Wildcats Demolish the Bulls in Qualifiers
Bradford Bulls quest for a 2016 Super League place rolled into town to take on a Wakefield Wildcats desperate to retain their own top flight position.
After a strong opening five minutes the Wildcats made possession count after a penalty for a high shot. Tim Smith went through the line and John Molloy took the pass to go through a gap in the Bulls defence to score. Lee Smith kicked the conversion for a six point lead after six minutes.
Within a minute it was 12-0 when Tim Smith broke downfield and found Jacob Miller in support who drew the defence before releasing Michael Sio to bounce off the right upright and ground the ball on the line. Smith kicked the simple two. The Wildcats were dominating and after forcing a Bulls goal-line dropout Tim Smith was again the provider with a pass that put Mickael Simon over for three Waakefield tries within the opening eleven minutes. Lee Smith again added the extras for 18-0.
The Bulls were totally off the pace and the Wildcats were on fire, making a start they could have only dreamed of. On sixteen Nick Scruton got in on the Wakefield scoring action when the Wildcats used a second set of six deep in the Bulls twenty for the veteran prop to crash over from five metres and ground between the sticks, giving Lee Smith a simple conversion for 24-0.
On twenty-five Lee Smith added a try to his four goals when he bust through a paper thin Bulls defence off a pinpoint Tim Smith pass. He converted his own try for 30-0. Just after the half hour and the Bulls finally found their scoring touch, on their first real attack. The ball was moved right to left through half a dozen pairs of hands with Adrian Purtell benefitting from two man overlap to cross. Danny Addy kicked the extras and the Bulls fightback was underway.
Wakefield, through Jacob Miller, bombed a try scoring opportunity in the dying seconds of the half but Brian Smiths side had executed close on the perfect forty minutes of Rugby League, their best performance of the season to date.
Bradford's revival continued five minutes into the second half when after three consecutive penalties Dale Ferguson burrowed under the Wildcats defence to ground just over the line. Addy converted for 30-12 and the Bulls seemed to have regained their self-belief. There was then a long stoppage with the half ten minutes old when Richard Owen picked up a nasty looking ankle injury and was stretchered off by the Wildcats medical staff.
Wakefield steadied the ship with a Lee Smith penalty on fifty-four after interference at the play-the-ball. Within seconds Anthony Mullally and Jacob Miller combined to give Reece Lyne a fifty metre canter to the line to score under the posts. Smith added the two. Matty Ashurst broke through the forty off a short pass from Tim Smith to score by the sticks. Smith missed his first of the afternoon but the lead was back at thirty points with twenty-five minutes left on the clock.
Three minutes from time and a Nick Scruton offload was juggled by Jacob Miller before he stepped off the right foot to ground under the sticks and give his kicker, Joe Arundel, a simple goal for 48-12. Right on the final hooter James Clare found space on the overlap for a late Bradford consolation to score in the corner and Danny Addy added the extras for a final scoreline of 48-18 to the Wakefield Wildcats.
