Bradford Bulls defeat Barrow Raiders at Odsal Stadium

Following last week’s late disappointment at Batley, it was imperative that Eamon O’Carroll’s side got back on track - no matter how they played - and that is exactly what they did, despite going down to 12 men.

For the hosts, they were able to welcome back the trio of Jayden Myers, Lee Gaskell and Chester Butler in a much welcome boost for Bradford’s injury-hit squad.

All three players made the starting lineup, while John Davies dropped to the interchange bench and Joe Arundel missed out with an ankle injury.

It didn’t take long for one of the returning men to make an instant impact, as Chester Butler dived over for the Bulls after just six minutes of the contest.

The ball was moved left through Bradford hands and there was the no12 to crash over.

Six minutes later and the hosts were on the scoreboard again.

Jayden Myers collected the ball out wide, and whilst stumbling, played a delightful offload to Jayden Okunbor to touch down. Lilley missed the conversion as the hosts raced into a 10-0 lead.

Jayden Okunbor extends Bradford's lead (Image: Tom Pearson)

Things got better for O’Carroll’s side only a few minutes later, and this time it was Okunbor who turned provider.

Gaskell played a high kick out to the right and the Bulls winger rose highest to pluck the ball out of the air, before teeing up Zac Fulton for Bradford’s third.

Lilley converted to make it 16-0.

As so often with Bradford in recent weeks, they dropped their guard and appeared to take their foot off the pedal, which inevitably let the visitors back into the match.

Barrow sensed an opportunity and took it gratefully, scoring two quick tries to reduce the score to 16-10.

The first came through Max Clarke, who pounced on a loose ball in the in-goal area after a grubber kick had created pinball in the Bradford defence.

And the second came through Ryan Shaw.

An early grubber was sent through on the second phase of play, and Barrow’s no2 touched down for an unconverted try.

There was still time for one more score before the interval for the away side, as Shaw slotted a penalty over the posts from 40 metres out to make it 16-12 at the break.

After the interval it was Bradford’s turn to make a score and it only took them three minutes to achieve that.

The ball was quickly moved right towards Tom Holmes, and he shifted it to the returning Myers.

The young centre spotted a gap in the Barrow backline and handed off two men to touch down in the corner. Lilley’s conversion attempt drifted just wide. 20-12.

Jayden Myers races clear to kickstart Bradford's second half (Image: Tom Pearson)

And the hosts were at it again on the 50th minute, as was Myers, who got his second in quick succession.

A fantastic break initiated by Zac Fulton resulted in a two against one situation.

The ball was played to Gaskell, who reversed the ball back to Myers on the right and he made no mistake in diving over in the corner. Lilley added the conversion to make it 26-12.

Jayden Myers at the double for Bradford (Image: Tom Pearson)

A great deal of drama was set to unfold, however, leaving Bradford in a precarious position heading into the final quarter of the contest.

For an unknown reason (believed to be violent conduct), Eribe Dori was handed a straight red card by the referee and Barrow scored a converted try straight after to make it 26-18. 

Tempers flared and both sets of players ensued in a push and shove melee. 

Digging deep, back came 12-man Bulls and after being awarded a penalty, they worked the ball left to Kieran Gill and he was on hand to touch down for a customary try. 

Lilley added a sublime conversion from the touchline to make it 32-18 and give the hosts some breathing space.

Barrow were then penalised for being offside, 10 metres from their line, leaving Lilley the chance to extend O’Carroll’s side’s lead. He made no mistake in achieving his goal to make it 34-18 to the hosts.

Barrow pulled a converted try back leaving a tense final five minutes for the hosts.

Fulton was sent to the sin-bin for lashing out on a Barrow man, despite being clattered by a high tackle. 

From the resulting penalty, Lilley added two more points to seal Bradford a 36-24 victory over their Cumbrian opposition.