Saints are slaughtered!

RL match report by Nigel Askham.

The Bulls went some way towards obliterating the memory of their shock cup exit with this unexpected 12-try triumph.

Saints will point to the fact that the likes of Paul Newlove, Bobbie Goulding, Keiron Cunningham and Chris Joynt were all missing.

But the champions were also short of internationals in the shape of James Lowes, Brian McDermott, Shaun Edwards and Bernard Dwyer and right from the off were clearly up for it more than their Wembley conquerors for the past two years.

The disappointment of defeat against Castleford at Wheldon Road had clearly galvanised the Bulls and they responded with a fine first-half showing which Saints simply had no answer to.

By the break they had run in eight tries and although substitutions took their toll later this friendly win should do wonders for confidence ahead of the Super League launch in a fortnight.

There was much more fluency to their attacking work with Steve McNamara, Robbie Paul and Nathan Graham particularly prominent.

Paul's sharpness looked to be returning and his often overlooked ability to put a man through a gap showed up to telling effect.

Graham staked his claim as the injured James Lowes' stand-in for the opening two league games with a fine effort which began with a superbly taken third minute try when he stepped around Saints summer signing Paul Atcheson and showed a nice turn of speed to go over.

Meanwhile McNamara showed a welcome return to his best form with some superb cut-out passes which created first half tries for Jeremy Donougher and Matt Calland.

The performance of Aussie Donougher was another highlight suggesting he is making good progress towards full fitness and glimpses of the form which made him such a big hit in his first season at Odsal.

The giant second-row notched a try in each half and even managed a neat chip over the Saints defence which resulted in a touchdown for Stuart Spruce.

Danny Peacock and Sonny Nickle also blazed their way over in typical style before the break and there was a much deserved touchdown for Paul who twisted in from close range.

A 44-12 half-time lead was just reward for a fluent attacking effort although there will be some concern at defensive frailties which brought Saints some respite through tries by Andy Haigh and Anthony Sullivan.

More superb work within two minutes of the restart by Paul saw Donougher over for his second and Bulls fans sat back expecting more of the same.

But it never quite materialised as mistakes crept into their game while Elliott rang the changes from the bench.

Young Welsh winger Steve Thomas grabbed his chance with a brace of late touchdowns while Tevita Vaikona made sure he did not miss out when he crossed off another long Paul pass to sweep in wide out.

Talented Academy forward Stuart Fielden did enough late on to suggest he could have a role to play too especially after Paul Anderson's devastating injury.

Sullivan and Paul Davidson scored second-half tries as Saints at last showed some resistance but it would be folly to read too much into this result in Super League terms.

The important thing for the Bulls was to remove ring rust and they certainly achieved that to set themselves up nicely for the launch of Super League III at the McAlpine Stadium.

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