Bulls hit top gear to crush tired Broncos
London 6 Bradford 6
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Your support makes all the difference.Leon Pryce led the way with four tries as Bradford went past Leeds to the top of Super League on points difference last night. The Bulls took full advantage of a weary London side to record their most emphatic win of the season, inflicting the worst Super League home defeat on the Broncos in the process.
"We were determined to make them feel that fatigue as soon as we could," said the Bulls coach, Brian Noble, although his opposite number, Tony Rea, refused to blame the Broncos' crippling workload for a performance which he said "lacked intensity".
A fourth match in 12 days already looked a game too far for the Broncos in the first minute when Andrew King knocked on a simple kick from Paul Deacon on his own try line. From the scrum, there was a feeling of inevitability as the Bulls scored through Paul Anderson.
Ian Smith, the referee, gave the Bulls a helping hand for their second. He was hit by the ball and on the subsequent scrum near the London linePryce sold a dummy to go over. Three minutes later, Pryce was in again, picking up Deacon's pass and shrugging off tackles for the third converted Bulls try.
London got moving with Bill Peden's try from Chris Thorman's excellent pass, but straight away that was undone by the Broncos' frailties, Francis Stephenson losing the ball and Lesley Vainikolo scoring from James Lowe's pass. Deacon's lovely little kick then created a try for Scott Naylor, before Pryce romped through from long range for his third.
Straight from the kick-off, Rob Parker and Deacon made the yards for Vainikolo's second, before Tevita Vaikona added the eighth Bradford try just before half time. It took Bradford nine minutes to score after the break, with Pryce's fall from Deacon's kick, while London had tries disallowed from Tony Martin and Paul Sykes.
Bradford cut loose again with Vainikolo releasing Jamie Langley, and Anderson and Mike Forshaw doing the same for Lowes as they continued their masterclass.
London: Sykes; King, Martin, Jackson, Roy; Purdham, Thorman; Bawden, Budworth, Retchless, Peden, Kennedy, Dymock. Substitutes used: Hall, Moran, Stephenson, Mbu.
Bradford: Reardon; Vaikona, Naylor, Hape, Vainikolo; Pryce, Deacon; Vagana, Lowes, Anderson, Peacock, Radford, Forshaw. Substitutes used: Gilmour, Langley, Bridge, Parker.
Referee: I Smith (Oldham).
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