A YOUNG Bradford Bulls were edged out of victory in their second pre-season friendly by a much more experienced Hunslet side at the South Leeds Stadium.

John Kear opted to put out a reserve side in the match witnessed by 651, as he aims to give every squad member an opportunity to succeed before the curtain-raiser of London Broncos on February 2.

The Bradford boss made an entire 13 changes from the side that won at Castleford, in a friendly which was decided by tries from Hunslet quartet Josh Tonks, Vila Halafihi, Jordan Andrade and a brace from Anthony Boardman.

'Scoreline is irrelevant' says delighted Kear

The young Bulls were the quickest out of the blocks, launching successive attacks early on with Matthew Race almost being the playmaker for an early try but his low kick was collected by the home defence.

The away side nearly took the lead in the opening minutes when good play from Race again caused Dominic Brambani to fumble near his goal line and give the Bulls a goal line drop out.

Bradford did take the lead two minutes later though after Cobi Green produced a brilliant short kick in the far corner to allow the onrushing Murphy Smith to go over. Race did well to convert.

Ebon Scurr looked dangerous throughout the early exchanges with a couple of commanding runs to gain his side some yards.

Hunslet began to use their experience towards the end of the first period, adding a trio of tries which put them into the ascendancy.

Firstly Halafihi, Brambani, Daniel Rowse and Tonks combined perfectly to allow the latter to go over the whitewash after a superb pass by man-of-the-match contender Rowse.

Then it was the turn for former Bradford Bull Halafihi to get in on the try action, breaking through the stern Bulls defence to put his side in the lead.

To end the half, it was Boardman who grabbed a decisive four points with solid teamwork between the hosts’ forward line playing a vital role.

It must have been a frustrating half-time talk for John Kear, who knew his young Bradford team could more than compete with this strong Hunslet outfit.

The introduction of Harry Shackleton was crucial for the Bulls’ revival as he was at the spearhead of all the good work they produced in the second period.

The home side picked up from where they left off originally after a poor defensive line allowed Boardman to have acres of space on the near touchline.

The centre was found by Rowse as he steamed past the failing Bradford arms to give Hunslet a substantial lead.

On the 50-minute mark it seemed the visitors had woken again, earning their first penalty of the half.

In turn this led to the impressive Shackleton making his way to the Hunslet defensive line and using his good footwork to dummy his way over the line.

Brambani thought he had a chance to shrug off any imaginations of a comeback when he stole the ball from Race, although the attack eventually didn’t come to fruition.

The number six did redeem himself moments later though when he forced his way through Harvey Hallas to get on the scoresheet and show the character that this young Bulls side possesses.

The match was in the balance for the next 15 minutes or so as neither side wanted to give an inch to their opponents.

Tonks made an incredible dash past two Bulls players over the 20-metre line but was halted by a great challenge from William Adams.

As the game reached the latter stages, it was Hunslet who looked the better side and they made their possession count when the powerful Jordan Andrade made his way through to score the decisive try, which Rowse converted to complete his hat-trick.

Kear can be proud of his youngsters who have asked the question whether they deserve a starting place in next week’s huge third friendly at Headingley.

Hunslet: Kiedan Hartley, Ben Markland, Ben Heaton, Anthony Boardman, Matthew Chrimes, Daniel Rowse, Dominic Brambani, Zach Braham, Jack Lee, Jack Ray, Josh Tonks, Duane Straugheir, Vila Halafihi

Replacements - Jack Aldous, Jordan Andrade, Lochlan McGill, James Watson, Zach Johnson, Daniel King, Harvey Hallas, Liam Copland, Arron Williams

Bulls: Billy Jowitt, Murphy Smith, William Adams, Ryan Butterworth, Ryan Leadbeater, Matthew Race, Cobi Green, Keelan Foster, Cameron Berry, Ebon Scurr, Sam Smith, Dewi Billingham, James McGurk

Replacements - Harry Shackleton, Kian Oldroyd, Bradley Ho, Ethan O’Hanlon, Kieran Brining, Jacob Smilie, Isaac Coleman, Luke Littlewood, Layton Heywood

Referee: Andy Sweet