Francis Cummins admitted a lack of composure proved the Bulls’ downfall as they slipped to a 32-4 defeat at Super League title hopefuls Warrington.
After a sluggish start which saw the Wolves race 10-0 ahead with tries from Simon Grix and Ben Currie, Bradford hit back through Adrian Purtell.
But the hosts struck again through winger Chris Riley before half-time and, after the Bulls had failed to make a period of sustained pressure pay following the break, they were hit by four unanswered tries.
The first of those came from winger Joel Monaghan in the 52nd minute but doubts surrounded whether he had maintained control of the ball before grounding.
Adam Sidlow also had a try ruled out but Cummins said: “I thought we probably lacked a little composure, missed some opportunities and came up with yardage errors.
“The effort was there again but you need more than effort to beat the bigger teams.
“Adam Sidlow thinks he scored, and I did think Joel Monaghan dropped the ball, but that didn’t lose us the game.”
Reflecting on how the Bulls failed to make their early second-half pressure pay, Cummins said: “I’m frustrated we lost our way a bit, and a little annoyed with our composure and not sticking to what we wanted to do, but all credit to Warrington.
“We had some opportunities early in the second half when we took three or four wrong options and they got a roll on, which made the difference.
“Teams like Warrington have definitely got the experience that I can’t give to my team just yet but you have to deliver it on the day against the bigger teams.
“I’m a bit greedy, I want it to happen now, but we came second-best.”
Cummins felt Warrington dominated the ruck area and added: “They had control there and we’re probably a little bit too honest in the ruck compared to what’s going on at the moment. That’s something we’re going to have to work on and practice.”
Brett Kearney had a bang on his knee but ran it off, while John Bateman (wrist) also picked up a knock and will be assessed ahead of Friday’s home clash with Leeds.
Cummins reserved praise for on-loan Warrington forward Ben Evans, who came off the bench to make an impressive Super League debut against his parent club.
The Bulls coach said: “Ben did well last week (against Rochdale) and again this week. I’m really happy for him because he’s had a tough old time but he put his hand up today.”
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