Castleford 12, Bradford Bulls 30 - It didn't take long for Lesley Vainikolo to 'erupt' in a Bradford Bulls shirt last night.

Playing in Gary Mercer's testimonial match against Castleford Tigers at The Jungle, the 6ft 3in, 15st 7lb winger, who is nicknamed 'The Volcano', crossed for the opening try in just the fourth minute.

The 22-year-old Tongan-born New Zealand international raced onto a kick from Paul Deacon, plucked the ball from the grasp of opponent Jon Wells and showed a clean pair of heels to full back Richard Gay before touching down.

It was a dream start for Vainikolo, who was playing his first match for eight months following ankle and chest injuries while with Canberra Raiders, but the big winger did not see much more of the ball in an understandably mixed evening and was brought off 15 minutes from the end of the Bulls' 30-12 victory.

"I feel good," said a happy Vainikolo afterwards, "and now I have one game under my belt. But I just want to concentrate on my own game and just try and get into the 17 for the World Club Challenge against Newcastle Knights.

"Obviously I have a few things to work on and it will take time for me to get back to full match fitness for the Bulls to see the best of me, but it will come back."

As for the World Club Challenge at the McAlpine tomorrow week, Vainikolo said: "It is a very big game for me, the boys and for the club. I know Newcastle well enough to give my team-mates a few tips, and it is a fixture that we can win."

Super League champions the Bulls, who were at full strength, looked rusty at times on their first run-out since their Grand Final triumph three months ago, but did enough to send out a warning to the Knights.

They were given a testing work-out by a lively Castleford side, however, and Bulls coach Brian Noble, who used 25 players, will have been relieved to avoid serious injury.

Captain Robbie Paul, who scored two of his side's six tries in a sparkling display, went off after 60 minutes with a gash to his head that needed five stitches, but should be fit for his face-to-face confrontation with Knights skipper Andrew Johns.

The kick-off was put back 15 minutes to let the 2,000 delayed Bradford fans through the turnstiles, and their patience was quickly rewarded with Vainikolo's try.

Bradford relied on their customary forward strength, but were also indebted to the dazzling skills of Paul, while Daniel Gartner and James Lowes were at the heart of a tremendous defensive display.

Castleford took a shock lead with Michael Smith's close-range try on 20 minutes, and half-back Mark Lennon caused problems with his darting runs. But the Bulls were generally on top and a neat Lee Gilmour try helped them to a 16-6 interval lead, while substitute Paul Sykes grabbed two second-half tries and Paul Deacon kicked three goals.

The Tigers gained some consolation in injury time when centre Andy Johnson - one of three new Cas signings - scored his side's second try and Wayne Bartrim kicked his second goal.