Mission complete

Leeds fans might not think so but for the delighted Bulls everything went to plan and life could not be sweeter.

Lesley Vainikolo bowed out in great style, scoring a brilliant try that was so fitting for such a worthy icon, bitter rivals Rhinos were humbled on their own turf in front of a capacity crowd - they won't be mentioning Cardiff for a while - and confident Bradford are gaining momentum apace.

Steve McNamara had jokingly said he'd be happy with a 13-point lead heading into the last couple of minutes last night, given four of the previous five nerve-shredding games between these sides had gone down to the final play.

In the end, he had 24 points to toy with after the Bulls cut loose, allowing the head coach plenty of time to soak up his sweet-tasting first win over Leeds.

It came at the fifth attempt and on each of the last three occasions, including the infamous Millennium Magic' when robbed by two farcical refereeing decisions, McNamara had seen his men fall in the dying seconds.

But there was never any doubt of another dramatic nailbiter this time as the ruthless Bulls simply made sure their opponents never got near, suffocating them at every turn.

The determined visitors nullified the twin threat of Leeds' half-backs as efficiently as any side this season, forcing Danny McGuire into a raft of misguided passes and shunting Rob Burrow down numerous blind alleys.

Bradford's defence was inspiring with rocks like Glenn Morrison and Jamie Langley setting the lead, ably supported by the ever-willing Andy Lynch and tireless Chris McKenna.

McNamara had drummed into his side the importance of staying switched on for 80 minutes and they carried out that instruction to the tee, with Leeds rarely getting a sight of open space.

There was a sense that it could be the Bulls' night when their Senior Academy side remarkably bounced back from 22-0 down to defeat the Rhinos 28-22 in the curtain-raiser.

And when Vainikolo got his farewell touchdown out of the way as early as the tenth minute, the scene was set.

The try-scoring phenomenon had tried too hard to score on his final Odsal appearance two weeks ago and endured a tortured afternoon. But last night he vowed to relax and it was clear he had when the ball came to him out on his favoured left wing.

Showing all the strength and explosive finishing prowess that have made him such a Super League legend, the formidable Tongan delivered a vintage touchdown.

Terry Newton worked wonders down the blindside, sucking in three defenders before off-loading to the Volcano', who eased past Lee Smith, shrugged off Brett Webb's attempted tackle and then did the same to none other than Jamie Peacock, simply swatting his former Bulls team-mate clear before sprinting the final 20 metres to the line.

There's no finer sight in Super League and he will be sorely missed. Some say six years pounding down the touchlines have left him with dodgy knees. Well, if that's the case, get me a pair.

Vainikolo had already opened up beforehand after some classy interplay. The Bulls had obviously targeted Leeds' right-hand side of Clinton Toopi and Smith, trying to get the ball wide there at every opportunity. Swift hands from Langley and Vainikolo sent James Evans skipping away, Vainikolo backed up but his final pass to Newton went to ground.

Morrison and Evans then put Vainikolo away again with Langley dragged down just inches short by Smith, Newton failing to gather Paul Deacon's pass from a quick play-the-ball.

The Bulls had another glorious opportunity when Michael Platt picked up a McGuire knock-on in his own 20 and sped straight down the middle of the park. Webb got to him but Rhinos skipper Kevin Sinfield was caught offside and Deacon slotted two points.

Leeds had been shaky during the opening quarter but finally got off the mark soon after winning their first penalty on 24 minutes, hooker Matt Diskin edging over through some rare weak defence on the Bulls line.

But the visitors responded when Deacon's crossfield kick was lapped up by Evans, with three Leeds players around him failing to even get off the ground to challenge.

That was a clear sign of who held the most desire last night. It was obvious, despite pre-match insistence this wasn't about revenge, that the pumped-up Bulls were on a mission and they completed it resoundingly.

There were errors along the way but that was borne from an eagerness to give the ball some air and they delivered some fine passing movements in securing an ominous fifth straight win.

Smith pulled Leeds back before the break but Tame Tupou came off the bench on 50 minutes and scored with his first touch to hand the visitors a vital score.

It was a product of some of that creative rugby as Ian Henderson and Nathan McAvoy linked to give the New Zealand ace the slightest of chances. Tupou withstood McGuire's desperate effort to get the ball down and show again that there is life after Les.

Burrow produced a peach of a pass to put Toopi over on a great angle but again the Bulls didn't flinch, Lynch popping up to barge over and re-establish the lead.

The hosts then self-destructed, twice spilling the ball on the first tackle from scrums. First, St Hilaire gathered to send Morrison on his way, the Aussie showing great composure and pace to turn Scott Donald inside out and finish from 40 metres.

Then, after Jamie Jones-Buchanan's wayward pass went to ground from a scrum in their own 20, it was St Hilaire who proved the beneficiary, really rubbing salt into the Leeds' wounds.

Vainikolo had a couple more opportunities to notch his 150th Bulls try but twice got barged into touch and McNamara joked: "He had some friends in the stand. He kept trying to run into them over the sidelines and say hello' to a few. That's his rugby union coming out a little bit too early!"