Hull FC 18 Bradford Bulls 6: Tansey's brace enables Hull to get the better of Bulls

Tansey's double, in a seven-minute spell either side of the break, brightened up a mistake-riddled match for the 14,466 crowd.

Lee Radford added a third try before Bradford snatched a last-minute consolation from Stuart Reardon.

Both sides were missing key men, Hull's Richard Horne (ribs) and Bradford's Matt Orford (illness) pulling out before the match. Orford's absence seemed to knock the Bulls out of their stride as they missed the organisational skills of the Australian playmaker.

The game was played in incessant rain and Michael Platt – making his first Bulls appearance of the season – was first to threaten the goalline but was halted in his tracks by a tackle from Sean Long.

Both sides were coming off defeats last weekend and there was very little to choose between them after the first 40 minutes, which the home side edged 6-2.

It took Jordan Tansey's 17th-minute fumble as he looked to take a high kick to gift Bradford possession and Paul Sykes's penalty opened the scoring.

The damp conditions seemed to be inducing mistakes from both sides and Peter Cusack spilled the ball in a promising position for the hosts.

The opening half-hour had given Hull fans little to cheer but the biggest roar of the night greeted a superb tackle by Jordan Turner.

Bradford winger Reardon looked destined to score as he raced towards the corner, but Turner closed down the space before bundling him out of play.

Hull's Willie Manu was judged to have put his foot in touch as referee Ben Thaler ruled out a 'try' in a rare scoring opportunity. It looked like being a tryless first 40 minutes until Tansey sneaked over at the end of the first half. Turner dabbed a short kick through and Tansey reacted quickest to score a try, converted by Danny Tickle.

Seven minutes after the break Tansey scooted over for his second try after impressive positional kicking from Long and quick hands from Danny Houghton.

Bradford had rarely looked like scoring, and their fate was confirmed with eight minutes remaining when Radford wriggled over from dummy half.

Tickle kicked his third conversion of the evening but there was enough time for the Bulls to grab a late consolation try.

Tansey stopped Rikki Sheriffe with a last-ditch tackle, but the ball was moved right to left and Reardon scrambled over for a last-minute try.

Hull FC: Tansey, Calderwood, Whiting, Yeaman, Briscoe, Turner, Long, Radford, Berrigan, O'Meley, Manu, Tickle, Fitzgibbon. Substitutes: Cusack, Dowes, Lauaki, Houghton.

Bradford Bulls: Halley, Sheriffe, Platt, Nero, Reardon, Sykes, Kearney, Scruton, L'Estrange, Lynch, Whitehead, Langley, Menzies. Substitutes: Godwin, Donaldson, Kopczak, Hall.

Referee: B Thaler (Wakefield).

Former Wales rugby union star Gareth Thomas was helped off injured after half-an-hour during a tough rugby league baptism which saw Crusaders beat Catalans Dragons 14-6. The 35-year-old had barely made an impact in a dull encounter.