Cougars blitzed by Bulls

Shontayne Hape bagged a hat-trick as the Bulls completed their pre-season with a 15-try mauling of the Cougars in the Joe Phillips Trophy today.

Kiwi Hape looked in great shape on his return from a broken wrist, as did Great Britain star Sam Burgess, who roved around all afternoon causing havoc at loose forward.

But they didn't have it all their own way as spirited Keighley fought hard early on and only trailed 26-0 at the turnaround.

Bulls, playing their last warm-up before heading to Wakefield in the Super League opener on February 10, got off the mark on six minutes.

Jamie Langley - moved up to second row with Chris Nero to replace injured duo David Solomona and Simon Finnigan - eased through a gap and put on the afterburners to reach the line.

Soon after, following a raft of penalties against the hosts, Iestyn Harris also showed nimble footwork to step over before Hape marked his comeback with the first of his treble on 15 minutes, strolling in after Harris' excellent long pass.

Paul Deacon slotted the first of his three conversions but Bradford, who importantly didn't suffer any more major injuries, didn't strike again until the half-hour.

A combination of improved handling from the Cougars and some scrappy Bulls play meant the game became more evenly contested.

Keighley had struggled to complete a set early on but overcame their jitters and, cajoled as ever by James Feather, looked to show some of their own skills.

Prop Simon Bissell put a big hit on Great Britain prop Andy Lynch before Craig Fawcett's probing kick forced Bradford to drop out.

Tame Tupou looked to have scored the Bulls' fourth try though when he leapt high to take Deacon's crossfield bomb and touch down, only for referee Mick Dawber to rule it out for the Kiwi being offside.

But Keighley shot themselves in the foot straight from the penalty when prop Tom Palmer spilled on the first tackle, and soon after Michael Platt made them pay, the full back hitting a good line through the middle.

Deacon's cleverly disguised pass put Wales prop Matt James sailing in for another but the Cougars could be relatively pleased at half-time.

It was 44-0 at the same point last season. However, the second half was a different story.

The merciless Bulls reached the half-ton within six minutes of the restart, running in four tries with the Cougars failing to touch the ball.

Nero got his first for the club after Hape had sent Tupou clear down the left. Then a swift backline move ended with Tupou going in at the corner.

Platt - who hadn't scored since May - got his second with a 75-metre sprint from the kick-off after running onto Joe Vagana's off-load.

Burgess romped clear from the next restart to put Hape in for his second, and Harris, who had taken over kicking duties when Deacon went off with a slight knock, converted all four to make it 50-0.

There was a slight respite for the Cougars - who lost 88-0 last season - before Bradford smashed them with another ruthless quadruple whammy, this time in five minutes.

Harris' artful inside pass handed Ben Jeffries his first try in Bulls colours before the rampant Burgess burst clear again.

The Great Britain ace showed great awareness, skilfully kicking infield after seeing speedy Dave Halley motoring up in support and the winger finished off.

It was Tupou's turn to maraude down the left from the next kick-off, the big wideman holding his nerve before handing Hape his hat-trick.

Vagana got a well-deserved score of his own but there was a hint of a forward pass from Jeffries, then James powered over for his second and Harris burst onto a Wayne Godwin ball to get his double.

The Cougars fans came to life when Sam Gardner intercepted Harris' long ball inside his own 20 and set off for the line but, typically, Halley hunted him down before he'd even reached halfway.

However, they weren't to be denied. Bulls substitute Jason Crookes coughed up the ball inside his own 20 with two minutes to go and quick hands from the hosts saw former Wharfedale winger James Hutchinson dive in at the corner to bring the biggest cheer of the day.

Cougars boss Barry Eaton said: "We took some positives out of it and it's been another good occasion.

"It's been a valuable experience, the lads are upbeat and all looking forward to the start of the Northern Rail Cup next week."

Cougars: Duffy; Gardner, K Smith, Knight, Hutchinson; Jones, Fawcett; Shickell, Feather, Rawlins, Cartledge, Lowe, Redfearn. Subs: Presley, Wray, Mitchell, Bissell, Pursglove, Rayner, R Smith, Sutton, Palmer, Norcross, Dubais-Fisher, Sandland.

Bulls: Platt; Evans, Sykes, Hape, Tupou; Harris, Deacon; Vagana, Newton, Lynch, Langley, Nero, Burgess. Subs: Jeffries, Cook, James, Crookes, Johnson, Kopczak, Godwin, Halley.