Bulls hold off Wildcats
Twelve-man Bradford overcame a determined Wakefield comeback to win at Odsal.
Last Updated: 06/08/07 11:16pm
Twelve-man Bradford resisted a determined second half fightback from Wakefield to win 38-24 at Osdal and keep the pressure on Super League's top two.
The Bulls had Joe Vagana sent off by referee Steve Ganson, who was appearing at Odsal for the first time since the controversial Millennium Magic weekend.
Vagana became only the third Super League player to see red this year after raising his elbow in a 39th minute challenge with Wakefield's Luke George.
By that stage the Bulls had built up a 16-12 lead which they stretched to 26-12 after the interval.
However, Wakefield began to make the extra man count and they fought back to within two points of their hosts thanks to tries from Jason Demetriou and Kevin Henderson.
Bradford were beginning to wobble, but their nerves were settled when James Evans crashed over for his second try of the afternoon.
Bradford were severely affected by injuries and they lost Paul Deacon during the pre-match warm-up to add to their concerns.
Yet they produced a performance full of character to earn their victory. Young prop Sam Burgess helped himself to 14 points, with a try and five goals while Australian star Glenn Morrison was also outstanding.
Morrison created the first try for Dave Halley and Evans added a second for Bradford after Ryan Atkins had levelled.
Peter Fox brought Wakefield back into the contest before Morrison collected David Solomona's high kick to restore Bradford's lead.
Tame Tupou then crossed just 18 seconds into the second half and Solomona scored from close range to give the Bulls a healthy advantage which the Wildcats were unable to overturn.
