MAGIC it certainly wasn’t but Bradford Bulls banished the memory of that awful display 11 months ago on their return to Kingston Park to climb to third in the Betfred Championship table.

Thunder may have only won one and drawn one of their 12 league matches so far this season, but they made the visitors work hard for the spoils in the second half, scoring two of the first three tries to trail 22-12.

The next try looked like being the game-breaker, and for a while the contest was in the balance, with the Bulls having to defend more than they would have hoped, but in the end it took a piece of athleticism by Kieran Gill to decide matters.

He looked to have run out of room when chasing Dec Patton’s kick through but somehow dotted the pill down just before the dead-ball line for the decisive try.

On a sunny evening where it was warm in the sun but cool in the shade, the Bulls, who brought in Joe Arundel for broken-arm victim Nathan Mason, soon took charge, with the game having kicked off five minutes late.

Fenton Rogers, who was probably the Bulls’ man of the match, passed to Gill, who broke down the left-centre channel and found David Foggin-Johnston in support on his left to go over.

Rogers was then held up over the line before the visitors, taking advantage of an offside decision in the 17th minute, got their second try via half-back Tom Holmes, with the hosts’ defence hesitating, expecting referee Michael Smaill to blow his whistle.

Patton landed the conversion and also improved the try by Jordan Baldwinson three minutes later, with the scorer barging his way over after more good work by Rogers.

Thunder skipper Alec Foster went close, but Foggin-Johnston pulled off a timely interception to still the home supporters in a season’s-best crowd of 2,465.

Thunder certainly had the bit between their teeth in the second half and scored via Nick Staveley after it had initially been given to first Nikau Williams and then Denive Balmforth.

Balmforth did get their second try after four successive sets, with Williams adding a second goal, but sandwiched between them was a Keven Appo try after a passive Thunder defence hardly laid a hand on him from 15 metres out.

The next try was going to be decisive and it looked more likely to go to Newcastle than Bradford as the Bulls defence was tested, with Gill making a rare break out only for his inside pass to be knocked on. 

Thunder forced a goal-line drop-out before Billy Jowitt almost scored in a rare attacking opportunity at the other end.

Alex Donaghy made a thrilling break out of defence for Thunder, with Gideon Boafo adding more metres, but the attack ended when Foggin-Johnston snuffed out Alex Clegg in the Bulls’ left-hand corner.

Then came Gill’s decisive 11th try of the season to ease any Bulls worries, Patton adding the goal, and the game rather petered out after that as the evening chill drew in.

It was a display that was far removed from the unfathomable 53-10 defeat on the Bulls’ last visit to Kingston Park and it had a dramatic effect on the Betfred Championship, lifting the Bulls from seventh to third in a tight play-off battle, albeit with them having played a game more as interim coach Lee Greenwood made it three straight wins.

Thunder: Donaghy; Clegg, Staveley, Foster, Boafo; Williams, Miller; Tuliatu, Davies, T Chapelhow, Gallagher, Windrow, Bailey. Interchange: Balmforth, Clark, J Chapelhow, Okoro.

Bulls: Walker; Blackmore, Arundel, Gill, Foggin-Johnston; Holmes, Patton; Baldwinson, Lilley, Rogers, Thompson, England, Butler. Interchange: Jowitt, Appo, Johnson, Scurr.

Referee: Michael Smaill