Bradford Bulls continued their upturn in form and continued their playoff push alive with a 48-6 win over Dewsbury Rams.
Tries from Ryan Millar, Elliot Kear, Kieran Gill, Steve Crossley, Jordan Lilley, Samy Kibula and a double from Chester Butler helped the Bulls to a fifth victory under Mark Dunning since he took over on an interim basis from John Kear.
Dunning is in the running for the vacant position with interviews taking place this week for the head coach role.
He has helped mastermind an upturn in form for the Bulls which has seen the playoff hopes kept alive for Bradford.
Visitors from down the M62, Dewsbury, had been on a rotten run of form but welcomed new head coach Liam Finn for his first game in charge.
Finn’s side almost grabbed an early lead, Paul Sykes’s swirling kick fooled the Bradford defence and was regathered by teammate Jordan Gabriel who played it wide, but the Bulls recuperated and managed to bring the man down.
The score would have been opened by the Bulls, a lovely move to the left found Millar who claimed his sixth try of the season in at the corner.
Another error nearly gave the visitors a way back. Millar dropped the ball from a kick and could not regather the ball which nearly led to David Dixon going over the line, but Millar got there in time to kick away.
The visitors did level, 14 minutes before the break, a neat move to the right found Gabriel in behind who ran over the line.
However, just before halftime, following sustained pressure from the Bulls, they finally broke through. Kear received the ball and barged his way through and dropped the ball over the line to swing the game back in the Bulls favour.
Bradford weren’t finished there. Jordan Lilley fed Butler who danced his way from the 20-metre line round the Dewsbury defence and dived over to give the Bulls a two try advantage at the break.
Butler doubled his tally for the day shortly after the restart. He managed to ground the ball on the line to further the Bulls advantage.
It was soon a score of 30 for the Bulls. Dec Patton kicked through the defence and the ball was latched onto by Kieran Gill who pounced to the ground the ball.
The hosts were proving too tough for their opponents. From a set restart on 20 metres, Crossley battled his way through and placed the ball down and it wasn’t long before 40 mark was soon broken as Lilley ducked and dodged the Rams defence to sprint over the line.
More polish was added to the win for the Bulls, Kibula won the ball on the 30 metres and swerved his way round the defence to have the freedom of Odsal to walk over and finish off a fantastic win for the Bulls.
Finn’s side are left with work to do after another thumping at the hands of the Bradford Bulls. They face a tough test against Halifax Panthers at the Tetley’s Stadium next weekend.
The Bulls also face a tough test as they welcome League Leaders Leigh Centurions to Odsal.
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Leeds Rhinos gave Rohan Smith his first win as new head coach as they ran out 20-6 winners against local rivals Wakefield Trinity.
A first half double from James Bentley set the Rhinos with 12 points before Jai Whitebread responded for Trinity. However, Rhyse Martin’s penalty goal and late try’s from Blake Austin and David Fusitu’a sealed victory for the Rhinos.
The defeat for Willie Poching’s side means their losing streak extends to seven games in all competitions and makes their position in the table look worse as they try and fight Super League survival.
Tom Lineham thought he had the first points for Wakefield on seven minutes. He was found on the right-hand side with space to run into, but play was brought back by the referee.
It was Smith’s side who opened the scoring, a simple move to the left found Bentley who found a gap in the Wakefield defensive line and exploited it to give his side an early lead.
Bentley soon got his second try just before half time, Again Leeds moved it to the left to find the second rower who caught the ball and made his way through a row of bodies and dived over to add to Leeds’s advantage.
However just before the interval, Whitebread responded for Wakefield. He barged his way to the line taking several Leeds defenders with him to get Trinity off the mark.
Leeds went into break thinking how they had not added to their lead, Ash Handley was found with room on the right-hand side but as he ventured forward towards the lien he ran out of space and threw the ball away.
It was proving to be tough for either side to break each other down. Leeds came close early in the second but coughed up the ball at the vital moment.
Martin did add an extra two for the Rhinos. Wakefield made an error on the 20-metre line which provided the centre the chance to kick the goal which he did.
A try did come for home-side eventually. Simple Rugby again with the ball moving to the right to find Austin who raced over the line to give his side room to breathe.
Fusitu’a polished off an industrious win for Leeds. He received the ball from the right and tucked in at the corner to add extra to a derby day win for Leeds.
For Rohan Smith’s side they next travel to Warrington Wolves Friday night where his side will hope to start building momentum for a playoff push.
Wakefield Trinity will have to dust themselves down. They next host Hull FC on Sunday 5th June.
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Tries from Ben Davies, and Jack Welsby helped them respond to early first-half tries from Salford’s Morgan Escare.
Matty Costello levelled things up just after the break but up stepped Makinson. His two kicks gave Saints a much-needed win on a night which did see both teams at the top with Saints, Wigan and Catalan Dragons winning.
It wasn’t plain sailing for the reigning champions. Just like last week, a brave Salford Red Devils came out battling but only just missed out on what would have been a fantastic win for Paul Rowley’s side
Both sides came into the game looking to bounce back from defeats last week. A young St Helens side was swept aside by Castleford Tigers whereas Salford lost out narrowly to Wigan.
The senior Saints were called up for this game however after a hectic Easter Schedule, Salford were weaker from last week with many key faces missing.
It was the Red Devils who started the brighter and opened the try-scoring. Following a great move to the right, Escare found space to burst into and run all the way over the whitewash.
The champions responded; however, similarly to the Salford try, Davies had space to run into and quickly burst over to give a foot in the game.
Another try soon came as the Saints started to get in their stride. A defensive mix up at the back did see the ball drop loose and reacting quickest was Welsby, who grabbed the ball and strolled over.
Just before the interval, a penalty on halfway presented Salford with a chance to get some ground on Saints. The two-point attempt just fell short of the mark leaving the teams divided by one try going into the second 40.
Just like in the first half, Salford scored first in the second. From a set restart on 40 metres, a move to the right found Danny Addy who burst through, Saints thought they had him wrapped up, but he found time to pass to Costello who dived over.
Saints regained the advantage 10 minutes later. A high challenge on Matty Lees resulted in a penalty for the home side on the 40-metre line. Makinson stepped up and kicked far enough to give his side the lead again.
Makinson went back-to-back, with another penalty given away by Salford providing him with the chance to repeat what he did 4 minutes earlier, kicking over from the 30-metre line and giving Saints a four-point lead.
Salford were close to levelling; Atkin stole the ball from his own half and looked to have maybe won the game for the Red Devils but chasing him was Morgan Knowles, who brought him down and ultimately saved the win for Saints.
Kristian Woolfe’s side now can look forward to the prospect of the Challenge Cup Semi-Final tie with Wigan next week at Elland Road.
Salford have a few weeks off before they host Leeds Rhinos at the AJ Bell.
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Credit: Matthew Ward
Wigan Warriors left it late to secure back-to-back victories after a 30-24 win over Salford Red Devils at the DW Stadium.
Jai Field’s late try secured the win for Warriors after an early try from Field himself, Kaide Ellis, Liam Farrell, Harry Smith, and Salford tries from King Vuniyayawa, Matty Costello, Alex Gerrard and Ken Sio did see the game level at 24-24.
However a late surge of pressure from the Warriors did enough to secure them the win.
Many thought it would be a Wigan walkover but it proved a tougher task for Matt Peet’s side.
It was the home side who started early, a quick play of the ball found Field who burst forward and ran all the way to give his side the lead.
Salford looked to respond immediately; they moved the ball to the left looking for Rhys Williams but a superb interception from Bevan French denied them.
The Red Devils continued their pressure and got level; Vuniyayawa barged his way under the posts beating three Wigan men and pulling Salford level.
Field nearly got his second of the game, a kick through the Salford defence was chased by the fullback but the ball just missed him.
On his 250th appearance, Ryan Brierley decided to have his impact, his line break then his pass found Costello who dodged the incoming tackle and grounded the ball to give Salford the lead.
It was turning into anything you can do. I can do a better type of game as straight away Wigan levelled. A great move to right found Ellis who just walked over the line with an easy try to level things up.
The Pattern of the game changed however as Wigan retook the lead, another well worked Wigan move this time to the left and ball found Farrell who took the pass and found a gap to run over.
The Warriors soon made it three successive tries in a row, Smith broke the line and raced his way over to add more points to the score tally.
The visitors looked to break Wigan’s try scoring run they broke the line themselves, but the final pass avoided Brierley and Wigan regained the ball.
Salford scored early in the second half; a grubber kick in behind the Wigan defence was pounced upon by Gerrard who grounded the ball. At first the Referee was unsure but via the video referee gave the try and Salford were back in the game.
The Red Devils soon levelled, Sio showed great awareness to catch the ball from a Wigan pass and ran 80 metres to score. The kick was converted, and the game was level again.
The Warriors pushed for the winner late on when French danced his way through Salford defence and looked certain to score but he was held up. The ball then moved left to Liam Marshall who fumbled it at the last second.
Warriors then thought they had snatched it when Joe Shorrocks went over but his try was chalked off for Obstruction.
However, a few minutes after, main man Field popped when his side needed him with a mazey 80 metre run to run home a hard-fought victory for the Warriors.
The Red Devils were left gutted late on but could hold their heads up high after a gutsy performance. They travel to St Helens next week in another tough game.
Wigan travel to local rivals Warrington Wolves and they will be hoping to make it three wins on the spin.
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]]>An all-Greater Manchester clash awaits on Sunday as Wigan Warriors face Salford Red Devils.
Wigan will be looking to build on last week’s win against Wakefield Trinity. The Warriors comfortably beat Wakefield Trinity 54-10 last time out thanks to tries from Bevan French, Brad Singleton, Abbas Miski, Harry Smith, Jai Field, and Cade Cust.
But Matt Peet’s side did suffer a 24-4 derby day defeat to St Helens on Good Friday.
Before Good Friday’s clash with Saints, Wigan had only lost one game in the season to Catalan Dragons 28-0.
Head Coach Peet said that this would be a tricky game ahead with Salford and warned his players of the ruthless kicking game they have. “It’s a tricky game, the players that Salford possess particularly the talent they’ve got, the skill, the flair and the ruthless kicking game they’ve got points can come very quickly.”
“Salford have threats and we’ve got to meet them energy wise and physicality first and foremost.”
Salford Red Devils on the other hand have been inconsistent this season with only one win in their last five games. That came four rounds ago against the Leeds Rhinos and since then have lost three games by a score of 30 or more.
This Salford side is certainly a shadow of the side that reached the Grand Final three years ago and haven’t built on that success like Catalan have.
The Red Devils have a tough next two games with Wigan and St Helens coming up for them.
Points are necessary for Salford who aren’t safe from a potential drop to the Championship.
What doesn’t help is uncertainty of where Salford will play in years to come as Salford City and Sale Sharks want to buy the AJ Bell Stadium in a joint agreement.
Team News
It was announced this morning that Zac Hardaker has left Wigan with immediate effect to return to his family Home in Yorkshire.
He was recently dropped from the side for disciplinary issues and “falling below the club’s standards”.
That leaves Wigan a man light heading into the game with Salford.
Iain Thornley and Liam Marshall return to the squad replacing James McDonnell and Sam Powell who has started his six-game ban.
Salford name two changes to their 21-man squad against Catalan. Ryan Lannon and Amir Borouh drop out for Jack Wells and Alex Gerrard.
Head-to-Head
Wigan have the upper hand with meetings against Salford Red Devils. The Warriors have won 45 games against their opponents with Salford winning 8 including the 2019 playoffs.
The two have already met this season in the Challenge Cup with the Warriors winning 20-0 over Salford thanks to tries from Liam Byrne, Liam Marshall, and John Bateman.
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St Helens carried on their pursuit to regain their Super League crown after beating Leeds Rhinos 26-0 at Headingley.
Tries from Konrad Hurrell, Tommy Makinson, Lewis Dodd, and Johnny Lomax earned a sixth win in the league for the Saints.
It was hard work, however. After a strong start, Rhinos did hold off Saints for 41 minutes and came close themselves only to be denied by James Child.
Both sides came into the game looking to bounce back from league defeats. Saints did get a win last week in the Challenge Cup against Whitehaven however Leeds got dumped out by Castleford Tigers.
Former Rhinos man, Hurrell, opened the scoring. Straight from the scrum, the centre ducked the incoming challenge and went straight to the line.
The home side thought they had responded when Ash Handley picked up a loose ball and ran 80 metres to score but referee James Child brought play back for a knock on in a previous challenge on Lomax.
Despite this, Saints kept pressuring and got their second try. A well worked move to the right found Makinson in at the corner who just about touched down.
The early momentum shown from Saints soon disbanded and Leeds were certainly standing up to them and showed everything that Jamie Jones-Buchanan wanted in his pre match interview.
The Rhinos had another try disallowed when Jack Walker showed good skill to beat two men to the line, but referee Child pulled play back again for obstruction in the build-up.
Despite the Rhinos trying to pressure the visitors defence they came undone when a loose pass was picked up by Makinson who ran 80 metres to get his second try of the night.
The defending Super League champions got another try minutes later. Again Saints broke from deep with Mark Percival leading the charge. He found Jon Bennison who then fed Dodd with an inch perfect pass, and he finished a superb move from the visitors.
Another sensational try followed when Saints six Lomax chipped over the defence and showed great awareness to catch it himself and go over the line which capped off a hard-earned win for Saints.
The win leaves Saints on 12 points level with Wigan Warriors at the top of Super League. Leeds drop down to 11th after Castleford’s win tonight over Toulouse.
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Credit: Ben Olawumi
Both sides have had contrasting starts to the season. The Rhinos are down at the bottom level on points with teams below them.
The Blue and Amber army have only won one game so far this season, Beating Wakefield Trinity 34-18 but come into this fixture off three straight defeats including being dumped out of the Challenge Cup by Castleford Tigers last week.
Last week Rhinos did sack head coach Richard Agar leaving Ex Rhino Jamie Jones-Buchanan in charge for this game against St Helens. Chief Executive Gary Hetherington has updated supporters this week insisting that he will find the right man. Ex London Broncos coach Danny Ward, Former Featherstone Rovers chief Ryan Carr and Hull KR’s Tony Smith have all been linked with the job.
The interim Rhinos head coach said his side need come out of the game smiling and happy that they’ve been to war. “I’ve seen lots of players over years finish games with broken limbs, torn muscles and fractured bones and They’ve come off smiling and happy that they’ve been to war.
“We’ve got learn to go to war and come out with a smile on our face.”
Buchanan also identified issues within the Rhinos squad and said that it would take time for them to start climbing the table but did see the game as opportunity to start building.
“It could be, There’s some underlying issues that need fixing up and it’s going to be a process of incremental games for us and build a season. Disappointment and joy always comes out the back of expectation vs reality. A lot of people are expecting a reaction.
“It’s a great opportunity to play Saints, not just to build our season but potentially to ask them some questions as well. If we get desire, passion and that emotion I’d be really happy.”
Visitors from Merseyside St Helens on the other hand are high flying at the top of Super League and are looking to retain the Super League Trophy.
However, the Saints have shown weakness over the past couple of weeks. They lost out narrowly to Toulouse Olympique 22-20 in their last league game.
Despite this slip-up, The Saints have marched and won most of their games fairly comfortably. Including a win over near-neighbours Warrington Wolves.
Kristian Woolf’s side did also progress through to the next round of Challenge Cup last week. Beating championship side Whitehaven 46-4.
Team News
Rhinos make one change from last week’s defeat. Brad Dwyer misses out with a one-game suspension. He joins Zane Tetevano who is completing his two-game ban. With Dwyer dropping out, youngster Max Simpson is called up to complete the 21 man squad.
Tongan international David Fusitu’a is not included in the squad. He has gone under a knee operation and will miss out for a couple of weeks.
Captain Ash Handley is set to make his 150th club appearance on Friday whereas Cameron Smith is set to make his 100th career appearance.
For the visitors, James Roby is named in the squad in what could be his landmark 500th appearance for Saints since he joined in 2004.
Alex Walmsley also returns to the squad after missing out with a hamstring injury. Morgan Knowles also returns after sitting out at Whitehaven.
Regan Grace, however, misses out after picking up a knock in the Challenge Cup last week. He joins Will Hopoate, Matty Lees, Sione Mata’utia and James Bell who miss out through injury.
Head to Head
This fixture in the histories of both clubs has been played 73 times with St Helens winning 41 and Leeds winning 32.
St Helens are unbeaten in nine meetings, doing the double over Rhinos for three consecutive seasons.
Last season, the teams met three times with St Helens scoring over 25 points in each game.
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]]>Bradford Bulls earned their first home win of the season with a narrow 21-20 win over local neighbours Batley Bulldogs.
Tries from Aaron Murphy, Thomas Doyle, Liam Tindall and kicks from Dec Patton and Jordan Lilley helped the Bulls to a second win on the spin in both league and cup.
It was a real hard-fought win for John Kear’s side who were tested by an energetic Batley side but defended well and took their opportunities.
The Bulls did open the scoring early, Lilley linked up with Murphy who slipped his tackle and crossed the line to give his side the advantage.
Batley instantly tried to respond and got a hold on the game, pressuring the Bulls defence but the home-side defended well to the threat that the visitors were posing.
However following Dec Patton’s sinbin, the visitors did level. Alistair Leak broke the Bulls line and found James Meadows whose teasing run deceived the Bradford defence. He passed to Josh Hodgson who had space to run to the line and level in what was a superb try from the Bulldogs.
Craig Lingard’s side did not stop there though. Straight from the scrum, Tom Gilmore passed to Lucas Walshaw who barged his way over to put his side in the lead.
The Bulls had lost their early momentum and had been on the backfoot since they scored but did level. Lilley with his second assist of the day found Doyle who just about grounded the ball after colliding with the post-pad.
With scores level at half-time it was still anyone’s game.
At the start of second half, the Bulls started strong again. Patton kicked his side into the lead from 40 metres out following a high shot on Kieran Gill.
Straight after Patton’s kick, the Bulls then added more to their lead. Tindall, on debut, showed great skill and determination to ground the ball despite three Batley defenders trying to ground him.
The Bulls nearly went to back-to-back; Patton’s kick was chased by Tindall who kicked on for Murphy who unfortunately dropped the ball just over the line.
Batley themselves had a try disallowed, an obstruction in the build up denied them a way back into the game.
However, the visitors did get some hope, Leak this time collecting the ball centrally and faked a pass before going over himself.
Soon after the visitors were level again. A high shot provided Tom Gilmore with a penalty and he converted from 20 metres out to make it an interesting last 10 minutes.
But immediately after Batley’s scrum half levelled, his opposite number Lilley ultimately won the game for the Bulls. His drop goal from 40 metres out went up and over the posts to give his side a narrow victory.
A first home win for the Bulls proved to be a huge result as it had not been an ideal start for John Kear’s men to the start of the season.
The win moves Bradford to ninth in the table, level on points with four teams above them. They next host Leigh Centurions in the Challenge Cup next Monday.
For opponents Batley Bulldogs, the narrow defeat makes it two defeats on the bounce in the league for Craig Lingard’s side. They next host Featherstone twice, firstly in the Challenge Cup and then in the league the following week, both at home.
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Fresh off a challenge cup victory, Bradford Bulls will be looking to get their first home win of the season as they welcome Batley Bulldogs to Odsal on Sunday.
The 34-8 win in the Challenge Cup at London last week was far from comfortable for the majority of the game but the Bulls turned the gears and ran out winners earning a tie in the next round against Leigh Centurions.
Before last week’s Challenge Cup success, the Bulls had started the season poorly, with back to back defeats to Leigh and Sheffield Eagles.
Head Coach John Kear will be looking to gain some consistency however to challenge for the play-offs and a spot in Super League.
Opponents from down the M62, Batley Bulldogs, however had a brilliant start to the season, winning three out of the four games played so far.
A convincing 66-6 win against Royal Navy last week in the Challenge Cup got Craig Lingard’s side into the next round of the cup.
Besides this, the Bulldogs have enjoyed victories over Newcastle and Halifax and in both games Batley scored five tries or more.
Lingard will be hoping his side can be up there in the push for Super League. Batley did reach the semi-finals of the playoffs last season but were defeated by eventual champions Toulouse Olympique.
Team News
The Bulls have two new faces set to make their debut on Sunday, Jarrod O’Connor and Liam Tindall have joined on loan from neighbours Leeds Rhinos ahead Sunday’s clash.
After returning from injury last week, Elliot Hall is included to make his league debut for Bradford against his old club Batley.
Another face who returned to the 21 man squad last week was Jordan Lilley who will be hoping to make his return on Sunday after missing out on the matchday squad.
Jack Blagbrough and Luke Blake return to the matchday squad for Batley after sitting out of the Challenge Cup fixture last week. They take Johnny Campbell and James Brown’s place.
Key man Tom Gilmore will be hoping to add to his magic that helped Batley to a play-off victory over Bulls last season. He was a key part of the game and proved influential in Batley’s win that day.
Head to Head
In the last five competitive meetings between the sides the Bulls have come out on top, winning three of the last five meetings with Batley winning two.
As mentioned last time out the sides met in the Championship play-offs quarter final where Batley ran out 23-10 winners.
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Following Derek Adams’ sacking, Bradford City have appointed Mark Hughes as the club’s new manager.
The news certainly came as a surprise to many Bantams fans, League Two and the whole EFL when it was announced that a manager who has spent his entire managerial career in the Premier League has stepped down to the Football League’s bottom tier.
Hughes, once of Manchester City, Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, is certainly a massive coup for the Bantams.
It comes as a surprise after Steve Evans was seen watching the side take on Oldham Athletic away from home and Richie Wellens was spotted when the Bantams took on Harrogate Town at home, two of the favourites for the vacant position.
Speaking in his announcement to the Bradford City media, Hughes even admitted it would be a surprise to many.
“It is maybe a little bit of a surprise that I have come in but do not be put off by that.
“I am here for a reason, to make Bradford City a team people want to come and watch and are proud to watch.”
This appointment comes at a time when the club has certainly come under scrutiny and there is a lot of negativity.
Currently sat 15th in League Two, the West Yorkshire side were heavily tipped to gain promotion from the league. However, expectations have been lowered and the Bantams have not lived up to the hype this season.
Nine wins, 13 draws and 11 losses have been recorded in a season labelled mediocre. This led to the sacking of Derek Adams, who has returned to manage Morecambe.
This is what Hughes is stepping into, a club with fans disconnected and fed up with the football being performed on the pitch.
Hughes’s calibre and experience will hopefully help him in his way to transforming this struggling Bradford side. It will be a tough job as the club demands a team who works hard, shows passion and heart and has that never say die attitude, something that has been lacking in recent seasons.
This appointment seems like one to bring the connection back between the fans and the club.
Chief Executive Ryan Sparks has had a lot of slack from the supporters but this has certainly taken many hats off and brought a lot of praise.
So with 610 games under his belt and a 37.4% win percentage, can Hughes transform a struggling Bradford side and bring them back to the glory days?
Time will tell, but this is certainly a massive statement that Ryan Sparks and his Bradford City aren’t messing around.
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