Bradford Bulls produced their “poorest performance of the season” against Warrington Wolves this afternoon, according to boss Kurt Haggerty.
Despite scoring first through Ethan Ryan, the Bulls were kept scoreless after that moment, as Warrington but on an excellent defensive showing to nullify any Bulls threat.
Warrington winning the early territory battle forced Bradford into wasting the majority of their energy in the first-half, with Haggerty believing that, from the 28th minute onwards, the side “looked absolutely shot to pieces.”
He told Sky Sports: “We needed the half-time, so to go in at half-time respectable, I was just pretty relieved with it, and I could see at half-time how tired and how much the lads have put into the first half.
“It’s a game where we ran out of steam. We had a lot of bodies missing, and we’ve got a lot of boys out there who are playing Super League like Alfie Leake gets his second game, and Jamie Gill’s in his seventh or eighth game, so yeah, we’ve done it tough there.”
After the break, Bradford looked to be first on the scoresheet, as Gill touched down after a break from Ryan Sutton. However, a pull-back on Danny Walker from Chris Atkin ruled the try out, and after Wire went directly down the other end and scored, that all but sealed the contest.
Haggerty initially said he wasn’t sure why the try wasn’t given, but after an explanation from Sky pundit Mark Wilson, he said: “I have no complaints about that then. The shape of the movement was pretty good, but if that detail has been caught, there’s no complaints from me.
Bradford Bulls set for injury boost ahead of Wigan Warriors clash
Haggerty confirmed that some players could well return for next week’s game against Wigan, in what would be a timely boost for the club.
He revealed: “We’ll have Phoenix Steinwede back. He got pulled by the RFLÂ due to a head knock. We potentially have maybe another two others, so fingers crossed.”
Bradford face Leigh Leopards after that clash with the Warriors, and it’s hard to see them winning either of those games. With bottom side Huddersfield now on a three-match win streak, there is every possibility the Bulls could find themselves rock bottom of the ladder over the next fortnight.
