Bradford Bulls 26, Wakefield Trinity 16; by Nigel Askham at Odsal.

The message was loud and clear from Odsal last night - show a vast improvement on this or forget dreams of Old Trafford.

That might seem a little harsh given they were without five regulars, but they were supposed to have built a squad capable of handling the inevitable injuries in an energy-sapping season.

Instead they were so lacking in leadership at times that it was left to the boundless enthusiasm and no little talent of 17-year-old Leon Pryce to drag them almost kicking and screaming to the finishing line.

Trinity's collection of seasoned professionals, bargain buys and home-grown talent on the other hand scrapped for everything and pounced on Bulls errors, which came thick and fast.

Even when Matthew Elliott's men finally appeared to have got their act something like together, their bungling contrived to give Trinity a late lifeline.

Wingers Nick Zisti and Nathan McAvoy were the culprits, making a real hash of kicks from Odsal old boy Glen Tomlinson and Shane Kenward to bring the Super League newcomers within a converted try at the death, and there was some relief when Jimmy Lowes capped a wholehearted individual show with his party-piece try from close range.

For Zisti it completed another uninspiring show, and his form must be something of a worry for Elliott after a lengthy chase to bring him to Odsal.

However, his supply wasn't the best again as the midfield trio of Robbie Paul, Steve McNamara and David Boyle struggled throughout to find any kind of cohesion.

Their best moments came in the third quarter with McNamara's pass allowing Boyle to show his eye for an opening again, and minutes later the loose forward's cut-out ball on the other flank saw Scott Naylor set up Danny Peacock for his first try since last May.

But they failed to really drive home their advantage at that point, despite some determined running from substitutes Warren Jowitt, Paul Anderson and Jamie Peacock.

And they so nearly paid the price as Trinity simply refused to lie down.

Tomlinson had helped them set the early platform, and it was his pass which put Kenward over as early as the second minute.

They continued to hold the upper hand, and it needed a great break from Robbie Paul to stir the Bulls into action, although they needed a touch of good fortune as his pass was knocked into the path of Naylor by a Trinity hand to open their account.

Boyle, Lowes and McAvoy, from a neatly-judged Pryce grubber, were all unable to ground the ball though as Trinity clung on, and only the kicking of McNamara kept the Bulls noses in front.

Despite the confusion around him, Pryce continued to impress though, and one great touchline run only ended when he ran out of room and was forced to step back inside.

He fielded the ball well too and grew in confidence to such an extent that he was popping up all over the place after the break.

Anderson too caught the eye with some punishing charges, but Lowes took my vote as prime Bull with his sheer persistence.

But it was generally not a quality in evidence across the board and, coming on the back of the mauling by Saints, it leaves the side in need of a real pick-me-up performance on a much more testing stage at Wilderspool next week.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.