Bradford Bulls 46 Castleford Tigers 32: Bulls offer some respite as they vanquish Tigers

They are, indeed, distinctly malodorous with the mudslinging continuing yesterday regarding who is to blame for the Super League club’s latest financial crisis.

That is if, as former chairman Peter Hood questioned, there is even a crisis at all.

His latest salvo was to question the validity of new director Stephen Coulby’s weekend claim that the club were left in a much worse state than expected after Hood and co-director Andrew Bennett had stood down last month.

Bradford announced on March 27 they needed £1m to stay in business with half required within 10 days.

Under Hood’s watch, they reached their £500,000 target largely courtesy of pledges from fans, but the pair were then forced out by a majority of shareholders led by ex-chairman Chris Caisley and including Coulby.

It was Coulby who claimed an independent financial review has since unearthed hidden problems which mean they still require £1.25m to avoid administration.

Hood has labelled Coulby’s words as a “carefully crafted concoction of half-truths and omissions that leaves one wondering – why, exactly?”

He continued: “Why is Stephen Coulby being so economical with the truth?

“Could it be, perhaps, that he seeks to paint a scenario to justify an imminent plunge into administration, all the while protesting this is the last thing he and his colleagues want?”

That word ‘administration’ was mentioned a lot in hushed tones at Odsal last night with a growing belief it could be Bradford’s fate by the end of the week.

With one bar in the main stand shut it already looked like the work had begun and, with no chairman’s notes in the matchday programme, it is easy to see the club appearing to be rudderless.

However, those close to the new regime insist that is not the case and, with £500,000 investment already secured, they maintain more is in the pipeline.

The hope has to be that it is for, on the field, the side delivered a performance which returned them into the top eight, displacing champions Leeds Rhinos, demonstrating again the belief they can reach the play-offs for the first time in four years.

Administration – and its obligatory points deduction – would ruin any hope and undo so much hard work from coach Mick Potter and his battling squad, along with that of employees off the pitch who also remained in the dark last night.

Australian stand-off Ben Jeffries was the principal architect of Castleford’s downfall with a succession of probing kicks and deft passes while recalled winger Shaun Ainscough secured a hat-trick.

Full-back Brett Kearney was similarly potent, arrowing over off one of Jeffries’s clever inside passes on the hour mark having already benefited from an identical assist by Luke Gale in the first half.

Jeffries was to the fore in the majority of the hosts’ best attacks, something there were plenty of in a game where both these West Yorkshire clubs seemingly abandoned all notion of defence.

Bulls – without five players who lost against Leeds, including heart attack victim Adrian Purtell – led 34-16 after a see-sawing first period.

Karl Pryce’s glorious reverse pass sent Keith Lulia in for an opener before Kearney got his first.

Jordan Thompson responded for Castleford, whose coach Ian Millward had dropped full-back Richard Owen, but teenager John Bateman – the subject of a six-figure written bid from Warrington, according to Hood – then latched on to more inventive play by Jeffries to stretch over.

When Brett Ferres dropped a simple ball, systematic of Castleford’s problems this year, Bulls prop Bryn Hargreaves exposed their fragile defence once more with a slip pass for Oliver Elima to sail through.

The visitors, who have now won just once in their last six games, always pose a threat with Rangi Chase in their side and the England stand-off produced two massive side-steps to glide over only for Ainscough to score in back-to-back sets.

Nathan Massey strolled through some weak Bradford tackling just before the break but the Castleford forward departed soon into the second half with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

Rhys Williams, on loan from Warrington, scored his first try in Castleford colours on 51 minutes and added another soon after when Ainscough made a glaring error spilling Chase’s kick.

But Kearney’s second settled Bradford nerves and, even though Chase dazzled again for his second, Kirk Dixon kicking his fourth goal, Ainscough made sure when he strode onto Kearney’s pass from a scrum move, Gale adding his seventh conversion.

It was a big relief for the Bradford supporters who have been through the mill of late. For those in a 10,906 crowd, many of whom dug deep to donate £100 or more over Easter, they simply want some transparency from the powers-that-be.

Mike Farren, of Bull Builder supporters club, told the Yorkshire Post: “There’s a lot of propaganda flying around. From my point of view, and most of the supporters, we’re not interested in that.

“We just want to get on and avoid administration. Stephen Coulby says that’s his aim and – if so – we’re behind anyone who can pull that off.

“We’re not bothered about factions or fighting – we just want the club to progress.”

Bradford Bulls: Kearney; Ainscough, Platt, Lulia, Pryce; Jeffries, Gale; Manuokafoa, L’Estrange, Hargreaves, Bateman, Olbison, Elima. Substitutes: Burgess, Whitehead, Sibbit, Addy.

Castleford: Youngquest; Griffin, Dixon, Thompson, Williams; Chase, Orr; Jackson, Jones, Huby, Ferres, Holmes, Mitchell. Substitutes: Walker, McGoldrick, Millington, Massey.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).