Bradford Bulls 14 Warrington Wolves 58: Injuries hit Bulls hard as Wolves run riot to go top

The Bulls lost the French captain and second-row forward three minutes before half-time and will face an anxious wait to discover the extent of the injury.

“He’s got a posterior cruciate problem,” said coach Mick Potter. “It could be serious.

“You’re looking at six weeks to the rest of the season depending on how it rehabs. He’ll go for scans as soon as possible.”

Bradford, who went into the game without five regulars, also lost winger Shaun Ainscough with an ankle injury early in the first quarter and, when stand-off Paul Sykes (hamstring) and hooker Matt Diskin (shoulder) went off in the second half, they were left without any more replacements.

However, Potter admitted the injuries were no excuse for his side conceding 11 tries, six of them before half-time when his side trailed 32-0.

“We had no subs in the second half once Sykes went off,” he said. “It affects you but it’s still 13 against 13. We were poor in some areas. You give a team like that that much start and it makes it hard. We didn’t finish our sets off very well at all.

“It’s tough when you come off at 32-0 down at half-time. We addressed a few areas in the second half but the horse had bolted. I thought the players showed a bit of resilience in the second half but the game was long gone.”

Warrington are easily the League’s top scorers and they gave their points difference another major boost by taking full advantage of an inept performance by the Bulls, whose early-season promise seems a distant memory.

Potter’s men were unlucky not to take something from their Easter derby with Leeds but their fans could take no consolation from yesterday’s one-sided affair.

The visitors were leading 48-0 after 56 minutes before Bradford broke their duck, to ironic cheers from the 14,154 crowd.

Full-back Brett Hodgson led the scoring spree with 22 points from two tries and seven goals as Warrington bounced back from their shock home defeat by Hull to claim a third win from their last four matches, although they could lose top spot if St Helens beat Hull at the KC Stadium today.

Little went right for the Bulls as they gifted their opponents seven of their tries while, in the blustery conditions, Patrick Ah Van twice kicked out on the full to give the Wolves excellent attacking positions.

If Bradford were lethargic in the sunshine, their opponents were full of enthusiasm, demonstrated by the way they successfully harried the Bulls into a series of errors.

Bradford had no fewer than five kicks charged down in the first half, three of them producing immediate rewards for the visitors with long-range breakaway tries.

Wolves hooker Michael Monaghan was never far away from the ball and it was his charge-down of Marc Herbert’s attempted clearance kick that set up second-rower Louis Anderson for the first of his two tries.

Centre Ryan Atkins went over from 70 metres after picking up a loose ball and Michael Monaghan showed deceptive pace to go in from even longer range after charging down Elima’s kick.

Grateful for their gifts, the visitors also managed to carve out scoring opportunities themselves which enabled Matt King to grab his first try of the season and fellow winger Joel Monaghan his 11th.

With Hodgson converting four of his side’s six tries, Warrington weer 32 points clear at the break and they added to their tally within five minutes of the re-start when the veteran Australian dummied his way over for a seventh try.

Former Bradford forward David Solomona then produced a trademark offload to get King into his stride and Atkins spun out of full-back Shad Royston’s tackle to score his second try.

Bradford’s misery was summed up when Herbert fumbled under no pressure and Warrington’s replacement hooker Mick Higham was allowed to pick up and race 60 metres for another soft score.

As the Wolves began to relax, their job done, Bradford at least produced a spirited rally which brought consolation tries to prop Craig Kopczak, hard-working captain Andy Lynch and second-rower Elliott Whitehead.

But Warrington piled on the agony further when ex-Bradford centre Chris Bridge scored another breakaway try and Hodgson then went over for his second try in stoppage time.

Bradford Bulls: Royston, Ainscough, Platt, Walker, Ah Van, Sykes, Herbert, Lynch, Diskin, Kopczak, Elima, Sibbit, Olbison. Substitutes: Whitehead, L’Estrange, Hargreaves, Burgess.

Warrington Wolves: Hodgson, J. Monaghan, Bridge, Atkins, King, Briers, Grix, Morley, M. Monaghan, Wood, Anderson, Westwood, Harrison. Substitutes: Higham, Cooper, Carvell, Solomona.

Referee: T Alibert (Toulouse).