ESL Roundup

Bradford 40-12 Huddersfield Bradford: (18) 40 Tries: Hape 2, Swann, Fielden, Reardon Goals: Deacon 10 Huddersfield: (2) 12 Tries: Evans, White Goals: White 2 Bradford Bulls secured an easy win over Super League rivals Huddersfield Giants thanks partly to Paul Deacon who kicked 10 goals from 10 attempts. The scrum-half, who picked up his 500th goal for the club, converted tries from Stuart Fielden, Stuart Reardon, Logan Swann and two from Shontayne Hape.

There was bad news for full-back Michael Withers who had to come off after picking up a second-half knock.

The Bulls remain a point behind third-place Hull in the championship.

Bulls coach Brian Noble said he was satisfied with his team's efforts despite a blip after the restart.

"Apart from a 15-minute spell in the second half I was pretty pleased," said Noble, whose side remain fourth in the Tetley's Super League.

"In that spell we put ourselves under a lot of pressure. Gradually we showed more patience with the ball."

Huddersfield coach Jon Sharp paid tribute to his players despite their thumping loss.

The Giants, who have not won at Odsal since 1969, were without several first-team players for the match.

"There have been a lot of positives to come out, such as the reaction to adversity and the way we got back in the game after the restart," he said.

"It was a valiant effort in many ways. We had a busted side out there and I was really proud of them." ----

Bradford: Withers, Reardon, Johnson, Hape, A. Smith, L. Pryce, Deacon, Vagana, Paul, Fielden, Swann, Peacock, Radford. Replacements: Bridge, Langley, Parker, Anderson.

Huddersfield: Donlan, O'Hare, St Hilaire, Evans, White, Gene, Penkywicz, Fleary, Joseph, Gannon, Jones, Roarty, Nero. Replacements: Fagborun, Crabtree, Southwell, Reilly.

**** Castleford 10-32 Warrington Castleford: (4) 10 Tries: Robinson 2 Goals: Godwin Warrington: (12) 32 Tries: Westwood 3, Gaskell, Grose, N. Wood Goals: Noone 3, Appo Warrington kept up their challenge for a Super League play-off place with an impressive victory over Castleford. Wolves winger Ben Westwood scored three tries in total as the Tigers slumped to their 15th defeat of the season.

The Tigers took an early lead, but tries from Brent Grose, Dean Gaskell, Nathan Wood and Westwood ensured the Wolves came away with victory.

Castleford's Wayne Godwin and the Wolves' Mark Hilton were sin-binned after a flare-up before half-time.

Warrington coach Paul Cullen was pleased with his injury-ravaged side's efforts.

"I was very satisfied with the way we went about our business, considering we were without Lee Briers, Mike Forshaw, Paul Wood and John Wilshere," he said.

"There was a great element in our play which has not been there in previous matches which we have lost.

"It was mission accomplished with three points in the bag and another healthy addition to the points margin."

Castleford Tigers coaching consultant Ellery Hanley blamed his side's mental toughness for their home loss.

Hanley said: "You have got part of the team that are not good enough and that is the truth of the matter.

"They're not good enough in the mental approach - understanding how to win games and the simplicity of the sport.

"You arm your troops with information and they don't carry out your instructions on the paddock." -------

Castleford: Hepworth, Pryce, Tony, Saxton, Mellor, Rudder, Robinson, Greenhill, Godwin, Lynch, M. Smith, Ryan, Hudson. Replacements: Jackson, Blakeway, Gibson, Rogers.

Warrington: Cardiss, Gaskell, Westwood, Grose, Appo, Clarke, N. Wood, Lima, Noone, Hilton, Guisset, Sibbit, Wainwright. Replacements: Gleeson, Hulse, Stevens, Leikvoll. ****** London 26-42 Hull London: (12) 26 Tries: Botham, Jackson 2, O'Halloran, Mbu Goals: Sykes 3 Hull: (16) 42 Tries: Briscoe, Whiting 2, McNicholas, Best, R. Horne, Raynor, Lupton Goals: Cooke 4, Whiting Hull have moved to within a point of second place St Helens with victory over the London Broncos on Sunday. It was London's eighth successive defeat in their 'On the Road' game at Leicester Tigers' Welford Road ground.

The Broncos brought themselves to within six points of Hull before the visitors rattled in four tries to put the game beyond the host's reach.

London lie second from bottom in the Tetley's Super League having won just three matches all season.

Hull coach Shaun McRae was left feeling content after his side's comfortable victory.

"This was a scrappy match and we played poorly in patches. London's always a tough place to play and I was pleased to with the two points," he said.

"We scored eight tries and could have had more, but we have now won four in a row, we have 22 points from 28 games at the halfway stage of the season."

London Broncos coach Tony Rea was full of praise for captain Steele Retchless despite disappointing defeat.

"Steele is an inspiration to me and everyone at the club with everything that he does," said Rea.

"Him and Denis Moran will get the young players in his squad to where they want to be if they will follow.

"Rugby league is a simple game - you have to defend the ball, it's the ball that scores the tries." ---- London: Sykes, Greenwood, Jackson, O'Halloran, Kirkpatrick, Thomas, Moran, Trindall, Budworth, Moore, Botham, Brocklehurst, Retchless. Replacements: Stringer, Mbu, Haughey, Highton.

Hull: Briscoe, Best, Yeaman, Whiting, Raynor, Cooke, R Horne, King, Swain, Dowes, McNicholas, McMenemy, Smith. Replacements: Lupton, Wilkinson, Higgins, Scruton. ***** Wakefield 21 Salford 20 Wildcats completed a league double over the Reds for 2004 but the outcome was in doubt up until the final whistle.

Salford were never out of contention but too many rushed plays towards the end denied them a deserved point.

The visitors had enough possession in the late stages to at least gain a levelling drop-goal but Ben Jeffries' one-pointer in the 61st minute proved decisive.

Wildcats had streaked back into the lead with two tries in the opening eight minutes of the second half.

Sid Domic scored both with second-row David Solomona influential in each with deft pieces of ball skills.

Dave March converted the opener and at 16-12 Wildcats looked to be on track for a good win.

Chris Charles cut the gap with a penalty in the 50th minute, but home captain Gareth Ellis somehow managed to force his way over the whitewash to make it 20-14.

And Jeffries took matters into his own hands with the drop-goal that meant Salford had to score twice to win.

The Reds got to within striking distance in the 70th minute when prop Andy Coley drove over the line, and Charles' conversion cut the gap to just a single point.

A draw would have been a fair result on overall play, but Salford simply could not hold on to the ball long enough in the closing minutes to get within kicking range.

Salford also seemed to have turned the tables result wise in the second quarter of this clash but failed to fully take control.

The early part of the game had belonged to the hosts, but when their intensity dropped off Reds were quick to take advantage.

Justin Ryder pounced on a kick-take fumble by Cliff Beverley over the try line to open Wakefield's account.

And while hooker March missed the conversion he was on target with a penalty in the ninth minute.

But Salford stuck to their task and their patience paid off with a try in the 16th minute, centre Stuart Littler forcing his way over from dummy half.

Chris Charles levelled at 6-6 with a penalty - awarded against home centre Sid Domic for dissent in the 20th minute.

And five minutes later Charles broke in centre-field. He was tackled, but Gavin Clinch continued to move and sent Beverley through a tiny hole in the defence for the second try.

Charles converted and Salford held a 12-6 advantage up to the break. ****

Wigan 26 Leeds 22 Wigan hung on for a dramatic victory to inflict only the second defeat of the season on Super League leaders Leeds.

The Warriors were never behind but the Rhinos twice fought back to level the scores before the home side held on in a tremendous finish to maintain their unbeaten home record.

The win was just the tonic for coach Mike Gregory, who watched his first match from the stands since returning from having treatment in America for a chronic bacterial infection.

Victory was sealed by courageous captain Andy Farrell, who was twice forced into the dressing room to have the blood stemmed from his cut nose but returned with a heavy bandage to kick the clinching penalty and take his points tally to one short of 3,000.

Leeds remain three points clear of St Helens but tonight's win opens up the title race, with Wigan certainly not out of the picture.

Full-back Kris Radlinski opened the scoring on four minutes, leaping high to take Adrian Lam's accurately-placed kick to the posts for his 12th try of the season.

Man of the match Terry Newton, who had been brought down inches short of the line just before Radlinski's try, added a second when he twisted and turned out of a three-man tackle to plant the ball over the line.

The Warriors looked secure enough in defence but twice conceded tries to kicks as the table-toppers fought their way back into the picture.

Left-winger Marcus Bai raced on to Keith Senior's grubber for the visitors' first try and Ali Lauitiiti pounced for his third try in four appearances after Radlinski and Danny Tickle both failed to drop on Andrew Dunemann's kick close to the line.

Leeds skipper Kevin Sinfield kicked one of the conversions and brought the scores level with a 31st-minute penalty while his counterpart Farrell landed both his kicks before departing for the dressing room with his badly-cut nose.

Two tries in nine minutes early in the second half appeared to take the game away from the Rhinos as Lam worked an opening for substitute Gareth Hock and Newton demonstrated quick thinking to get loose-forward Sean O'Loughlin over after Danny Orr's kick rebounded off a defender.

A conversion from Danny Tickle stretched Wigan's lead to 22-12 but Leeds made the most of a run of penalties to draw level for a second time.

Sinfield turned two of the penalties into points and substitute Jamie Jones-Buchanan grabbed a try after sterling work from Bai, who then turned try saver with a crucial tackle at the other end on his former team-mate Gary Connolly.

Farrell edged his side back in front with a 67th-minute penalty but the Warriors were forced into three drop-outs in quick succession as Leeds piled on the pressure in a dramatic finish.

Substitute Rob Burrow, handed the goalkicking duties with Sinfield taking a breather, had a chance to tie the scores for a third time but his penalty drifted agonisingly wide of the posts.

Had he succeeded, the sides would have drawn 24-24 for the third time in two seasons but instead Leeds kicked out on the full from a drop-out and Farrell kicked his fourth goal of the night to seal a memorable win.

******

Widnes 12 St Helens 20 St Helens shrugged off the absence of disgraced duo Sean Long and Martin Gleeson to demolish lowly Widnes and move ominously to within three points of Super League leaders Leeds.

Lee Gilmour slotted effortlessly into Gleeson's centre spot and Paul Wellens demonstrated his versatility by filling in at scrum-half as Saints coach Ian Millward successfully re-shuffled his side.

The telling contributions came from the Paul Sculthorpe and Keiron Cunningham, the other members of St Helens' magnificent midfield triangle who managed to make light of the loss of the inspirational Long.

With Sculthorpe calling the shots - and producing some clever tactical kicks - the Challenge Cup winners were simply irresistible as they attacked with venom and supported with clinical efficiency.

Sculthorpe and Cunningham were both among the tries as Saints scored seven tries to two and win at a canter and the skipper also kicked six goals from eight attempts after taking over the marksmanship.

St Helens were dominant throughout the opening 40 minutes and a 22-6 interval lead did not flatter them in the slightest after scoring four tries to one.

Widnes were boosted by the return of Jules O'Neill and Robert Relf as they sought their first win over Saints for 10 years but they looked a distinct second best for most of the match.

There was an early glimpse of Saints' attacking prowess when winger Ade Gardner collected Sculthorpe's towering kick but was held up on his back over the line.

The Vikings went close when left winger Chris Giles pounced on O'Neill's kick but was held inches short of the line but it was a rare moment of danger for the assured Saints defence.

Gilmour opened the scoring on 16 minutes, crossing wide out after a 60-metre run from stand-off Jason Hooper had splintered the home defence.

Sculthorpe shaved the outside of the right-hand upright with the conversion attempt but he was on target three times before half-time.

A break on half-way by Cunningham, continued by Wellens, set up full-back Darren Albert for his 11th try of the season and Cunningham then burrowed his way over in trademark fashion on the half-hour mark.

Right winger Steve Rowlands briefly raised Vikings' hopes when he took a wonderful pass out of the tackle from Australian centre Aaron Moule to cross five minutes before the break and O'Neill landed the touchline conversion.

But Saints restored their 16-point advantage in stoppage time when winger Ian Hardman took Sculthorpe's pinpoint pass to crash over at the corner.

Sculthorpe edged his side further ahead with a penalty four minutes into the second half and it was from another of his astute passes that prop forward Keith Mason went over for his first try of the year.

Widnes, who had centre Craig Weston placed on report for a high tackle on John Stankevitch, pulled a try back on 55 minutes when the impressive Moule took O'Neill's pass and went past a despairing Wellens to score his first points for the club on his 14th appearance.

O'Neill's second touchline conversion went in off an upright but, at 30-12 after an hour, it was little more than scant consolation and Saints piled on the misery on their hosts with two further tries in the last 11 minutes.

Sculthorpe supported a break by Stankevitch after starting the move and second rower Jon Wilkin stretched out of Deon Bird's tackle to grab the last try five minutes from the end.