BULLieve
4th March
2013
Welcome to
this week’s addition of BULLieve.
I will start
with a quick recap of last Saturdays match at home against the ST Helens.
I will start
by saying although we looked lethargic and lacklustre, there was no excuse for
the inept and, inadequate performance from referee Tim Roby.
The bulls
were pulled up for consistently laying on in the tackle yet, the ST’s team
never once got penalised for the exact same infringement. Due to his very bad
performance Tim Roby was dropped from super league this weekend.
The bulls
went down 10-36 to St Helens and went into this week’s game putting last week
behind them.
First up was
the academy side who played the Huddersfield Giants at the Huddersfield YMCA
ground.
This game
was the first game back for John Bateman who, had been out with injury and had
his shoulder reconstructed in 7 months and boy did he not disappoint.
John showed
strength and skill like he had not been off the pitch which, shows how well
John has recovered and what a great job the phsyio’s and conditioners etc.
really do for our sportsmen.
Bateman,
though, was only allowed a thirty minute stint by the club’s medical staff and
he left the field on the forty fifth minute, which left the Bulls with only two
substitutes for the remainder of the game.
Despite the
end result of Giants 32 Bulls 24 the Bulls played some fantastic rugby.
Huddersfield
took a 10- lead before the Bulls hit back with tries to Josh
Greenwood-Macdonald, Kyle Moore and Nathan Conroy, all goaled by Scrum Half Adam
Brook and led 18-10 at the break. Sam Wood extended the lead shortly in the second period after
great play by Bateman but it was to be the Bulls last success of the
night. As the side visibly tired, with
the lack of fresh substitutes taking its toll, Huddersfield hit back with four
late tries to run out winners.
Very unlucky
lads, roll onto next week put this defeat behind you.
The much eagerly
anticipated match day, dubbed the West Yorkshire Origin game part 1 was now
here.
The
atmosphere from the moment the Bulls fans entered the John Smith’s Stadium was
electric. Continues singing from the fans for the full 80 minutes and beyond
drown out the old war cry of far town. The only change in the Bulls squad was,
Adam O’Brien in for the injured Matt Diskin.
Kick off was
imminent, as soon as the ball was kicked off you could see the drive,
determination and pure dominance from the fresh Bulls side.
The Bulls
got off to a dream start thanks to converted tries from Sammut and Matty Blythe
in the 4th and 9th minutes. The Giants hit back through
Joe Wardle and David Faiumu, before Danny Addy and Brett Kearney responded for
the Bulls to make it 24-12 at half-time. Shaun Lunt's score reduced the arrears
but Adam O'Brien and Sammut were on hand to secure Bradford's victory. Jarrod
Sammut was on fire and score a hat trick, his last right on the hooter. Also to
add to Sammut’s talents, Jarrod scored a drop goal.
The score
line wasn’t as it seemed as, the Giants pilled on a lot of pressure but, with
composure and brilliant defence the Bulls managed to keep them out.
Final score
at the John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield Giants 18 Bradford Bulls 43.
One thing
for me in the game was, the shoulder charge on Nick Scruton. This was either
overlooked or completely missed by James Child who, for me had a great game.
As we are
all well aware the shoulder charge has been banned from all competitions and I
feel the RFL should look into the incident. A ban is a ban no matter what.
Brett
Kearney remains the only player to score in each round of the competition so
far with his tally now at 7.
As you may
or may not know the Bulls players have been praising our fans and CO – Captain
Heath L’Estrange had this to say about the 500 or so travelling fans “Thank you
to the Bradford Bulls faithful today. Once again you dominated at an away
game!! Bravo”
Up next,
The Bulls will travel to the Stobart Stadium
to face Widnes Vikings this Friday 8th March and kick off is 8pm. The
club are urging fans to purchase tickets for all away games through our club
ticket office.
EVENTS AT
THE PROVIDENT STADIUM THIS WEEK,
The
Provident Stadium will host its first Car Boot Sale on Sunday.
Gates open
at 7.00am and close at 2.00pm and the cost is just £5.00 for cars and £7.00 for
Vans.
As this is
also Mother's Day, the club will also be hosting a Carvery Lunch in the Coral
Stand at just £5.00 for Adults and £4.00 for Children.
Although
this week’s BULLieve is only a short one, I hope you have enjoyed reading and
hope to see you reading future editions.
Special
mention to www.superleaguefans.com for giving BULLieve a home and
letting fans of all teams see the weekly article.
Cheers and,
until next week keep BULLieving.
Article
written by
Jay Leeming.
