It could be Rovers and out as Bradford Bulls lead slips away

If the Bulls’ bid to make the Super League play-offs for the first time since 2008 ends in failure, they may well look back at this match as a pivotal moment.

When Keith Lulia finished off a deft handling sequence to put Francis Cummins’ men 12-4 ahead in the 53rd minute, a precious victory beckoned at a sun-kissed Craven Park.

But a series of errors, several unforced, saw Hull KR respond with four tries and march to a victory that should never have been theirs.

It was an awful outcome to a match between two sides struggling for confidence.

That John Bateman, Jarrod Sammut and Chev Walker should all pick up injuries merely added to Cummins’ woes as Rovers drew level on points with the Bulls.

It was Bradford’s fifth defeat in six Super League outings and continued their recent poor run, although Cummins felt his men had largely performed better than in the Magic Weekend defeat to Huddersfield.

Adrian Purtell and Jacob Fairbank were ruled out through injury but Cummins handed recalls to the fit-again trio of Brett Kearney, Luke Gale and Bateman.

Adam O’Brien was afforded a chance to shine off the bench after being picked ahead of Matt Diskin and Michael Platt came back into the side on the left flank.

Hull KR are a curious team.

They have generally flattered to deceive under Craig Sandercock, so eyebrows were raised when the Aussie coach was offered a new contract last week.

It was Rovers who forced much of the early pressure, with scrum half Michael Dobson typically looking to dictate play at every opportunity.

In the opening exchanges, Dobson produced a delightful piece of footwork which took him past a clutch of players before a neat offload beckoned loose forward Con Mika to attack the visitors’ line 20 metres out.

His progress was halted but Rovers worked the ball out to the right corner before the Bulls cleared the danger at the expense of a goal-line drop-out.

From that point, Bradford began to dominate field position thanks to the excellent work of joint-captain Heath L’Estrange, whose speed and skill around the ruck constantly invited Gale and Sammut to impose themselves on the match.

Even before Sammut’s superb tenth-minute opener, the Bulls had asked plenty of questions of their hosts.

From a Bradford scrum, L’Estrange found Gale to his left and Sammut’s fine pass then sent Platt advancing at pace inside the left channel.

His progress was halted but the move hinted at the possibilities on offer.

Sure enough, L’Estrange found Gale again moments later and the former Leeds academy player’s neat pass found Kearney in support.

The Aussie offloaded to Matty Blythe and, although he found his route to the line blocked, Elliott Whitehead almost bustled over in the right corner from Kearney’s pass in the seventh minute.

The home-grown second-rower was held up just short and a teasing grubber kick from Gale was then fielded safely by Rovers stand-off Travis Burns with Sammut breathing down his neck.

That gave the Bulls a goal-line drop-out and enabled them to keep the pressure on Rovers – and they were soon rewarded with the game’s opening try.

Sammut scampered down the left flank and produced a fine offload to Lulia.

The Cook Islands international had enjoyed one of his best matches in a Bulls jersey during last season’s win on this ground and had spoken in the build-up to yesterday’s game how he had yet to recapture that kind of form this year.

But the manner in which he played the ball back to Sammut with a fine inside pass allowed his team-mate to sprint clear from 20 metres out for his 18th try of the season.

Sammut added the extras but Rovers, aided by the award of a glut of penalties from referee Robert Hicks, steadied themselves and began to force the Bulls back towards their own line.

Rhys Lovegrove, their impressive second-rower, was held up just short of the line before he did score in the 18th minute.

It stemmed from Gale ripping the ball out from Lovegrove in a two-man tackle and, from the resulting penalty two tackles later, Dobson’s short pass sent Lovegrove barrelling over the line from close range.

Dobson’s conversion attempt struck a post but Rovers continued to probe. They had a try disallowed when Dobson grounded the ball from his own short kick in the 25th minute but Hicks rightly deemed that a Bulls player had already got a hand to it.

It was largely one-way traffic in Rovers’ favour but the Bulls, to their credit, held firm.

After Rovers replacement Rich Beaumont was penalised for holding down, Sammut landed a penalty from distance to put the Bulls 8-4 ahead.

Still, they were guilty of a number of errors, such as Sammut and Gale both kicking out on the full, while Bateman was lost to injury in the first half.

The Bulls began the second half in encouraging fashion, though, and looked to have claimed their second try after Gale’s exquisite long pass found Lulia.

He sent Platt in at the left corner but, as the winger plunged over the line to ground the ball, a combination of Alex Brown and Liam Salter sent him into touch.

However, the Bulls’ second try finally did materialise soon after when they were awarded a penalty and L’Estrange, Sammut and Gale all combined to slip Lulia in at the left corner.

Sammut took a knock in the build-up to the try, meaning Danny Addy tried and failed to land the conversion, and Sammut was soon replaced by O’Brien, forcing a tactical reshuffle.

The disruption seemed to affect the Bulls as they made another error from the restart and, from that subsequent pressure, Dobson was again on hand to usher Lovegrove through some poor defending to cross the line.

Dobson converted and suddenly Rovers were flooded with confidence – and they soon struck the killer blow. A kick from Dobson was fielded by Burns and he had the simple task of sending Lincoln Withers over the line from close range for a try which Dobson had no problem converting.

The Bulls then enjoyed a period of pressure before disaster struck – not once but twice.

First, Kearney’s attempted grubber kick on Rovers’ 20-metre line was collected by Dobson. He raced to halfway before sending Craig Hall racing clear under the posts.

Dobson converted with ease and moments later a mistake from Lulia saw him attempt to palm the ball back to a team-mate; only no Bradford player was on hand to collect possession and Withers duly caught the ball to run clear for his second try.

Platt touched down a kick from Gale in the left corner in the dying embers but it was too little too late.

Attendance: 7,259