BRADFORD Bulls Reserves ran in 12 tries at a rain-sodden Odsal Stadium to beat Keighley Cougars 66-6 – with Josh Rickett touching down on no fewer than four occasions.

Garreth Carvell named a strong line-up which featured the returning duo Joe Keyes and Ashley Gibson – the former playing a full 80 minutes while making his first appearance since January following a back injury.

In atrocious conditions, the early stages were littered with errors but it was the home side who raced into a swift advantage.

Inches away from the Keighley line, Thomas Doyle fed the rampaging Callum Bustin who could not be stopped from close range.

Keighley coughed up possession for a third time in the opening ten minutes and the ball was worked out wide from Gibson to Rickett who dived over for his first of the evening.

The home side went back-to-back and a move involving Gibson and Rickett on the left edge ended up in the hands of the supporting Brandon Pickersgill to score.

The kicking game of Keyes and the runs of Rickett were causing all sorts of problems for the Keighley defence – Cobi Green was next to profit having been put through a gap on 20 minutes.

Jordan Atchison’s try offered brief respite for the visiting side but Carvell’s men did not waste any time with their response.

From the base of a scrum, the Keyes-Gibson-Rickett combo came to the fore once more with the young winger diving over in the corner.

Keyes than saw a score of his own ruled out for offside but the home side still took a commanding 26-6 advantage into the sheds at half-time.

Bradford raced out of the blocks in the second half, looking to put the game to bed as conditions eased. Pickersgill secured his brace having started and finished a move involving winger Rickett.

Pickersgill was in the thick of the action once more and this time he turned provider, handing off to the supporting Jake Lightowler who had only been on the field a matter of minutes.

A perfectly weighted Keyes kick then found the hands of Rickett who collected and grounded for his hat-trick score.

Rickett then grabbed his fourth and final try – brushing off three Keighley defenders and weaving his way through a gap in the line to touch down.

Murphy Smith – introduced for Rickett – scored his second Odsal try in four days, racing clear from 80 metres to touch down following a stray Keighley kick.

Alix Stephenson then got in on the act, dancing his way through a tired looking Keighley defence to dive over as the Bulls reached 60.

Daniel McGrath then matched the feat of fellow winger Smith, collecting a Cougar kick on the full before showing a clean set of heels to race home to round off an emphatic 12-try performance.

BRADFORD BULLS RESERVES: Brandon Pickersgill, Alix Stephenson, Will Adams, Ashley Gibson, Josh Rickett, Joe Keyes, Cobi Green, Callum Bustin, Thomas Doyle, Jon Magrin, Matt Garside, Bradley Gallagher, Evan Hodgson. INTERCHANGES: Jake Lightowler, Murphy Smith, Sam Smith, Harry Shackleton, Daniel McGrath, Bradley Ho, Lochlan McGill, Layton Heywood.