Bulls are left to rue the one that got away

Having led 16-0 and 20-6 at different stages, Bradford somehow managed not to win, unable to stop an incredible second-half charge that started when the Rhinos were down to 12 men.

When Danny Buderus was sin-binned midway through the second half it looked impossible for the tables to be turned, yet Lee Smith struck late to seal a draw on his return to Leeds after an ill-fated spell in rugby union.

It was a real sickener for the Bulls, who had shown more than enough to suggest they could pull off an impressive win over their bitter rivals, but they just seemed to run out of steam.

Any talk of this being ‘just another game’ was quickly silenced, as both teams tore straight into one another amid an electric atmosphere.

A good kick and chase halted Brent Webb little more than ten metres from his own goal-line and the Bulls quickly got going.

Andy Lynch appeared to have few options down the middle but an unexpected offload opened acres of space on the left and an equally impressive pass out of the tackle by Elliott Whitehead sent Chris Nero powering on.

The Aussie centre was halted but a penalty from the resulting ruck put Leeds under all sorts of pressure.

Jamie Langley almost got through off the inside ball before Nero hit a short pass from Matt Orford at pace to blast through the goal-line defence.

Orford added the extras to complete an ideal opening three minutes.

But the Bulls almost handed the initiative straight back, conceding two penalties in quick succession, one for offside ten metres out.

It didn’t look good, yet the momentum quickly swung back again.

A knock-on from Ian Kirke was the let-off Bradford needed and Phil Bentham pinged Leeds twice to let them march back downfield once more.

Whitehead made a good line-break and Lynch played another superb offload to leave the Rhinos’ defence at sixes and sevens, when suddenly it all opened up.

Orford’s long ball spread play right and Paul Sykes, sensing the defence closing in on him, made an excellent improvised pass that resembled a soccer throw-in to find Dave Halley.

The finish wasn’t easy but Halley cut in from his flank to take out two would-be tacklers and score, although Orford couldn’t add the extras.

Leeds’ first real opening came soon after, Ryan Bailey popping up a decent pass right in front of the Bulls’ goal-line to leave a few hearts in mouths.

But a superb tackle from Sykes on big centre Brett Delaney halted the move out wide and Danny McGuire’s grubber kick went dead.

Instead, Bradford only piled on the points.

A penalty given for obstruction allowed Orford to take the two before the travelling fans’ dreams got even wilder.

Attempting to return a kick, Hall dropped the ball after a hit from Menzies, allowing Heath L’Estrange to pounce, darting towards the line.

Both he and Michael Platt were stopped in their tracks but when play was spread wide, the Bulls exposed their hosts once again, Menzies hitting a gap to stretch and touch down for a 16-0 lead.

It all seemed completely surreal at that point but the Rhinos’ comeback was inevitable.

Determined to cut the gap before half-time, they began to turn the screw and, although a brilliant tackle from Platt denied a certain try, their defence was too stretched.

Smith popped up to take McGuire’s cut-out pass and score on his Leeds return, Kevin Sinfield converting.

Needing to hold out until the break, the Bulls didn’t just settle for what they had and went on the hunt once more.

Making impressive yards with swift attacking play, they could easily have scored again, but Sykes’ crossfield kick on the final tackle sailed out of bounds.

Leeds looked to make a good start after the break and a good kick behind initially pinned the Bulls back inside their own ten-metre line.

But, unable to take full advantage, the hosts lost possession and Bradford came so close to scoring within three minutes.

Good work out of dummy-half by L’Estrange got them moving and Orford tested Webb with a well-placed grubber to the corner.

Initially he gathered, only to dangerously lose possession again as the ball trickled over the try-line. Both he and Halley dived to put a hand on it and the Leeds full back got there first, a fact confirmed after referral to the video referee.

With the next try crucial, the Rhinos bombed another good chance, earned after Kearney had knocked on Sinfield’s bomb, Delaney losing grip on McGuire’s pass.

And that missed chance proved very costly.

The Rhinos were forced to defend repeat sets when Keith Senior played at Platt’s offload but only succeeded in giving possession back to the Bulls.

Halley almost sneaked in on the right but when the ball got to Orford on the final tackle, he pulled a rabbit out of the hat.

Given no time to kick as the defence rushed upon him, the veteran scrum half somehow played an incisive pass out of the tackle and Nero drove an angled line past Delaney to score.

Platt made an outstanding try-line tackle on Senior, with help from Halley, and Nick Scruton provided a bone-shuddering, earth-shaking hit on Luke Ambler to keep Leeds at bay.

And when Buderus was sin-binned it looked to be game over.

But, from nowhere, the hosts suddenly mounted a vicious offensive and Bradford were forced to defend three straight sets on their own line.

Bailey was held up just short, yet the Rhinos finally got what they were looking for when Delaney hit the gap off Webb’s pass to add even more nerves to the contest with 12 minutes left.

Leeds kept going and Bradford simply couldn’t stop them, Sinfield dummying to breeze past Orford for his side’s third try before adding the conversion himself.

And Smith raced on to McGuire’s grubber kick to ensure a share of the points and break Bradford hearts, although Sinfield thankfully missed the difficult touchline conversion.