Rover and out for Bradford Bulls in controversial Challenge Cup tie

FIRST things first. How did Adam Walker manage to escape being sent off after flooring Adam O’Brien?

A red card appeared the only reasonable course of action for referee Matt Thomason following the incident shortly before half-time.

Rovers prop Walker, a Bradford lad, seemed certain to be dismissed after catching O’Brien in the face with his right hand.

“The laws of the game state that if you smack someone in the face it’s a red card,” said Bulls boss Jimmy Lowes afterwards.

Instead, after Walker had sparked a brawl which saw Adam Sidlow get stuck in, Thomason instead sin-binned the rival props.

Who knows how the Bulls might have fared had Thomason reduced Rovers to 12 men with over 40 minutes to play?

Lowes was proud of his players’ efforts and rightly so.

They battled hard and went toe to toe with their Super League opponents for an hour, fashioning a brilliant response in the second half to lead 30-28 with only 18 minutes remaining.

They were on course to dump Hull KR out of the Challenge Cup.

But then Rovers winger Josh Mantellato took centre stage in quite devastating fashion, scoring three tries in eight minutes to kill off the Bulls’ challenge.

Despite the Robins’ dominance in the final quarter, there were plenty of positives for the Bulls to take, especially as a number of players were missing through injury.

The Bulls made a bright and purposeful start to lead 12-0, with Ryan Shaw embarking on a strong run inside the left channel and finding Etu Uasiele in space.

The winger made decent ground before his progress was halted but the Bulls continued to pin Rovers back towards their own line.

Sure enough, O’Brien collected possession from acting half inside Rovers’ 20-metre line and he showed outstanding awareness and strength to outmuscle a visiting defender and crash under the posts.

Shaw added the extras and Lowes’ players overflowed with confidence.

Rovers gradually warmed to their task but Terry Campese’s last-tackle kick to the left corner was well fielded by Chris Ulugia.

The momentum quickly shifted back in favour of the Bulls and, with O’Brien a constant menace, Rovers struggled to keep their hosts at bay.

Their second try arrived when some neat dummy running across the face of the visitors’ ten-metre line by Uaisele had the visitors at sixes and sevens.

Bulls v Hull KR Picture Gallery

O’Brien and Sidlow were involved in the move before Uaisele showed intelligence to regather possession and usher Dale Ferguson over the line.

Shaw’s conversion off a post made it 12-0 and encouraged hopes that this was to be Bradford’s day.

Rovers, however, had other ideas.

From their first meaningful attack, they scored from a devastating handling sequence.

Captain Terry Campese and Kris Welham combined to send the ball out to Mantellato on the left wing and he showed outstanding athleticism to evade Adam Henry’s challenge and acrobatically touch down in the corner.

It was a pertinent reminder of Rovers’ attacking prowess and the conversion made it 12-6.

The visitors, backed by a sizeable contingent from East Hull, began to move through the gears and Campese’s educated boot came to the fore.

Time and again, though, Shaw held firm under the Australian’s high balls.

Yet the visitors scored another delightful try in the 29th minute when Albert Kelly, whose partnership with Campese has laid the platform for Rovers’ early-season success, kicked to the left corner.

Mantellato expertly fielded the high ball into the path of Welham, who bustled over the line for a try which Mantellato converted in style to make it 12-12.

When Rovers grabbed their third try, it came in controversial fashion as Jean-Philippe Baile, who had replaced Tom Olbison moments earlier, took a knock and went down inside the Bulls’ half.

Thomason allowed play to continue and Kelly took full advantage, racing clear from distance to put Rovers ahead for the first time in the match.

Thomason’s officiating was met with an angry response from the home side, but that was nothing compared to their rage two minutes before half-time.

After O’Brien had tackled Walker, the Rovers prop swung at the Bulls hooker, sparking a mass brawl in which Sidlow was prominent.

Somehow, Thomas decided that Walker’s right-hander was worthy only of a yellow card and he earned ten minutes in the cooler along with Sidlow.

There was a further clash on the stroke of half-time after Gaskell was tackled but, while no more cards were issued, it summed up the ill feeling that had developed.

The response from the Bulls, who lost to Ulugia during the interval, after half-time was to be applauded.

Alex Mellor showed outstanding pace to drive at the heart of the Rovers’ defence and break their line before showing intelligence to send the supporting Danny Addy over from 20 metres out.

But Rovers hit back again soon after as Ben Cockayne sent Kieran Dixon clear from halfway and the former London player looked destined to go all the way until Uaisele made a fine saving tackle.

The Robins quickly recycled the ball, though, and Graeme Horne went over in the right corner.

Uaisele went over soon after but there was a forward pass in the build-up and no try was awarded, yet the real sickener for the Bulls came in the 55th minute.

Rovers second-rower Kevin Larroyer stole the ball from Addy one on one and then raced 45 metres to score a try which Mantellato converted to make it 28-18.

But Bradford refused to lie down and hit back when Gaskell exploited a gap in the Rovers’ defence to dive over from close range and Shaw’s conversion cut the deficit to four points.

Four minutes later, Lucas Walshaw powered through a gap to score and Shaw’s conversion made it 30-28.

But Rovers upped the ante in devastating fashion and Mantellato went on to score three tries in eight minutes inside the left channel, although it was hard not to feel that it was becoming too easy for the visitors.

Mantellato’s exploits killed off the Bulls’ spirited challenge, his four tries and seven goals giving him an impressive 30-point haul, while John Boudebza went over in the last minute past a tiring defence to add further gloss to the scoreline.