Bulls ride their luck at The Jungle

7:30am Monday 8th September 2008

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Castleford 16 Bulls 18

And so the Bulls go to Wigan and another play-offs match-up with old boss Brian Noble.

It was probably the least likely of all the potential scenarios before Round 27 got underway on Friday night.

But after the Warriors’ stunning draw with St Helens, Warrington’s dire loss to Huddersfield and one simple swing of Iestyn Harris’s boot, that is how it has all ended up.

One thing is for sure: the way Bradford played against Castleford, they would struggle to beat Wibsey never mind Wigan.

There has to be a massive improvement for the forthcoming JJB encounter or the club’s play-off pursuit will be over before it has even begun, just like last year.

How Bradford somehow went in to the break level at 10-10 against a charged-up Cas outfit is mystifying. How they then ended up winning in the dying seconds is just mind-boggling given the way they bungled their way through the contest.

Cas may have finished bottom but they were rightly gutted.

On the positive side, you could argue the Bulls’ determination and never-say-die attitude is just what is needed to go all the way to Old Trafford. We will wait and see.

They trailed 16-10 with just nine minutes to go on Saturday night but didn’t look like they would score even if they played right on into next season.

After an awful mistake-ridden first half, they had lifted their game and forced four drop-outs – only to bomb every repeat set.

Just before the hour mark, with the scores still locked at 10-10, they turned down a penalty in front of the posts only to see Matt Cook – otherwise excellent – knock on in the next tackle.

It was the story of their night. Andy Lynch was done for crossing as they tried to go again, Cas ploughed down the other end, forced their own drop-out and immediately struck through Ryan Boyle to take the lead.

The hosts let the restart bounce dead to gift Bradford another chance but Jamie Langley fumbled and then, after another drop-out, it was Joe Vagana’s turn to spill.

They barely completed half their sets but fortunuately did get it right when Semi Tadulala completed his hat-trick, the Fijian getting his 23rd try of the season by finishing off some decent handling from David Solomona and Chris Nero.

Iestyn Harris, on after skipper Paul Deacon departed with a knee injury, showed plenty of cool to slot the kick from the touchline and it was all square.

The game came to life as basement boys Castleford – looking to send their fans off into the winter warmed by another giant-killing act – tried rallying to get the victory their rousing efforts deserved.

Michael Wainwright denied James Evans in the corner and soon after the Tigers winger was haring clear on a classic breakaway. Bulls’ Ben Jeffries raced back to haul him in but Kirk Dixon carried on and it needed Terry Newton to finally snuff out the danger, ripping the ball clear.

The visitors had one last chance themselves when Harris rolled back the years to sell an outrageous dummy and slice through the middle.

Simon Finnigan was collared by Craig Huby but the Castleford forward laid on too long trying to give his team-mates the chance to re-align.

Ian Smith awarded the penalty and then red-carded Ned Catic after the Tigers second-row furiously contested the decision.

Harris had no trouble slotting the two points and the game was won, leaving Cas fans dumbfounded.

They had dominated the first half, coming back from Tadulala’s second-minute opener to tear into Steve McNamara’s men with a fierce defensive showing.

The hosts responded immediately when Richard Owen zipped in off Stuart Donlan’s midfield surge. The break came from a massively obvious fumble as Michael Korkidas tried to off-load in centre-field but referee Smith was the only person inside the Jungle to miss it.

Castleford didn’t hang around for a decision though and were visibly lifted by the score. With veteran Kiwi Awen Guttenbeil looking to go out with a bang, playing his last match before retiring, the Tigers had a leader everyone followed.

He delivered some cracking hits which rocked Bradford as they tried to get out of their own half and his team-mates fed off that enthusiasm, with Aussie prop Mitchell Sargent, Catic and Andrew Henderson all having big games in their pack.

Behind them, McGoldrick and Luke Dorn continually kicked the Bulls to death, targeting Dave Halley’s wing, and the Bulls struggled to make any headway as they continually coughed up possession.

Solomona had a nightmare, making three handling errors in the first half, and it was no surprise when Dixon extended Cas’s lead after a long pass by Dorn was fed back inside by Wainwright.

Dixon missed the conversion but made it 10-6 with a penalty and the Bulls then had to desperately cover when Peter Lupton broke clear from deep.

Solomona was almost embarrassed when he spilled behind his own line but the ball went dead before Guttenbeil could get to it and Tadulala rescued Bradford just before the half-time hooter with his second.

They clung on long enough in the second period to get their chance and sealed a first away win in six matches, the last coming at Castleford in May.

They now need another one immediately at Wigan to advance in the play-offs.