Halifax Blue Sox 25, Bradford Bulls 12; Nigel Askham at The New Shay.

The Bulls are making life awfully tough for themselves in their quest to defy the odds and make a serious assault on the Grand Final.

Their ninth defeat of the Super League campaign was right up there with the woeful efforts against London and Sheffield recently, and Matthew Elliott and his men must soon face the harsh reality that this squad looks increasingly short of fire-power against the big guns.

Their most fervent fans might point to a much improved second half show, which saw them restore some pride after they were outclassed in all departments by a rampant home outfit currently riding the crest of a wave.

But just how much that was a result of Halifax taking their foot off the gas and a persistent downpour which restricted the home side's attacking options is open to debate.

What was most galling was to see a side which built their reputation on commitment and endeavour coming distinctly second in that department too in a nightmare opening 40 minutes

Considering this was a game they needed to win desperately, their display was completely bewildering, even all-owing for Halifax's slick showing, which was superbly orchestrated by Aussie scrum half Gavin Clinch.

The Bulls spilled possession time after time in that opening period to give their neighbours all the encouragement they needed, and a 19-0 lead at the break told the story.

Just as at Knowsley Road the previous week, the Bulls looked a yard slower around the pitch, and tries by Martin Moana, Chris Chester and a sizzling 60- metre effort from full back Damian Gibson were richly deserved.

Last year the Bulls overcame a 26-6 deficit to clinch a memorable win in the corresponding game, and when Brian McDermott forced his way over within three minutes of the re-start, the home crowd went strangely quiet for a spell.

At least the desire was there now and it showed as Graeme Bradley and Tevita Vaikona combined down the right flank, and it needed Jamie Bloem to avert the danger by hacking dead. But a handling error was never far away, and they had to wait until past the hour mark to peg Halifax back further.

Stuart Spruce gave them the initial thrust from near half-way after picking up a loose ball, and Paul Deacon sped through to get the nod from the video referee. Steve McNamara's goal brought them, incredibly on the evidence of the first half, back to within nine points.

But there was never the same control which brought them a famous success at Thrum Hall last May, and Fereti Tuilagi's late score gave John Pendlebury's boys the winning margin they deserved.

McDermott and Fielden worked hard to give them some forward momentum and Spruce made some good thrusts from the back, but they are making the game look so difficult at times, and no wonder Elliott appeared at the end of his tether afterwards. Playing at full throttle, they may still have struggled to match the Blue Sox, but it would have been nice to have found out.

Instead though, they never gave themselves a chance after handing the initiative over so tamely early on.

And it was veteran Karl Harrison and Gary Mercer who laid the platform up front, alongside Aussie back-rower Des Clark, who caused no end of first-half problems.

Behind them, Clinch celebrated a new three-year deal with the club by pulling the strings for a buzzing backline, while Deacon and Robbie Paul were always on the backfoot.

Somehow though Elliott and his men must re-group from another major setback.

It leaves the visit to London in a fortnight looking like a shoot-out for fifth spot, but it's lowly Castleford for the Bulls before that, and these days you just can't take anything for granted with Elliott's side.

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