Bradford Bulls dig deep for superb win over Sheffield Eagles

Sheffield were on top when the scores were finely poised at 6-6, but from the moment debutant Jayden Okunbor leapt in the air and touched down for Bulls’ second try, the hosts were magnificent.

They stretched their lead to 16 points by the break, while the only score of the second half, until the final 10 minutes, was a long-range Jordan Lilley penalty.

But a late Kieran Gill breakaway try, on his 150th career appearance, sealed victory for Bulls, with Sheffield’s late consolation score not dampening the mood in any way whatsoever.

Sheffield were careless in the opening 10 minutes, conceding penalty after penalty, and that ill-discipline eventually cost them.

After John Davies was stopped millimetres short and Mitch Souter was held up over the line, it was a case of third time lucky.

A glorious move came down the right, and Tyran Ott and Fulton combined, the former releasing his pass to the latter at the perfect time, and the second row took a nice line to go over out wide.

Zac Fulton puts Bradford ahead after only 10 minutes against Sheffield. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Lilley slammed the extras through the posts to put his side 6-0 up.

But Fulton and Hull FC loanee Liam Tindall then misjudged Cory Aston’s subsequent bouncing kick off, and Bradford were instantly made to pay by their former winger Matty Dawson-Jones, who gathered a subtle little tip-on from Thackeray to race in at the left corner.

Aston added a stunning kick from the touchline to bring his men level.

A brilliant diving tackle by Mitch Souter kept Matty Marsh out after Thackeray’s delicate kick through before Dawson-Jones dropped a pass on the stretch two metres out, when he would have had a walk-in in the corner.

Completely against the run of play, Bulls went back ahead when Lilley's glorious chipped pass to the right was caught spectacularly in the air by new boy Okunbor, who twisted in the air and landed over the line to score.

That was converted by Lilley, who had a hand in the next try moments later.

He clipped a threatening kick up towards the 10m line, Davies went up for it and the ball dropped loose.

Gill gathered it up and passed left to Aidan McGowan on the wing, who strolled in to score.

Aidan McGowan scampers over to score Bulls' third try this afternoon. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

A tough conversion from the left was missed wide right by Lilley, but Bulls’ lead was now into double figures.

And a wonderful display of strength from second row Fulton brought Bulls a fourth try before the break, as he took a pass five metres out and somehow strong-armed his way over the line on the spin, despite two or three Sheffield defenders trying to stop him.

Lilley crashed his conversion attempt over the posts to give Bradford a healthy 22-6 lead at the break.

Sheffield began the second half on top, but some clumsy handling errors and fearsome defence from the hosts kept them out, Eribe Doro and Keven Appo particularly outstanding in the latter department.

Jordan Lilley and Keven Appo both had fine games in the red, amber and black. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Instead, it was Bulls who added the first points after the break, as Davies was on the end of a high tackle after a hospital pass from Lilley.

The scrum half made up for putting his colleague in bother with a fine long-range penalty to make the score 24-6.

If Davies thought he had it bad, poor Eliot Peposhi was on the end of a few questionable tackles.

One saw Sheffield centre James Glover sent packing to the sin-bin, another ended with the former Saints youngster being forced off for an HIA, from which he later returned.

Souter had just come back on from an HIA of his own, but just as one key member of the forward pack returned, another was forced off the field.

Davies was ruled to have harshly high-tackled Eddie Battye, who had dipped down low to try and retrieve a poor pass from Marsh.

But Bradford put the game to bed soon after, in unusual circumstances.

A spiralling Sheffield kick was dropped by Lilley but backwards, Ben Jones-Bishop scooped that up, offloaded a pass, but then that was spilled forward.

Gill picked up the loose ball, and was one of the few players on the field not to stop.

He bombed down the left and just outpaced Marsh to the line to score, with Lilley’s difficult conversion from the touchline striking the post.

Tom Holmes leaps on Kieran Gill after the latter's try ended Sheffield's faint hopes of victory. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Sheffield added a late consolation through Jack Hansen after good work down the left from Glover, who gathered his own kick through.

But Aston’s kick was no good, summing up a difficult afternoon for Sheffield.

And with Bulls now just three points off second, having beaten Featherstone, Toulouse and the Eagles now this season, things are looking good with a third of the league campaign gone.

BULLS: Holmes, Tindall, Okunbor, Gill, McGowan, Ott, Lilley, Lawrence, Souter, Rogers, Davies, Fulton, Doro. Interchanges: Scurr, Appo, Peposhi, Bateman. 18th man: Balback.

SHEFFIELD: Marsh, Jones-Bishop, Welham, Glover, Dawson-Jones, Aston, Thackeray, Battye, Wood, Dickinson, Foster, Sene-Lefao, Gwaze. Interchanges: Hansen, Hodgson, Roberts, Clark. 18th man: Bower.

BULLS MAN OF THE MATCH: ERIBE DORO.