SHEFFIELD 10 BULLS 30

BULLS showed their metal in the Steel City yesterday, as they won impressively at Sheffield to reignite their Championship play-off push.

Ryan Millar was at the double as the visitors emerged victorious for just the second time all season against a team above them in the table.

In a scrappy game, Bulls had to produce some doughty goal-line defence, but combined that with some real moments of flair in attack, to ensure they sit just three points outside of the play-offs.

Bulls opened the scoring following a Tom Holmes error, which saw him kick the ball out on the full.

Bradford got decent field position from that, and Dec Patton flicked the ball to the returning Brandon Pickersgill, who under pressure, threw a slightly loose high pass out to David Foggin-Johnston.

But the winger plucked it out of the air brilliantly, and went over acrobatically in the corner under pressure.

Bulls then went agonisingly close three times in a minute.

Patton played the ball to Pickersgill, and the full-back looked to be in, but he was stopped inches from the line. And then Tom Doyle almost burrowed over, but he was held up somehow.

Alex Mellor, the former Bulls star in on dual-registration from Leeds, thought he had gone over, but he was judged to have lost the ball over the line, when he might have felt he was tackled off the ball.

Then, a stunning no look pass from Patton went to Pickersgill, but with Kieran Gill and Millar outside him, he was brilliantly wrapped up.

But it did not matter too much, as Bulls' other Leeds player, young Corey Johnson, prodded the ball through towards Chester Butler.

Matty Chrimes tried to ground the ball in his in-goal area, but he made a mess of it, and Johnson followed up his own kick to score, with the extras added by Patton.

Pickersgill then went close again, while a Patton kick through was just knocked away from Gill and Mellor.

But finally Sheffield rolled up their sleeves. It took three defenders to stop Ross Oakes from barrelling over, and then they scored.

A kick out wide was brilliantly knocked back inside from the touchline by Ben Jones-Bishop and Kris Welham received the pass, squeezing over in the corner under pressure from Patton.

Izaac Farrell’s kick drifted wide, so Bulls still led 10-4.

Chrimes made up for his earlier error when he stormed down the wing and produced a clever kick inside. Anthony Thackeray just managed to reel the ball in, and he went over by the posts.

Chrimes then hammered a kick high towards the in-goal area after a lovely ball to him by Thackeray. Pickersgill just put enough pressure on Cory Aston, and the latter was unable to ground the loose ball.

Bulls were hanging on as half-time neared, but then right on the hooter, Patton's clever scooped kick caught Sheffield out, and Pickersgill got underneath the ball on his second debut to go over for a converted score to make it 16-10 at the break.

After George Flanagan was held up and Millar ended up inches short at the start of the second half, the Eagles thought they were in in the corner through Chrimes, only for a stunning try-saving tackle by Johnson to deny them.

Bulls posted the first points of the half when Sheffield’s defence was caught not square in trying to tackle Flanagan, Patton subsequently slotting the penalty from 20 metres out dead centre.

A few minutes later, Patton's kick on the last saw a Sheffield man get hands to it and the ball spun up in the air. The ball dropped for Gill, and he flicked it to Millar, who managed to twist his way over in the left corner.

Patton nailed a tricky kick from the left touchline to put Bulls 14 points in front.

Pickersgill then hurt his back defending on the line and that was the signal for Sheffield to put the pressure on, but a couple of fine tackles from Foggin-Johnston, one in particular on Chrimes in the corner, kept the hosts out.

But then a brilliant break pretty much wrapped the game up for Bulls.

Mellor found Gill on the left, who flew through the line. Gill fed Kear, who got away, drew the last man, and slipped it to Millar for an easy score, which was again superbly converted from out wide by Patton.

Chrimes fumbled running through at the last, as Bulls kept Sheffield scoreless after the break to record a fine win.

SHEFFIELD: Laulu Togaga’e, Jones-Bishop, Welham, R. Johnson, Chrimes, Farrell, Thackeray, Kirk, Holmes, Dickinson, Bower, Oakes, Hodgson.

Interchanges: Douglas, Broadbent, Bass, Aston.

BULLS: Pickersgill, Foggin-Johnston, Kear, Gill, Patton, C. Johnson, Scurr, Doyle, Crossley, Mellor, Butler, Hallas.

Interchanges: Flanagan, Baldwinson, Evans, Walker.

BULLS MAN OF THE MATCH: Corey Johnson.