BRADFORD Bulls’ winning run came to an end at fierce rivals Halifax Panthers this afternoon, as the hosts hung on to claim a crucial 14-10 victory in their bid for survival.

Eamon O’Carroll’s side will still finish in 3rd place, but they will have been eager to avoid defeat in this heated contest ahead of the play-offs.

Halifax’s financial struggles have been well documented, and it meant that Bulls were facing a riled up Panthers side and crowd in the latest edition of this tense West Yorkshire derby.

For the visitors, Kieran Gill made his return to the starting lineup in a huge boost to O’Carroll’s side, while John Davies made the bench on his return to the matchday squad.

Things didn’t start all too well for the Bulls, as the hosts looked to set about their visitors.

On minute nine the Panthers opted to go for the two points after being awarded a penalty in front of the posts.

Louis Jouffret took on the responsibility to guide his side into a 2-0 lead.

Bulls’ handling in the wet and slippery conditions amassed to several ball fumbles, and Max Lehmann was duly punished for his spill.

On the resulting set the home team crashed over underneath the posts through Jacob Fairbank for a converted try. 8-0 to the Panthers.

However, O’Carroll’s men responded well and began to control proceedings.

In the 18th minute, Wigan loanee Harvey Makin burst through several challenges to power his way over just to the left of the sticks.

Lilley converted to reduce the score to 8-6 in favour of Halifax.

And just six minutes later the Bulls would find themselves ahead through a Jayden Myers effort.

A quick offload was fired into him, and the young forward made no mistake in finishing the chance - darting through the tiniest of gaps to slide over the whitewash. 

Lilley couldn’t convert the kick from out wide, but the visitors were now 10-8 in front.

Bradford had the chance to extend their lead moments later. 

Lee Gaskell played a delightful grubber kick through the Halifax backline, and just as Gill looked set to score, he was unable to ground the ball correctly.

The referee, after a brief discussion with the touch judge, decided against awarding the try.

After the interval the inevitable derby day antics ensued with tensions starting to boil over.

Halifax were then awarded a penalty, but Jouffret dragged his kick well wide.

In what felt like a potentially game changing moment, Mitch Souter was then sent to the sinbin after not releasing his man quickly enough.

And Halifax made their man advantage count, James Saltonstall being found in space on the right-hand side to dart over for an unconverted try. 14-10 to the hosts.

Handling errors continued to be a problem for both sides, particularly for the Bulls who squandered several attacking opportunities through knocking the ball on.

And in a dramatic final few minutes of the contest, play continued well beyond the sound of the hooter and the visitors were given one last penalty in the dying seconds of the match.

The ball was sent high to Gill, who thought he’d found the levelling score for the away side, but the referee deemed him to be offside.

Amidst the chaotic finale of the match, Ed Barber was shown a straight red card for an alleged punch on Tom Holmes after he’d gone to the ground.

Souter was shown a second yellow card, and Adam Tangata was also penalised for his involvement in the melee.

Unfortunately for the away side, that was that and their four-game winning run came to an end.

Up next for Bulls is a home game against Swinton Lions next Sunday in their final match of the regular Betfred Championship season.