Bradford 32 Hull KR 26: Battling Bulls keep play-off hopes alive
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UPDATED:
21:39 GMT, 10 August 2012
Loose forward Jamie Langley doubled his try tally for the season as
Bradford kept alive their Stobart Super League play-off hopes with a
fifth successive home win.
The Bulls are still waiting to hear if the administrator has found a
suitable buyer for the club but the players continued to make light of
the uncertainty over their futures with another battling victory.
Langley touched down in each half and winger Jason Crookes, whose hat-trick helped Bradford to a 36-24 win at Hull KR in March, marked his comeback from a four-month lay-off with a dislocated shoulder with a crucial second-half score.
The Bulls were far from their best against an under-strength Rovers team but did just enough to gain the points that enabled them to draw level with their eighth-placed opponents.
Hull KR, who gave a debut to prop James Green and a first start to loose forward George Griffin, were without four of their first-choice backs, including stand-off Blake Green, but still managed to cause plenty of problems for their hosts largely through the prompting of scrum-half Michael Dobson.
It was Dobson who gave the visitors a the lead with a fifth-minute penalty but the Bulls made most of the early running and ought to have made more of a clean break by second rower Tom Olbison.
Rovers centre Liam Salter rescued his side with a try-saving tackle on lively full-back Brett Kearney but Bradford got the first try on 16 minutes when Langley ran onto Ben Jeffries' short pass to cross untouched.
But Langley then coughed up possession from the re-start and that gave Hull KR the position for replacement prop Scott Taylor to take Lincoln Withers' pass from dummy half and crash over for his side's first try.
The Bulls regained the lead when right winger Shaun Ainscough gathered Luke Gale's pinpoint kick to score a second try but the errors continued and Rovers punished Bradford's indiscipline to score again nine minutes before half-time.
Skipper Ben Galea combined with Dobson to create an overlap for winger David Hodgson to score his 15th try of the season and Dobson's third goal, which grazed an upright, restored the visitors' advantage.
Stalemate set in early in the second half but the game came alive when the Bulls found some rare cohesion to score two tries in a five-minute spell.
Centre Keith Lulia demonstrated exceptional strength on the run to create an opening for Crookes, who finished strongly at the corner, and Langley produced a turn of pace to go through a gap and bump off full-back Louis Sheriff to score his second try.
Gale added both goals to put his side 10 points clear but Rovers struck back on 63 minutes when Salter crossed wide out for his side's third try and Dobson kicked his fourth goal.
Bradford finally made the game safe when Gale broke clean through the first line of defence and second rower Elliott Whitehead was in support to score their fifth try.
Gale kicked his fifth conversion and added a penalty before winger Craig Hall grabbed a last-minute consolation try for the visitors, with Dobson kicking his fifth goal.
