2005 Season Reports: BRADFORD 58 LEIGH 12

BRADFORD BULLS 58


LEIGH CENTURIONS 12

By Dave Parkinson.

Bradford Bulls condemned Leigh Centurions to a tenth straight defeat with almost inevitable ten try rampage in the open spaces at Odsal. Don’t just read the score-line however. Leigh were hampered by the withdrawal of influential halfback John Duffy on the morning of the game and picked up further knocks to Michael Govin and Oliver Wilkes after facing the wrath of referee Ashley Klein early in the game.

In the first ten minutes, the Centurions found themselves on the end of a 5-0 hammering in the penalty stakes and Bradford made it count with tries from Great Britain international Stuart Fielden from a suspiciously forward looking pass and impressive new hooker Ian Henderson, both converted by Paul Deacon. The nearest the Centurions came to scoring during the first twenty minutes was through Govin who glided through out wide before a crunching tackle from Bulls Michael Withers forced the young stand-off from the field.

Bradford took advantage with a try from Iestyn Harris after 18 minutes and namesake Ben followed soon after for the first of an eventual hat-trick as Leigh could not complete a set of possession and lost Wilkes to injury. In his absence, Chris Jones tackled himself to a stand-still and was an equally enthusiastic runner.

For half an hour, the Bulls were at their best before their seemingly relentless charge came to a temporary halt and Phil Jones capitalised on a loose pass in midfield. He intercepted and ran 50 metres to the posts for his 9th try of the season.

Normal service was resumed six minutes later however when a pearler of a pass from Leon Pryce sent Harris racing in for his second try. Deacon brought up 30 points with the boot and that’s how things remained until the half-time whistle.

Barely a minute into the new half, Bradford charged over in the form of Karl Pratt from another adjacent looking pass and although the Centurions began to mount some pressure, it was the Bulls who scored next when Pryce intercepted a John Wilshere offload and blazed 80 metres to the line in the 50th minute.

Once again Leigh refused to buckle and on the back of a couple of nice low kicks from Paul Rowley, they asked questions of the Bulls defence. During this period, Rob Jackson was twice denied tries, once held-up and the other put into touch by some determined tackling.

Eventually the pressure told on Bradford when another Rowley kick bounced between Withers and Stuart Reardon only for the pair to collide. Ben Cooper was first to the loose ball and his 6th try of the season.

This only spurred the Bulls onto greater things however as Withers atoned for the error with a try after Iestyn Harris danced his way through the defence. Then two tries in the last three minutes advanced the score past 50.

Former Queensland state-of-origin forward Brad Meyers crossed from close range after earlier being held up; then, with virtually the last play of the game Ben Harris sped down the wing from 60 metres to complete a glorious treble.

Teams:

Bradford:

6. Michael Withers
17. Stuart Reardon
13. Ben Harris
16. Paul Johnson
15. Karl Pratt
18. Iestyn Harris
7. Paul Deacon
8. Joe Vagana
9. Ian Henderson
29. Stuart Fielden
12. Jamie Peacock
10. Brad Meyers
19. Jamie Langley

SUBS

3. Leon Pryce
4. Shontayne Hape
14. Andy Lynch
27. Robert Parker

Tries: Ben Harris 3, Stuart Fielden, Ian Henderson, Iestyn Harris, Karl Pratt, Leon Pryce, Michael Withers, Brad Meyers.

Goals: Paul Deacon 6/7, Iestyn Harris 3/3.

Leigh Centurions

24. John Wilshere
19. Rob Smyth
9. Phil Jones
6. Danny Halliwell
1. Ben Cooper
5. Mick Govin
10. Jason Kent
4. Darren Fleary
18. Paul Rowley
20. Craig Stapleton
35. Chris Jones
12. Oliver Wilkes
13. Mark Leafa

SUBS

8. Rob Jackson
32. Robbie Mears
21. Matt Sturm
31. Warren Stevens

Tries: Phil Jones, Cooper
Goals: P. Jones 2/2

Attendance: 10,294

Referee: Ashley Klein
Penalties: 8-3
Men of the Match:
BULLS: Ben Harris
CENTURIONS: Chris Jones