Doncaster 38, Bulls 56

"SUPER League, you're having a laugh," was the chant aimed at Bradford from Doncaster's supporters – and who could blame them?

Jimmy Lowes' men went home with the two points but they looked anything but ready for a top-flight return for large parts of the match.

Certainly no team with ambitions to go up will be happy with conceding seven tries to a Doncaster side who lie bottom of the table.

The Bulls never quite looked in any serious danger of losing the game but their defending was awful and the second half ended 22 points apiece.

Paul Cooke's men deserve much credit for the way they belied their lowly status with a spirited display that gave Bradford plenty of problems.

Lowes put his team's performance down to fatigue from the Challenge Cup defeat at Hull KR and then pushing his men too hard in training during the week.

Certainly a vast improvement will be required at home to Sheffield Eagles next Sunday if the Bulls' winning run in the league is to continue.

Yesterday's success was not without positives as Lee Gaskell again proved he is a level above the Championship with a hat-trick of tries, Danny Addy also enjoying a fine game alongside him.

It was also heartening to see Dale Ferguson scoring twice, while Steve Crossley made his debut off the bench and showed glimpses of his class.

The withdrawal of Jean-Philippe Baile and Chev Walker with knocks meant Jay Pitts and Alex Mellor were forced to slot in at centres – but the Bulls ultimately had too much firepower for their spirited hosts.

When Gaskell got the ball in his hands, he had the beating of the Dons defence and he knew it, often driving at the heart of Cooke's side and breaking their line.

Yet while Bradford scored six first-half tries, Doncaster's three they claimed were testament to their resilience as much as the Bulls' propensity to switch off.

Buoyed by the inclusion of three Hull FC players on dual registration in stand-off Jordan Abdull, prop Bobby Tyson-Wilson and second-rower Jansin Turgut, plus debutant prop Matt Groat, the home side responded well to falling behind inside the third minute.

The Bulls pinned the hosts back towards their own line from the outset and some slick handling involving Gaskell and Addy culminated in Etu Uaisele crossing in the left corner.

Yet Doncaster scored from their first meaningful attack in the sixth minute when the Bulls' defensive line was breached all too easily.

Former Wakefield and Huddersfield forward Steve Snitch, who enjoyed a fine game for Doncaster, and Abdull combined to find Peter Fox unmarked inside the left channel.

Former England winger Fox, who recently joined the Dons, just about managed to evade the attention of Ryan Shaw to touch down in the left corner.

The pendulum soon went back in the Bulls' favour and Gaskell cleverly sold the Doncaster defence a dummy before plunging over the line from close range.

Two minutes later he was it again, this time scything like a gazelle through the home rearguard before brushing Mike Emmett aside with consummate ease to cross the line.

A 16-4 lead should really have been the signal for Bradford to put the game to bed – and possibly even take Doncaster to the cleaners. But this they never did.

Doncaster scored again in the 20th minute when Mitch Clark barrelled over the line from close range after fellow replacement Groat had gone close following a penalty against the Bulls.

Former NRL star Groat enjoyed a fine game on his debut but the Bulls began to dominate field position again soon after.

Crossley came on for his debut, replacing Paul Clough, and soon produced a fine offload out of a tackle to Adam O'Brien which led to Uaisele being held up over the line.

Moments later Gaskell broke through the Doncaster defence again and his pass, intended for Baile, fell fortuitously to Adam Henry.

The New Zealander was felled by a high tackle and, from the resultant penalty Ferguson – one of the Bulls' better performers – powered his way over the line for his first try.

Ferguson grabbed his second four minutes later, this time showing remarkable strength to shrug off a pack of Doncaster defenders before barrelling over the line.

It was a welcome reminder of Ferguson's class, which should be vital when the Super Eights come around.

Doncaster v Bulls match pictures

Doncaster continued to fight and scrap, with Abdull producing some fine touches with the boot and Groat continuing to punch holes up front.

Nevertheless, the Bulls scored their sixth try of the half in the 35th minute when Henry collected a suspiciously forward-looking pass from Shaw to power clear inside the right channel.

Doncaster, typically, hit back again when Snitch marched through a gaping hole in the Bulls defence and past Crossley's attempted tackle to cross the line with ease.

Dave Scott's second conversion made it 32-16 before Shaw added a penalty on the stroke of half-time to give the visitors a little more breathing space.

However, Lowes would have doubtless given his players a roasting at half-time and Bradford's 34-16 interval advantage never looked a comfortable one.

That much became evident when Doncaster roused themselves in spectacular fashion to score twice more in quick succession five minutes after the break.

Abdull's high bomb was inexplicably spilled by Shaw ten metres out and Doncaster centre Pasqualle Dunn gratefully accepted the gift to score.

Two minutes later and Doncaster, overflowing with confidence, struck again when Groat outmuscled the Bulls defence to touch down inside the right channel. At 34-26 it was well and truly game on.

The response from the Bulls was the right one as they went on to score three tries in eight minutes to finally put the game to bed.

Uaisele grabbed his second in the left corner from Addy's exquisite long pass and then Clough barged over from close range, before Gaskell completed his treble after again proving too quick for the Dons defence.

The game was now over but Doncaster summed up the spirit in their ranks when Fox grabbed his second try in the left corner with 12 minutes remaining to cap a fine handling sequence.

They then exploited another defensive lapse by the Bulls when Mike Kelly touched down a grubber kick from Abdull, with Ben Reynolds' conversion making it 50-38.

There was still time for Uaisele to send Shaw over late on and the Cumbrian converted to give him a 20-point personal haul.

Attendance: 2,276