Bulls 38 Wakefield 24

Forget boulders and rocks. This was a full-scale Mount Everest.

Steve McNamara has recently been praising his squad's fighting qualities after they manfully negotiated various obstacles thrown their way.

Major injuries, salary cap points deductions, catastrophic refereeing gaffes, suspensions and the like have all been sent to test Bradford this year.

They are the rocks and boulders the Bulls have overcome. The one thing they couldn't get over was St Helens in last week's Challenge Cup semi-final but they were ready to bounce back from that disappointment today.

That was until Paul Deacon went lame moments before kick-off - leaving the hosts without their skipper and bereft of any natural kicker - and then a stunned Joe Vagana got red-carded before the half-time hooter had even arrived.

With Iestyn Harris already out they had no recognised half-back, top try-scorer Michael Platt was suspended and Matt Cook was making his first appearance in ten weeks, so the odds did not look good. And Steve Ganson was refereeing!

It was like a torrent of boulders all hurtling towards the Bulls amid the biggest avalanche possible, yet they rode it all.

They pulled off one of the most remarkable victories in a long time today, producing a performance rich in guts, determination and character to prove yet again they cannot be ruled out as potential Super League champions.

It was rarely pretty but that was to be expected with so much disruption in the squad. When you have a second-rower playing at stand-off, a hooker operating at scrum-half and one of your main props packing down at loose forward, you can't expect too much free-flowing rugby.

Strangely, though, that all added to the excitement. With everyone out of position and no one having time to settle, there was plenty that came off the cuff.

At times it was like a schoolboys' match with the ball being liberally shovelled around and it seemed anything could happen at any given moment.

Bradford's preparations, with Deacon tweaking a hamstring already hurt in training on Saturday morning, left them in disarray but fortunately Wakefield weren't too hot themselves and the first quarter consisted of a succession of basic errors from both sides.

Typically, Glenn Morrison was immune to all that and it was his piercing run and magnificent offload under pressure that handed young Dave Halley the first try, rookie kicker Sam Burgess coolly slotting his first Super League goal from the touchline.

Wakefield responded quickly when former Bull Ryan Atkins swivelled out of some weak tackling near the line to pick up an enjoyable personal score but James Evans got the first of his brace soon after.

The Australian centre benefited from a fine move after Andy Lynch had produced a trademark off-load.

Wakefield had their own problems after Sam Obst - their only natural hooker - went off injured on 14 minutes bringing French international Maxime Greseque into the fray for his first taste of Super League.

He was playing out of position though and rarely troubled the Bulls like he had done Great Britain in June, although David Solomona's ill-discipline, back-chatting Ganson, handed Wakefield the position for them to level with Peter Fox finishing off wide out.

The impressive Burgess proved a constant threat and the Bulls recovered sufficiently to regain the lead, Solomona this time handed kicking duties to aim a towering bomb that landed perfectly in the arms of Morrison as the Wakefield defence dallied.

However, then came the moment that many thought would change the course of the contest.

As Vagana returned the ball in the re-start set, he flattened Wakefield substitute Luke George in an almighty collision.

The Kiwi's running style has been questioned before and it did appear that he led with an elbow.

Ganson was unequivocal though and immediately reached for his pocket, red-carding Vagana, who became only the third player dismissed in Super League all season.

The official, making his first appearance at Odsal since his infamous Millennium Magic error that cost the Bulls victory over Leeds, had already been roundly jeered by fans before the game had kicked off. Now they were incensed.

For all his wrongdoings though, no one can fault Ganson for his bravery as he made the huge call and brandished the red to further alienate him from the hostile home crowd. Gutted Vagana trudged off visibly shocked and Jamie Rooney accepted the two points to send Wakefield in trailing just 16-12.

Their coach John Kear admitted afterwards his side "thought the job was done" at that point as they prepared to launch into the under-manned Bulls during the second half.

However, the home side enjoyed the perfect opening to that second period. Wildcat Duncan Mcgillivray lost the ball in the first tackle and the outstanding Chris McKenna picked up to send Tame Tupou over with just 18 seconds gone.

When Solomona barged over from dummy half soon after and Burgess converted to make it 26-12, the Bulls seemed in control.

Wakefield, though, arrived as the form team in Super League, having gatecrashed the play-offs with wins over Wigan and Leeds.

They demonstrated such powers by staging a mini-revival as Jason Demetriou and Kevin Henderson scored twice in four minutes.

The double blow brought them back to within two points and such a blast could easily have knocked the stuffing out of most opponents in such conditions. But Bradford simply gathered themselves and muscled up for another surge.

This time another former Wildcat - Solomona - proved the catalyst with a powerful charge and a quick play-the-ball that enabled Ian Henderson to put Evans through another gap and settle those nerves.

Henderson then turned provider for man-of-the-match Burgess, who proved what a true talent he really is, and that mountain was conquered.

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