ROHAN Smith admitted the Bulls failed to cope with Jarrod Sammut as his hat-trick secured a famous 30-26 win for relegated Workington.

Former Bradford favourite Sammut stuck the knife into his old club with three tries, an assist and five goals in an impressive 22-point personal haul.

Theerapol Ritson's dramatic late try sealed victory for the battling Cumbrians but it was Sammut who claimed the man-of-the-match honours.

Bulls head coach Smith said: "Jarrod ran hard through a few tackles close to the line and we couldn't handle him. He enjoyed the conditions and probably practises a lot in them.

"He loves his kicking – you could see him out there before the game – and he executed perfectly in this situation.

"Credit to Jarrod and credit to Workington for digging deep because everyone is saying they produced a performance they haven't seen all year.

"They earned their win and good luck to them. We had a crack and the players tried but we just didn't play well.

"You only have to walk into the dressing room afterwards and have a look around to see how disappointed the players are, regardless of who is staying or going.

"They are not happy with their own performances because we didn't execute well."

The Bulls were without Dane Chisholm and Kris Welham and handed debuts to Josh Rickett and Liam Kirk, while Ross Oakes marked only his third senior appearance with a try.

Yet Smith admitted his team were well below par and said: "It's disappointing to play that way, more than anything.

"I've just said to the players that there is no point looking at the scoreboard or the league ladder and then make an assessment before they get here.

"You've got to play well because when you invite a team to sniff around, you expose yourselves to some skill at the end of the game.

"It wasn't about who wasn't playing today, it's always about who is playing and it's disappointing that we didn't get the job done.

"I thought those kids represented themselves well and it was good to give them a taste of what Championship life is all about for the future. They did their best and held their own."

Bradford were outmuscled up front and Smith reflected: "I thought at various times the Workington forwards really found an extra gear.

"They dug deep and we probably didn't chose the right tackle on several occasions. They found an offload and that built pressure on us.

"On the opposite side of it, I thought we ran too tall and didn't run hard to bury our nose or get body position. We wanted to stay on our feet and didn't really make their middle men work play after play."