-field to flap at Brent Webb's long pass that put Donald over and was caught out a third time when Super League's top-scorer got on his outside again straight from the kick-off.

The outstanding Webb was on hand as ever to take the spoils that time and Kevin Sinfield's conversion made it 28-10 with just 14 minutes of the second period gone. Game over.

Webb is out of contract at the end of the season and apparently open to offers. Bradford aren't short of full backs, with Dave Halley again impressing and Michael Platt unable to get in the 17, but this Kiwi would be a real asset with his flair and skill.

It was up front where the Bulls were short on Saturday though, with second-row Jamie Langley forced into action as an emergency prop when Tupou was deployed elsewhere.

McNamara had no props to rotate off the bench and the engine room suffered.

Then came the calamities out wide and there was no recovery.

Semi Tadulala and Shontayne Hape did respond with tries when the Bulls held onto the ball long enough to get to the Leeds end and that saw them claw back to 28-20.

But Paul Sykes dropped the restart, which summed up their night, and Leeds were off the hook.

Although Bradford manfully defended that set, they immediately undid the hard work when David Solomona tried to get Tadulala clear. His telegraphed pass was plucked out of the air by Ryan Hall, the Leeds winger racing in untouched from 35 metres.

Terry Newton was penalised for being offside from the kick-off and the Bulls' frustrations were palpable.

They had already seen one restart harshly pulled up for not going ten metres and they knew they were fighting a losing battle.

But there had been far too many handling errors earlier on, with even the usually reliable Halley and Burgess coming unstuck. Completing only half of your sets is never the bedrock for forging a win against a side of Leeds' potency but that is what McNamara's side mustered in another big let-down.

He also blamed a woeful kicking game and they badly missed Ben Jeffries' expertise in that department as well as the injured stand-off's pace.

Last year, a furious McNamara refused to leave the press room, staging a sit-in until he got answers about the referees' howlers that led to Leeds snatching victory in the last second.

This time he was furious again but blaming no one but themselves after this disaster.

"It doesn't get much more disappointing than this and it's not good enough," admitted the coach.

"We started dreadfully slowly and our kicking game was really poor but then the second half was even worse.

"We only held onto the ball five times. At half-time we spoke about gifting them ball from poor kicks and then we decided not to kick it at all - just give it to them.

"We made it even easier for Leeds. I'm disappointed with everyone and I include us all in that."

Despite plenty of Leeds pressure, Bulls were up at the break through Tadulala's opening try, marking his 100th career game in British rugby league with a typically powerful finish.

Seventeen-year-old Kallum Watkins responded in his first Super League start but two Deacon penalties gave them the edge and they deserved it, having earlier defended their line for three consecutive sets.

However, the second half was a different matter entirely and Bradford - after now painfully conceding 40 points twice against Leeds this season - were left sifting through the wreckage of another one that got away.