Bradford Bulls Women compete well with Oulton before fading

It looked a long way back for Bulls after the opening 15 minutes, despite Katie Whelan’s try, as the Raidettes raced into an early 14-4 lead.

Georgia Waterhouse and Emily Simister both crossed the line before half-time, while Bulls tightened up their defence.

That meant Oulton only led 18-12 at the interval, with the result up for grabs after the break.

Georgia Waterhouse fights off the Oulton defence to score. (Image: Martin Taylor.)

And when winger Kylie Appleyard slid over line following Ellena Powell’s grubber kick on 43 minutes, the latter converting the try, Bradford had levelled the scores up at 18-18.

But the Raidettes found a second wind, with Ebony Stead in particularly good try-scoring form.

They had romped into a 12-point lead by the hour mark, before two late converted tries gave them a comprehensive 42-18 victory.

The defeat leaves Bradford third-bottom in the table, above only Stanningley and Castleford Tigers, ahead of this Sunday's game at Odsal against Salford Red Devils.

That match was due to follow the first-team men's fixture between Bulls and Wakefield in the Betfred Championship.

But with England now facing Spain in the Euro 2024 final that evening, the game has instead being moved to before the men's fixture, meaning kick off between Bulls and Salford will now be at midday.