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Round 12: Wildcats 16-32 Bradford
engage Super League XIV- Round 12
Wakefield Wildcats 16-32 Bradford Bulls
Murrayfield Stadium
Attendance: 29, 627
A Paul Sykes hat-trick spoiled the Magic Weekend for Wakefield Wildcats fans as Bradford Bulls comprehensively avenged their Easter Monday defeat at Belle Vue.
The Wildcats were within four points of the Bulls with 15 minutes remaining as they looked to stage an unlikely comeback, but the Bulls secured the two points with late scores from Michael Worrincy and Sykes.
Jason Demetriou, Steve Snitch and Matt Blaymire all breached the Bradford defence but to no avail as Wakefield turned in an overall disappointing showing.
John Kear rotated his squad for the clash with Sean Gleeson and Jay Pitts missed out from the seventeen selected for last week’s game with Wigan Warriors, with Tony Martin reverting back to centre.
Richard Moore made his first start of 2009 whilst Matt Petersen made his long awaited return after his hip injury in place of the injured Damien Blanch.
The Bulls drew first blood on six minutes when former Wildcat Ben Jeffries glided through the Wakefield defence before helping the ball onto Sykes for his first try of the afternoon.
Moore looked to use his brute strength to overpower the Bradford defence but he was held up by a combination of Dave Halley and Nick Scruton who denied the prop his first try of the season.
On thirteen minutes Braford extended their lead when the returning Paul Deacon timed the pass perfectly for the charging Jamie Langley who went through the Wildcats defence untouched before handing onto Terry Newton who touched down under the sticks.
Bradford were playing like a team brimming with confidence and Wakefield were having to work hard in defence just to stay in the game, with Semi Tadulala going close to a score.
Rugby League World Magazine Player of the Month Danny Brough looked the most likely spark, and he thought he had scored only to be rightly denied by the video referee after Danny Sculthorpe obstructed Newton.
It was a brief reprieve for Steve McNamara’s side though as Demetriou took the ball from Brad Drew and shrugged off the attention of two tacklers to get the Wildcats on the score board.
In the final ten minutes of the half Bradford doubled their points tally with Sykes ultimately the man to punish a moment of indiscipline from the men in white to go over for the try.
Worse was to come for Wakefield on 35 minutes when Menzies finished a move he started after a strong run down the right flank from Sheriffe. The Wildcats went in at half-time comfortably second best.
There was plenty of room for improvement for John Kear’s men when the second period underway, and to their credit the second half showing was indeed much improved, and if it wasn’t for some excellent defensive work then there could have been a different outcome.
Tadulala’s hit on Tony Martin denied the Australian a certain score, whilst Dale Ferguson was harshly ruled offside when touching down a Brough grubber on 46 minutes. Ferguson later left the field with an ankle injury and he now awaits the results of an x-ray after leaving the home of Scottish rugby on crutches.
A score then could have changed the complexion of the game, but as it was the Murrayfield crowd resorted to a Mexican wave as twenty-five scoreless minutes came and went, with the Wakefield pressure on the Bulls line increasing all the time.
It was pressure than ultimately told on 65 minutes when Snitch got on the end of Sam Obst’s pass, and he showed strength and determination to hand the Wildcats a lifeline in the match.
Four minutes later and the comeback was very much on the cards. Drew’s attempted grubber looped up off a Bradford defender, with Blaymire instinctively flicking the ball on with his boot and following it to score the try that put the Wildcats within four points of the Bulls.
The momentum was firmly with the Belle Vue outfit at this point, but when Moore lost the ball in the tackle near half-way it proved to be decisive.
From that possession Sam Burgess made inroads into the Wakefield defence before the influential Jeffries fed Michael Worrincy who had a clear run to the line.
Andy Lynch had a try ruled out for a forward pass with three minutes remaining, but as the clock ran down Sykes completed his hat-trick as he finished off a move that began with a Burgess offload and went through the hands of Deacon, Jeffries, Worrincy and Nero before Sykes rounded off the move.
It was a tough afternoon for the Wildcats players and fans who made the long journey from West Yorkshire, and a tough week lies ahead as Kear and the coaching staff prepare the players for the Challenge Cup Fifth Round tie at home to Wigan Warriors in seven days time.
Teams:
Wakefield: 1. Matt Blaymire, 5. Matt Petersen, 3. Tony Martin, 4. Ryan Atkins, 13. Scott Grix, 14. Sam Obst, 7. Danny Brough, 12. Oliver Wilkes, 9. Brad Drew, 25. Richard Moore, 11. Steve Snitch, 17. Kevin Henderson, 8. Jason Demetriou. Replacements: 10. Danny Sculthorpe, 20. Tevita Leo-Latu, 24. Dale Ferguson, 28. Kyle Bibb
Scorers: Tries: Demetriou, Snitch, Blaymire
Goals: Brough, Martin
Bradford: 20. Dave Halley, 2. Rikki Sheriffe, 3. Paul Sykes, 4. Chris Nero, 5. Semi Tadulala, 6. Ben Jeffries, 7. Paul Deacon, 17. Nick Scruton, 9. Terry Newton, 10. Andy Lynch, 11. Steve Menzies, 8. Sam Burgess, 13. Jamie Langley. Replacements: 24. Julien Rinaldi, 15. Matt Cook, 16. Michael Worrincy
Scorers: Tries: Sykes (3), Newton, Menizes, Worrincy
Goals: Deacon (4)
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