Hull FC 18, Bulls 6

The sickness seems to be catching. Having lost Matt Orford to a bug before a ball had even been kicked in anger at the KC Stadium, the Bulls were also laid low by a couple of sickening blows.

For so long, the signs had been promising, Bradford given hope of an impressive away victory thanks to their first-half dominance.

But ultimately, two tries either side of half-time knocked the wind right out of them, proving the difference in a tight, physical encounter.

Jordan Tansey touched down in the fourth minute of time added on at the end of the opening period and struck again seven minutes after the interval to virtually end the game as a contest.

Denied the talents of the talismanic Orford, the Bulls could easily have been without several more players due to a virus that has swept through their camp over the past week.

Orford’s absence provided the same sinking feeling Jamie Langley’s had in the previous week’s defeat at Warrington but they coped much better without their playmaker than they had without their back-row battering ram.

Paul Sykes and Brett Kearney were solid, if unspectacular, in the halves and although they could not provide the spark needed to unlock a rugged Hull defence, it was not for want of trying.

The Bulls’ start was shaky at best, Hull making a strong break down the right to rock them back on their heels before a good kick early in the next set pinned them right back in the 20.

But Steve McNamara’s troops tackled hard, giving the hosts little room for manoeuvre, as the home support whistled and jeered every ruck, urging referee Ben Thaler to use his whistle.

Yet the Wakefield official refused to bow to the pressure, giving the first penalty to the Bulls – and with it, a decent attacking platform.

For a moment, there was the hint of a chance, Sykes’ long cut-out pass giving Michael Platt the chance to get his legs going, only for Sean Long to block his route to the line. Richard Whiting then did a good job of clearing up Sykes’ useful grubber.

Long’s kicking game also proved a handful, although Bradford coped pretty well.

In fact, it looked as if a real break was on when Rikki Sheriffe fielded a testing kick behind and cut across the line before releasing Stuart Reardon through a gap.

The winger made a good 20 metres before being tackled but, when he was, he failed to instantly put the ball down and play it, handing a needless penalty to the opposition.

Still, it was the Bulls who drew first blood in the battle of the boot. Mark Calderwood dropped a bomb from Kearney inside his own 20 and Hull quickly conceded a penalty, which Sykes duly knocked between the posts.

Hull could – and probably should – have hit back almost straight away when Long nailed a sublime 40-20. The platform was set and then swiftly destroyed, Peter Cusack knocking on with the try-line in sight.

That was a mere blip for the Bulls, who enjoyed by far the more promising possession and territory.

A moment of quick-thinking magic saw Heath L’Estrange slalom out of dummy half to find space near halfway.

Providing support, Chris Nero was hauled down on the 20-metre line but Bradford forced Hull to defend a repeat set, tackling Tansey into touch after he cleaned up the kick on the final tackle.

Try time looked inevitable but a superb tackle from Mark Calderwood forced Reardon into touch as space opened up out wide.

Despite the almost incessant Bulls pressure, Hull thought their moment had come when Reardon failed to deal with Long’s crossfield kick and Whiting raced for the corner.

But defence was quickly turned into attack as the Hull centre was judged to have stepped into touch and Dave Halley acted swiftly to make fully 60 metres from the restart.

A try would have provided a strong position with half-time looming, yet sturdy defence from Hull followed by a knock-on by Glenn Hall saw another chance slip into the night – and that profligacy was soon ruthlessly punished.

It barely seemed as if there was time for any more action when Halley mopped up a kick behind by nudging it into touch but, fully four minutes over the 40, Jordan Turner dabbed a grubber between the sticks and Tansey touched down.

Stunning as that blow was, its sickening nature was only compounded when the second half started as the first had ended – with another Tansey try.

Forced to defend three consecutive sets on their goal-line, the Bulls were unable to hold out and a missed tackle from Platt provided a domino effect.

Craig Fitzgibbon somehow managed to smuggle the ball out of a tackle and, with the Bulls’ defence drawn in, Tansey had all the space he wanted to stroll in at the corner. Tickle kicked the difficult touchline conversion to provide Bradford with an uphill task.

It was a job they immediately took on with relish, three consecutive bombs causing chaos in the Hull defence before the hosts eventually cleaned up.

A daft offload from Fitzgibbon provided an escape at the opposite end and the Bulls too struggled to make the most of their opportunities, constantly slamming into the brick wall set by the hosts.

In the wet conditions, any win needed to be earned through grit, determination and discipline and the fact Hull did not concede a penalty for the entire second half told its own story.

They closed out the game eight minutes from time through sheer weight of pressure, having made the visitors defend repeat sets once more.

Elliott Whitehead made a try-saving tackle on Tickle but former Bradford forward Lee Radford eventually twisted out of a tackle to stretch over the line, Tickle improving.

It took the Bulls until the final minute to grab a deserved try of their own. Sheriffe had looked odds-on to score on the right and even though he was thumped by Tansey, Bradford shifted play quickly left and Reardon snuck in for a consolation.