Bradford Bulls so glad to see spine shaping up nicely again

Bradford were on shaky ground at the break, as the hosts sat 12-6 in front, but with Gaskell guiding his team around the field, and producing numerous perfectly-measured kicks in behind the Cumbrians’ defence, they recovered to record an eventually comprehensive win that takes them up to fifth in the Betfred Championship table.

Bulls have been without Gaskell for much of the season after the stand-off tore his hamstring at Wakefield in March, and the difference with him back in the team is clear.

Speaking to the T&A after the win, O’Carroll said: “When Lee’s doing all of that, he allows those around him, like Jordan Lilley, to thrive.

“I thought Jordy was fantastic today and I felt the two of them really complemented each other, while Tom Holmes did a great job too.

“That’s only the second time all season we’ve had our full spine playing together and I believe that can only get better.”

That Gaskell, Lilley and Holmes triumvirate came together for the first time in the superb away win at Batley last season, and were a crucial factor in Bulls’ late-season run to the play-off semi-final.

That bad injury for Gaskell and Holmes needing time to recover from cancer treatment has meant that spine has been broken up for a long time now, with this month seeing it finally put back together again.

But using those three in those positions, and Jorge Taufua and Jayden Okunbor out wide, meant a first absence of the season for Aidan McGowan, who was left out of the squad at Whitehaven altogether.

Asked if he had seen getting that successful 2023 spine back as a priority, O’Carroll reflected: “I’ve been really keen to see it, but I think Aidan’s put in some really good performances this season, particularly defensively.

“It was a tough decision to make today, but one I felt was right for us.

Aidan McGowan has been a key player for Bulls this season, but he was dropped for tactical reasons yesterday. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“Moving forward, I wanted to give that spine time to settle.

“We got to round 10 and that was the first time we’d had one, six, seven and nine together.

“That’s a really important part of your team and I want to see how that progresses now.”

Whitehaven only had a 16-man squad due to being ravaged by injury, which meant the strength in depth Bulls had off the bench, chiefly Ebon Scurr and Fenton Rogers, had a big impact on the final outcome.

O’Carroll said: “It does make a difference, as I thought Whitehaven dominated down the middle initially and owned that area.

“I challenged the group on that at half time because it hurt to see us losing out in there.

“But in the second half, you saw the importance of having a strong bench that’s able to make an impact in there, especially at a place like this, in tricky conditions.

“You have to get that collision area right and your defensive resilience.

“The likes of Ebon and Fenton sparked that up and I don’t think Whitehaven could cope with it.”

O’Carroll conceded that Whitehaven’s injury problems were far worse than those of his own side, but it was not smooth sailing for Bulls in Cumbria.

Chester Butler pulled up in the warm-up due to an issue with his hamstring, meaning a hasty reshuffle as John Davies was thrown into the starting line-up and Sam Hallas was promoted from 18th man after several weeks out with ankle tendonitis.

Another man returning after a long absence was Dan Smith, but the experienced prop only made it to half-time, his calf problem clearly still not fully behind him.

And Kieran Gill damaged his shoulder after being flattened by Edene Gebbie while setting up a try.

The centre somehow powered through the rest of the game, but went home wearing a sling.

O’Carroll is tentatively hopeful on Butler, Smith and Gill, not expecting any of them to be out long-term, but he will know far more when the trio are assessed by the medical team at training during the week.