Bradford Bulls defeated on derby day by Leeds Rhinos after a second half collapse

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A strong second half from Leeds Rhinos helped them triumph over near-neighbours Bradford Bulls at Odsal.

A flurry of Rhinos tries without reply from Max Simpson, Liam Tindall, Kai Morgan and Alfie Edgell helped them overturn a 12-0 deficit after a poor first half.

It was a return of one of Super League’s classic matches. Both sides used to be giants of the Rugby League, but since the demise of the Bradford Bulls, these matches have been a rare treat

This was pre-season game number four for John Kear’s side who beat another Super League side in Hull FC last week.

Leeds were also onto their fourth game of pre-season after recently securing a narrow 30-22 win over Featherstone Rovers.

The Rhinos side was full of youngsters, who were about to experience their first taste of a Bradford-Leeds derby. For the Bulls, they put out a full-strength squad which included ex-Warrington Wolves man, Dec Patton.

It was the hosts who opened the scoring early. Two summer signings linked up as Patton played through Kieran Gill to get the Bulls rolling with Patton’s successful conversion adding an extra two points.

That came after it looked like Leeds would open the scoring, but with them now chasing a leveller, the pressure began to build. However, the Bulls were resilient and defended well against three consecutive sets.

Frustration began to build within a young Leeds side and mistakes began to happen which lead to another Bradford try. Elliot Kear’s grubber kick was well collected by Rhys Evans and he pushed his way through to add to the score tally.

The game soon had its first flashpoint as a mass brawl sparked following a heavy challenge on Jack Sinfield, son of Kevin Sinfield, which got the crowd roaring again.

That seemed to spark the Leeds team on, and after a dodgy spell towards the end of the half, they responded through Liam Tindall who scored following a break from Jarrod O’Connor.

Soon after the visitors were level as Max Simpson went a mazy run which broke the Bradford line once again with ease and he slid under the posts to get Leeds back in the game.

The Rhinos had certainly turned it on for the second half and were showing off their quality. Tindall again added extra points following a pass from Sinfield as he squeezed in at the corner to give Leeds the lead for the first time in the game.

The Bulls were penned in and found it hard to deal with the sustained pressure from the Super League side. Kai Morgan added more points and misery as he exploited a gap and bulldozed over to extend his sides’ lead.

The victory and derby day delight was sealed when great work in the corner from Joseph Gibbons and Edgell saw the former’s pass to the latter trick the Bradford defence as Leeds secured more points and wrapped up their 30-12 win.

Attentions now turn to next Sunday for the Bulls as they begin their campaign for promotion when they kick-off their Championship season at Dewsbury Rams.

Leeds have two games before the curtain-raiser against Warrington Wolves as they play Hull FC and local neighbours Hunslet Hawks.

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