Big Joe turns it around

9:08pm Monday 25th August 2008

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Bulls 42, Hull KR 18

It looked like Joe Vagana’s final match at Odsal was going to the biggest anti-climax of all his eight years with the Bulls.

Trailing 18-0, the planned celebration of the big prop’s marvellous career was all set to fall flat – along with the club’s play-off chances.

But thankfully – and with a major hand from the retiring Kiwi himself – Bradford turned it around to send Vagana off in the style he deserves and finally cement their top-six berth.

Steve McNamara’s side rallied in sensational style to thump 42 unanswered points past Hull KR, who saw their own play-off hopes disappear.

If they can repeat that sort of football, Bradford won’t fear anyone in the end-of-season shake-up and Vagana, who led out the team with his family on his 240th appearance, might just yet reach a sixth Grand Final.

But typically of the club this season, they started out so badly after James Evans had a fifth-minute try harshly ruled off by video referee Ben Thaler.

Rovers centre Kris Welham picked off a Ben Jeffries pass to race 70 metres for an interception try and things quickly went downhill.

The touch judge missed a glaring forward pass that saw Jake Webster send Peter Fox haring down the touchline. Although the England winger was denied, Rovers earned a drop out and in the next set Mick Vella evaded some weak defence to double the visitors’ lead.

The former Australian Test forward was in again soon after, with Michael Dobson’s third conversion making it 18-0 with just 20 minutes on the clock.

The Bulls were awful and in disarray, their play-off hopes dwindling fast. It was so bad fans must have been hoping they didn’t reach the top six as, on that form, they would have been completely destroyed by better teams than Rovers.

There was a real lethargy about the hosts and a lacklustre attitude: After picking up a kick, winger Dave Halley casually passed back 15 metres to Paul Sykes when he could have made more ground just taking it in himself; Simon Finnigan gave a lazy forward pass from dummy half that led to Rovers’ third try; Terry Newton charged down a kick but no one seemed bothered at chasing the loose ball; They tapped a penalty in their own half instead of finding touch; And Semi Tadulala foolishly tried keeping a Rovers kick in field but only served to palm it out and hand the visitors a scrum.

What made it worse was that final error came after a quality defensive set where the Bulls, and Craig Kopczak in particular, had kept Rovers penned down for once in their own half.

Rovers had run with more enthusiasm and won too much quick ball, while the Bulls were held in their tracks struggling to find any momentum.

Paul Deacon’s initial kicks went straight down the throat of Rovers winger Jon Steel, while Stanley Gene was leading his former Bulls team-mates a merry dance in the middle.

But McNamara’s men were handed a lifeline when Sykes sped through a hole off Jeffries’ pinpoint pass to get them off the mark – only for David Solomona to let Dobson’s restart bounce into touch.

The Kiwi made up for it by forcing a Hull KR error and Bradford narrowed the deficit with just 27 seconds remaining of the first half.

They had been going backwards, shipping the ball around trying to break Rovers down, but Deacon ran it on the last and Jeffries’ fine long ball gave Evans enough space to get on the outside of Welham before squeezing an exquisite pass out to Halley.

That made it 18-10 but the second half was a different matter entirely. No doubt with a rocket up their backsides from McNamara, the Bulls came out unrecognisable from what had been on show in that opening 40.

With energy levels suddenly up, more aggression in defence and direction in attack, they tore into Rovers, who just couldn’t cope.

Bradford rattled off four tries inside 12 blistering minutes to take firm control and it was as if there had never been any doubt.

Solomona charged over after a clever ruck move left Rovers short on the line and then he set up Tadulala with his trademark ‘dummy to kick’ pass, the Fijian doing well to get in under heavy pressure.

Solomona has had his critics but he enjoyed a brilliant spell early in the second half when everything he touched turned to gold, whether it be fancy flick passes, off-loads, punishing drives or some mesmerising footwork to fool the beleaguered Rovers defence.

Vagana got Bradford on the front foot with some massive carries, while Wayne Godwin also proved influential out of dummy-half.

Tadulala’s effort put them in front for the first time before Matt Cook increased the lead following a trio of kicks initiated by Deacon, continued by Halley down the wing and then finished off by the impressive second-rower, who finally booted towards the whitewash.

Deacon then hoisted a bomb for Chris Nero to register the sixth Bulls try and the game was over.

Skipper Deacon continually pinned Rovers back with his kicking and Rovers struggled to gain any field position.

The only sour point in the second half was an incident which saw Newton complain to referee Richard Silverwood about allegedly being bitten by Gene in the 63rd minute.

It was put on report, although it is understood the Great Britain man now wants to withdraw the allegation against his former team-mate.

Soon after, Sykes did brilliantly to keep the Bulls line intact when he thwarted Webster after the centre had got over the line during a rare break away – and it was the home side who finished things off.

Newton put Evans over for a well-deserved try before getting in himself, handing Vagana a chance to convert in the final seconds.

The 19-stone giant fluffed the shot but no one was complaining and it was no surprise to see him two hours after the final hooter, and after an emotional on-field presentation, still in his kit, walking around his old stomping ground signing autographs for fans.

A true Bulls legend.