Challenge Cup giant-killing shows Bradford Bulls are back

IT had all the ingredients of a cup upset and so it proved.

Bulls, the underdogs at home; a jam-packed crowd cheering them on; playing their local rivals who had sacked their coach earlier in the week. It was all there stacked in their favour.

Fortunately Bulls’ rollercoaster Coral Challenge Cup journey continues into the last eight after they showed great grit, character and togetherness to shellshock their Super League neighbours.

Rhinos just didn’t know how to handle the Bulls’ charge. They had little answer to Bradford's skill and resolve.

It wasn’t quite the 2003 final when Bulls beat Leeds 22-20, but it was 80 minutes packed with plenty of drama. The blood and thunder that all good derbies need was here too.

The atmosphere was unreal, it was worthy of the pre-match hype which came courtesy of Robbie Hunter-Paul, who described this sixth-round fixture as the 'Biggest Derby in Rugby League. On the Planet.'

A magnificent crowd of 10,258 - the biggest at this stage of the cup since 2012 - will surely even have gone beyond the Bulls hierarchy’s hopes.

Planet Odsal was rocking, it felt like the first game between the local rivals since 2014 had confirmed the rebirth of the Bulls.

Hopefully their good start to the Championship season and their gritty, and classy, effort against the Super League strugglers has persuaded stay-away fans to regularly return.

Past players Hunter-Paul and Leon Pryce were among those to wax lyrical about previous clashes between Bulls and Leeds.

The TV exposure - a peak audience of 1.1 million tuned into BBC's coverage - can only help raise the profile of the club again too.

The way the crowd erupted at the final hooter seemed to signify the progression of Bulls’ upward curve after years of off-field problems, rather than just a cup giant killing that will not come to anything.

It feels like this largely youthful Bulls are going places under the wily tutelage of John Kear.

Yes, the bread and butter of their Championship campaign is crucial to Bulls’ future success, but a great cup run never hurt anybody, did it?

Post-match cries of 'Wembley, Wembley, Wembley' may have been a tad premature, but none of the other seven teams left in the Challenge Cup will fancy a clash against Bradford’s finest.

It was also a happy way to end an emotional day for the city.

The morning included the annual memorial service marking the Bradford City fire disaster. And Bulls showed their class and consideration further by holding their own 56-second silence before kick-off in this derby to remember the 56.

Bulls put in the type of performance their fans will be talking about for years to come, a real ‘I was there’ sporting occasion to wax lyrical about. No doubt fans will clamour for a DVD release of the match so they can savour it.

Though all players to wear the white, red, amber and black of Bulls stood tall against the blue and yellow of the Rhinos, two of their youngest stars really stood out.

Jordan Lilley, ironically on loan at Odsal from Leeds, was Bradford’s star man. He led from the front, driving attack after attack and taking the game to the visitors.

He certainly didn't lack for motivation, having only found out in midweek via his agent, rather than his parent club themselves, that he would not be offered a new deal with Rhinos at the end of the season.

There was also a stroke of genius from Kear that means Rowan Milnes deserves a name-check. After missing his first two conversions, the usually-reliable Elliot Minchella was replaced on kicking duties by Milnes. And what a decision it was as he proved he had a lethal left foot.

The fact this Bradford lad was buzzing so much after the game, but also branded Mr Cool by Kear, proves Bulls have a level-headed star in the making.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Bulls by any stretch of the imagination. They had to show large degrees of resolve when they were pegged back, particularly during the first 10 minutes of the second half as a Leeds backlash threatened.

If the match was great, then so was the occasion.

Bulls cranked up the razzmatazz with singers performing on the pitch, cheerleaders, hundreds of junior rugby sides and stockcars being paraded around Odsal just before kick off. It had the feel of a special occasion.

Bulls must have been buoyed by the spectacle as they stormed to a 22-14 lead at half-time thanks to tries from Dalton Grant, Jake Webster, Sam Hallas and Mikey Wood.

But things didn’t get off to a great start for the hosts, as Leeds drew first blood on four minutes. Tu’Imoala Lolohea crossed over for a try after being fed by Brad Dwyer to start Bulls’ fans nerves jangling. These were made worse when Liam Sutcliffe notched up the extras.

This lead lasted only two minutes as Grant scored in the far right-hand corner. Callum McLelland extended Leeds’ advantage following the use of the video referee. This was met by a chorus of boos by the home fans.

David Foggin-Johnston was denied a try by the officials after a knock-on after 20 minutes but Webster started the Bulls comeback in the 24th minute. He caught Milnes’s superb crossfield kick and crossed over to make it 12-8 after Minchella had an off-day, missing a second conversion attempt.

Milnes was at the centre of making it 12-12 three minutes later as he fed former Leeds hooker Sam Hallas. Milnes’s conversion led to ‘You’re Not Singing Anymore’ chants from Bradford fans to their Leeds counterparts making a sea of blue behind one of the goals.

Those same Bulls fans were in dreamland on 33 minutes when Wood’s try made it 18-12. Of course, this was converted by that man Milnes.

And the latter proved lethal from 40 metres three minutes before the break with a penalty.

Leeds’s decision to opt for a penalty kick on the half-time hooter told everything. Yes Sutcliffe scored it, but it showed Rhinos were under the cosh and just wanted to go in at half-time with a bit of momentum.

The second half, which began 22-14, was about heart for Bulls as they hung on, scoring just two points.

Leeds showed glimmers of their Super League status at times during the first 15 minutes of the second period but without looking like taking a stranglehold on the tie.

This was despite Leeds making it 22-18 on 47 minutes when the video referee again ruled in Rhinos’ favour for a second try by this method as Harry Newman went over.

Milnes ultimately proved the difference with his 63rd minute penalty to make it 24-18.

Leeds were not done, as Tom Briscoe crossed to set up a potential grandstand finish with six minutes left, but Sutcliffe’s tricky kick hit the post.

Thin margins, a phrase which doesn’t really sum up this tie.

Bulls are back and dare they dream of Wembley?