Bradford Bulls blow away Keighley Cougars in Bash romp

Bulls restored order with the neighbours with Summer Bash revenge for that painful afternoon at Keighley.

Two months on from their 34-6 humbling at Cougar Park, York was the stage to set the record straight - 34 unanswered points providing an emphatic answer after a sloppy start.

A lot has changed since their last meeting, not least the fact that neither club currently has a permanent coach - although sacked Keighley chief Rhys Lovegrove was an interested spectator at the LNER Community Stadium.

But Lee Greenwood took the “interim” honours over Jy-mel Coleman to make it two wins out of two for the Bulls since he took temporary charge following Mark Dunning’s sudden exit.

He continues to distance himself from the job but the team seem in safe hands under Greenwood - backed by Brian Noble’s vast experience - while Odsal’s decision-makers line up a crucial appointment.

The return of Tom Holmes after two games out with an ankle injury was a big boost.

But skipper Michael Lawrence was held back with the short turnaround for Friday’s trip to Newcastle in mind. Joe Arundel, similarly, sat this one out.

There was also no Dane Chisholm in Keighley colours - the Bulls regular tormentor-in-chief a late withdrawal with a slight hamstring tear.

Bulls fans were in good voice after their fightback win (Image: Tom Pearson.)

But a torrid start for the Bulls revived painful memories of the previous encounter.

Lloyd Roby burst deep into their half and Ben Crooks finished the job with a loping run to score under the posts from Keighley’s opening set.

And it got worse for Bradford on 10 minutes as Jack Walker was completely bamboozled by Brad Walker’s kick. Full back Alix Stephenson pounced on the loose ball to score against his old club.

Jack Walker was having a shaky time but produced a try-saving tackle to deny Brenden Santi a Keighley third before a casual pass straight out of play offered the Bulls some respite.

The Bulls needed some response quickly - and got it midway through the first half as Jordan Lilley fed Ben Blackmore to plunge into the corner.

There was a suggestion of a forward pass but referee Tom Grant saw no issues as Bradford got on the board.

Dec Patton, perfect with the boot against Swinton in the last game, could not land the touchline kick. But at least there was some momentum behind the orange shirts.

And they soon doubled the score when Patton stood up a chip towards the corner where Kieran Gill used his height to haul the ball down while twisting to ground it.

Patton again missed the conversion but Keighley’s lead had been chopped to four. But not for long.

Crooks nabbed his second try of the half after a long pass stretched the Bulls goalline defence to breaking point. Spence then showed Patton how it should be done to nail a superb conversion.

Keven Appo was held up over the line as the Bulls came back again - but they weren’t to be denied when Holmes’s long pass picked out Blackmore and the winger’s clever inside pass sent Jack Walker over.

Patton landed his third attempt to make it very much game on as the hooter sounded on another inconsistent half from the Bulls.

They needed six minutes of the second period to grab the lead for the first time.

Jack Walker’s fortunes continued to improve as he darted through the gap for his second try and Patton’s kick edged the Bulls 20-18 up.

Their fans were getting louder - and had more to cheer when Patton’s dink over the line was pounced on by Gill for his second score. Patton’s extras made it a two-score advantage.

It was one-way traffic now and Holmes had the Cougars backpedalling with an explosive burst down the right.

With the green shirts still struggling to get back, Appo took full advantage with an angled dart from 30 metres to reinforce the Bulls’ control.

Keighley’s collapse continued as Stephenson, under no pressure at all, made a mess of Patton’s kick to present another scoring opportunity.

Patton, Walker and Gill’s fast hands propelled the ball to David Foggin-Johnston to get in on the act.

It was men against boys now and another Cougars error set up Holmes to whisk a long pass out to the unmarked Blackmore to walk in his second score. Patton’s kick made it 34 points without reply.

Appo was yellow-carded right at the end for kicking the ball away after giving up a high tackle. But the 12 men kept it tight to complete the second-half shut-out.