Wigan Warriors 40

Bradford Bulls 12

There was to be no dream ending for Matthew Elliott as his four-year Bulls reign closed in low key fashion.

After a promising opening they were hit with a three-try blitz in a nine minute spell before the break to dent all hopes of a Grand Final revenge mission against St Helens at Old Trafford next Saturday.

The loss of Brad Mackay through illness was a major blow before kick-off and they were hardly helped when defensive organiser Stuart Spruce was forced to retire with concussion with only 15 minutes on the clock.

But the Bulls shouldn't be hiding behind that today as one of the big flaws of the Elliott reign - a lack of genuine pace - was again cruelly exposed.

While Wigan snapped up every chance that came their way with wingers, Aussie flyer Brett Dallas and Jason Robinson notching five of their seven tries, the Bulls just couldn't finish as some great approach work by Robbie Paul went to waste.

Saints have that commodity in abundance too and the Bulls simply must improve in that area if they are to really cash in on the power of the best pack in the competition and three of the most talented half-backs around.

They had looked the better side in the opening quarter despite Wigan going ahead when Willie Peters followed up his own kick to score courtesy of Spruce's sliced attempted clearance.

But the Bulls were moving well and levelled within five minutes when Scott Naylor followed up James Lowes' neat grubber to score.

Despite his earlier error, Spruce recovered well and was causing Wigan problems with his running from the back when a heavy tackle left him missing a tooth and badly shaken.

In the reshuffle Michael With-ers switched to full-back and Nathan McAvoy linked up with Leon Pryce on the left flank.

McAvoy was a late call-up fol-lowing Mackay's withdrawal and it showed with an error-ridden performance.

He was hauled into touch to end one raid and then coughed up possession twice more to toss away excellent attacking positions early in the tackle count.

The England three-quarter then compounded the problem by missing a one-on-one tackle on Andy Farrell and lived to regret it as the Warriors regained possession from his kick ahead before Gary Connolly went in from Peters' pass.

Added to Jason Robinson's try following neat work from the recalled Tony Smith and Kris Radlinski, it left the Bulls firmly on the back foot and, as so often these days, a team with its tail-up can effectively settle a game in a blink of an eye.

First great build-up work ended with Farrell, enjoying life wider out after returning to his familiar role at the back of the scrum, finding Dallas with a superb pass in the tackle and he ducked under Pryce's attempted tackle to score.

And the Bulls fans were making alternative arrangments for next Saturday when Dallas climbed high above the static Pryce and McAvoy to snatch his second just before the break.

There was simply no way back after that but to their credit a big defensive effort in the second half at least prevented an even more emphatic defeat.

That certainly looked on the cards when Dallas completed his hat-trick within four minutes of the re-start but they had to wait until 12 minutes from time to add their seventh as Robinson shot through another big gap.

The introduction of Paul Deacon livened things up for a time but their attacking work had a desperate look about it and their only reward came when Lowes used a familar Bulls ploy on the line to send Paul Anderson powering over.

But on a night when little went right there were more worrying moments as Withers was carried off wearing a neck brace after suffering in a heavy three man tackle.

Thankfully he recovered in time to show his appreciation, along with the coaching staff and his team mates, for another superb travelling support who stuck with their side right to the end.

They'll console themselves with ending a 51-year wait for Challenge Cup success back in April but they'll know they'll need to improve under the leadership of Brian Noble if they are to keep pace with the top two.

At times this year the Bulls have looked unstoppable but, in truth, they probably peaked a little early and have looked a little jaded during the run-in.

Elliott's reign ended in disappointment but there's no doubting the progress made during his time in charge.

His departure for Canberra has probably come at the right time for both him and the club though and hopefully Noble can add the sort of extra attacking dimension that has seen both Saints and Wigan edge them out when it really mattered.