ON the day England prepare for a historic occasion, Bradford Bulls produced a dominant display to thrash Oldham 22-54 in the Betfred Championship.

Coming off the back of a crucial victory against Batley last week, the Bradford side were able to put on a fine display.

In recent weeks, Bulls have lacked creativity, however the arrival of Joe Keyes has certainly got them firing again, along with the return of winger Foggin Johnston, who recovered from a recent injury.

New Oldham boss Brian McDermott couldn’t kick off his tenure with a victory, and there wasn’t a lot to cheer about.

His side produced way too many errors and lacked composure in attack as they probed Bradford’s back line, but to no avail.

And it only took Bradford three minutes to break the deadlock, as Foggin Johnston went over after a well-thought-out Bradford move. The try was one of many outstanding tries for the away side.

The creative mind of Keyes was instrumental to Bradford’s attacking success, and on this occasion, he worked the ball to Brandon Pickersgill.

The former then sent it to the left and returning man Foggin-Johnston went over in the corner, to cap off a scintillating Bulls move. Keyes added his first conversion of the day.

Twelve minutes later, instead of helping in the build-up, Keyes went over himself, and at this point, it was already looking like a big ask for the hosts.

It was another cutting-edge Bradford move. The loan man collected the ball ten metres out and sold a dummy to three or four Oldham men.

He showed great composure and footwork to sidestep three onrushing Oldham players, and he added the points for Bradford, before kicking over the posts.

His addition could be pivotal for the away side over the coming weeks.

Fullback Pickersgill was the next man to go over for the Bulls.

In the 23rd minute, Pickersgill added the third try of the day for Bradford. Joe Brown gave it to Pickersgill, and it was his turn to throw another dummy.

He squeezed through a gap and touched the ball down. Keyes added the goal.

Shortly after, Keyes added his second try of the game.

He collected the ball, and like his first try, the half-back sold a dummy to two Oldham players and eased his way over the line, before converting.

In the 38th minute, Bradford were awarded a penalty, and Keyes took the two points on this occasion to send the away side in at half-time with a 0-26 lead.

Bulls came out on the front foot again in the second half, and it didn’t take long for them to extend their lead further.

Keyes, the standout man for Bulls, claimed his hat-trick.

It was another sublime dummy from the forward, as he collected the ball close to the posts and fainted one way, and then the other to go over the line.

On minute 50, Joe Brown went over for his seventh of the season. Pickersgill teed Brown up, and he powered over the Oldham line through three tackles.

At this point, Oldham were looking well beaten, however they did score their first points two minutes later, as Joe Hartley found a gap in the Bradford defence, and touched down in the corner.

On minute 62, Martin Reilly powered his way over the line from close range, to breathe more life into an Oldham side who currently sit second from bottom.

However, their hopes were short-lived.

Three minutes later, R.Evans went over for his first in over 700 days, in what was a great moment.

Pickersgill unlocked the defence with a brilliant pass, as Bulls completely outnumbered Oldham on the right hand-side. Evans collected the ball and went over.

On the 67th minute, Pickersgill claimed his second try of the match, having been fed by Brown.

And a minute later, it was time for Brad England to get in on the action, scoring Bradford’s final try of the afternoon.

Their ninth of the day, saw England collect it close to the right hand-side of the field, and he wrestled off a challenge from an Oldham defender and dived over the line.

There was time for more tries, with the rest going to Oldham.

On the sixth, the hosts sent a grubber through, and it was substitute Abram who pounced on it, in what was a consolation try.

Thomas Doyle was sent to the sin bin a minute away from the final whistle, and Oldham made Bradford pay.

The extra man paid dividends, as Tyler Dupree went over for the hosts, touching down in the right-hand corner.

This was the final play of the day, and it capped off an entertaining Betfred Championship fixture, as the score finished 22-54.

In the next round of fixtures, Oldham travel to play Whitehaven, in what could be a pivotal match for their Championship future.

And Bulls host league high-flyers Featherstone Rovers, a game which could go a long way to deciding the end of season standings.