Bradford Bulls 38, Hull Sharks 18:

Match comment, by Nigel Askham.

Same scoreline as last week but that was the only similarity as the Bulls went a long way towards restoring their pride.

Again it wasn't the most fluent performance and there were real doubts as Hull roared into an early 12-0 lead, but for the first time since their success at Headingley a month ago there was no questioning Bulls' desire.

The Sharks were high on commitment too and it all added up to one of the best spectacles of the season at Odsal.

The outcome was right in the balance until eight minutes from time with the Sharks simply refusing to lie down in their late push for a top five spot.

This was a game they had to win to give themselves a realistic chance and it showed.

But after a couple of dismal displays in Edinburgh and against Sheffield last week the Bulls were in no mood to play second fiddle and they ended on a real high with a late three try salvo producing a scoreline which did scant justice to Hull's determined efforts.

And it was Robbie Paul, the villain turned hero, who finally tipped the game the Bulls' way.

Stupidly sent to the sin-bin on the stroke of half-time, when he briefly took to refereeing at a scrum, he returned in determined mood to make amends and picked the perfect time to end a barren spell which had brought him just one try in his previous eight games.

Jimmy Lowes paved the way with a break and pass in the tackle and Paul's lightening acceleration took him clear to land the decisive try.

It meant Hull's resistance was finally broken and two further tries helped lift the storm clouds which had descended over Odsal in recent weeks.

First new boy Nathan McAvoy showed his eye for an opening when he gathered a loose ball to stretch over before Tevita Vaikona brought the house down with a stunning 80 metre interception try.

He threw the ball almost as far in celebration and Steve McNamara landed his seventh goal from eight attempts to complete a memorable night for the former Boulevard duo. They combined to set the Bulls on the road to recovery after a disastrous start which saw Fili Seru and Jason Timu go over for tries with alarming ease inside the opening five minutes.

McNamara's superb diagonal bomb was brilliantly collected by Vaikona to confirm his standing as having one of the best pairs of hands in Super League.

But in general play the midfield link was sadly lacking despite a great effort from McNamara in what was effectively a half-back role.

And with Paul and Mike Forshaw both spending time in the sin-bin they could have few complaints as Hull went in at half-time with a 14-8 advantage.

But Bulls really turned up the heat after the break and a series of Hull errors and a string of penalties gradually saw them take control.

And it was no surprise that McNamara got the ball rolling with a sweetly-timed pass which sent the highly consistent Forshaw storming over without a finger being laid on him.

More good work by the back-rower in a move involving sub Paul Deacon, Stuart Spruce and the much more effective Lowes saw Jon Scales receive the ball wide out.

But the big winger's knock-on in acres of space then turned the pressure back on the Bulls and Alan Hunte's classy intervention sent Mark Johnson over wide out to set up a dramatic finale.

The Bulls were not to be denied though and their big effort defensively meant the Sharks were feeding off scraps after that.

The introduction of young Deacon for the quiet Graeme Bradley gave them more direction at a vital time and it all came right in the end albeit that the final score flattered them somewhat.

A win was the essential thing after recent hiccups but this was more than that as the squad pulled together to quash any fears of problems behind the scenes.

Crunch clashes with top five rivals St Helens and Halifax over the next fortnight will prove whether this was merely another false dawn but the platform for improvement has certainly been laid.

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