BULLS 21 FEATHERSTONE 22
THE Bulls suffered their third one-point defeat after a dramatic afternoon at Odsal blew the play-off race wide open once more.
Eamon O’Carroll’s men would have moved within a point of second place with victory.
But instead a late Featherstone penalty winner – controversially awarded - lifted them just two points behind the Bulls who are once again looking over their shoulders.
It was a pulsating watch, strewn with errors from both sides, and in doubt right up to the decisive kick.
The Bulls showed one change in the starting line-up from the 10-try crushing of Whitehaven the week before. Eribe Doro came in at loose forward for Sam Hallas with former Featherstone stalwart John Davies named on the bench on his return.
There was added incentive with Sheffield and Toulouse both tripping up again to open up the route above them – as well as the chance of doing a rare double over last year’s Championship winners.
But the swirling wind caught out Tom Holmes who spilled Danny Addy’s spiralling kick from the opening set.
And Featherstone cashed in on the full back’s error to send Ben Reynolds over in the corner after just two minutes. Reynolds confidently tacked on the extras before staring down the home fans giving him some stick before the kick.
Bulls responded with a good spell of pressure, Jarrod Sammut’s bouncing kick forcing Gareth Gale to concede the first goal-line drop-out.
But Keven Appo, fresh from signing his new two-year deal, failed to gather Jordan Lilley’s grubber and a big scoring chance was gone.
Sammut tried to pick off a Fev pass deep in his own half – but the knock-on gave the visitors another set in a dangerous position.
Again, they took full advantage as Addy drew in his old club before releasing Josh Hardcastle to burst through a gap on the Bulls’ left side to make it 12 points in as many minutes.
Holmes spilled another high kick from Addy as Featherstone threatened more punishment. But strong scrambling defence pushed the visitors back before Gale was forced into touch by Jayden Okunbor.
That effort proved even more crucial when Featherstone could not deal with Jordan Lilley’s kick to the corner. The Bulls got another set and Holmes delivered a looping pass to send in Okunbor for their opening score.
Jorge Taufua knocked on in his own half to give Featherstone another sniff. Reynolds rode two tackles to stretch for the line but lost the ball as he did so and the chance of his second try.
Franklin Pele then powered in like a truck carrying a small army of blue shirts with him to bring the Bulls back within four points – only for Lilley to smack the post with his goal attempt.
The Bulls were on top – if they could cut out the errors like Okunbor’s blunder from the ensuing kick-off that went unpunished for once.
And they were in front three minutes before the interval with Pele blasting through on Sammut’s pass for his second to send Odsal into raptures. The lack of defence in his way showed that Featherstone thought better of trying to stop the Bulls powerhouse in full flow again.
It was crash and bash stuff and both sides needed the break – particularly the forwards from such a physical battle.
There was a buzz in the crowd every time Pele got involved and a noticeable nervousness in the Featherstone ranks trying to keep a lid on him.
A late challenge on Addy as he got a kick away presented Featherstone with the chance to level things up with a Reynolds penalty six minutes into the second half.
Sammut tried to catch out Featherstone with an early 40/20 but the wind took it out on the full.
Featherstone then regained the lead as their own big man Gadwin Springer spotted a gap at dummy half and loped through a couple of tackles to score under the posts.
Unforced errors continued to hold back the Bulls and Harvey Makin fumbled five metres from the line.
But they were back on terms on the hour, Jayden Myers claiming a well-worked try after Okunbor’s basketball skills kept Sammut’s shallow kick alive.
Fev forward Jack Bussey was sin-binned for a trip on Myers as the Bulls man went in – which should have made it an eight-point try.
The Bulls again failed to finish a set as Mitch Souter lost the ball in a big tackle from the veteran James Lockwood beneath the Featherstone posts.
It was anyone’s game as we entered drop goal country in the closing minutes – and Lilley obliged, raising his arm in celebration as he fired over from 30 metres.
Taufua was sin-binned for scrapping as tempers boiled over and the Bulls were forced to finish with a man short.
A huge hit won the ball back in Featherstone territory. But rather than working to kill the clock, the Bulls again shot themselves in the foot with Sammut this time the guilty party coughing up possession.
And the 12 men were punished inside the last two minutes as referee Cameron Worsley ruled the ball had been stripped from Wellington Albert – even though video later showed that the Featherstone forward had lost the ball in the tackle with Myers and Okunbor.
The crowd howled with derision as Reynolds kept up his perfect afternoon with the boot to slot the decisive penalty.
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