Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty has pointed to a referee’s call as a ‘really big moment’ in his side’s loss to Castleford Tigers, whilst also confirming a fresh six-week injury blow.
The Bulls’ search for a first away Super League win continues as they lost 40-28 to Castleford with Bradford shipping 28 of those points inside 12 minutes either side of half-time.
Castleford levelled the scores at 16-16 on the 37th minute but they were in again before half-time, and three times before the 50th minute after the restart as they blitzed the Bulls.
Head coach Kurt Haggerty hailed his side for not folding after that, stating his belief that it could have ‘got ugly’, however, he pointed to that period as where the game was lost.
Speaking post-match in a video shared on the club’s YouTube channel, Haggerty said: “Just before the half we conceded points and just after the half we conceded points, and ultimately that lost us the game. We know we can score points but we have to defend well before we can earn the right.”
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Bradford did try to mount a comeback but fell short with Waqa Blake’s second-half try ruled out for obstruction on Loghan Lewis by video referee Liam Rush, something that seemed harsh at the time.
Had that score been converted, the Bulls would have been within two converted scorers with 10 minutes to play and Haggerty admitted that the decision felt like a ‘really big moment’ in the match.
He said: “For as poorly as we played defensively, if the try where they pulled it off because of Loghan Lewis’ line, I thought we could have still gone on and won the game.
“I thought that was a really big moment in the game and I still don’t understand the decision they came to but ultimately, they made the decision.”
Haggerty also offered an assessment on new signing Phoenix Steinwede, who only arrived in the country earlier this week.
“I thought he did really well,” Haggerty said, adding: “I thought he looked really competent. He runs a beautiful line. He had some real aggressive moments in his D.
“He’s just come and spoke to me, and it was quite interesting as he spoke about when he had won collision, he felt like he had to jump off the ruck really quickly. It’s an interesting insight when somebody new comes over to the competition.
“I said to him that right now, I haven’t got the answer for you because I don’t think anybody does but he’ll learn. I thought he was really good.”
Whilst Haggerty noted that the Bulls came through the match fine, he did confirm that Guy Armitage, who missed out, is set for six weeks on the sideline with a hamstring injury in another big blow with the outside back having only just returned from injury.
