Bradford Bulls 6 Hull FC 70: Play-off hopes fade as Bulls are obliterated by relentless Hull

It was quite apt; they had just been hit by one in the shape of a ruthless Hull FC team who demonstrated enough here to suggest that if – and that is the rub with the Airlie Birds – they can repeat it they could cause a stir in the play-offs.

For Bradford’s new owner it was hardly an inspiring start to his tenure and, indeed, after witnessing this debacle you could easily forgive Omar Khan for wanting to runaway himself before the ink has truly dried on those contract papers.

He had finally secured a deal with the administrator on Friday night to buy the beleaguered club and relieved fans duly arrived in party mood as he and associate Gerry Sutcliffe MP were introduced to the rejoicing crowd before kick-off.

But it was perhaps inevitable that, just as their future seemed sorted at last after months of uncertainty, the Bradford players who had performed so admirably during this turbulent season would then deliver their worst performance yet and all but ruin hopes of making the play-offs.

Since being placed in administration on June 26, they had won five of their seven fixtures, not losing at home once and showing great character to shrug off a six-point deduction to claw their way back into the top eight.

All of that hard endeavour slipped away on Saturday night but there was plenty of mitigating circumstances, not least spending most of the second period with no replacements given co-captain Heath L’Estrange (hamstring), Karl Pryce (abdominal), Chev Walker (ribs) and Jamie Langley (groin) were all rooted to the bench unable to return to the field.

Most of them should be fine for Saturday’s final regular game in Perpignan, but Bradford’s destiny is now out of their own hands with Wakefield knowing a win at Salford on Saturday evening will seal them the last play-off berth.

Meanwhile, Hull, who delivered the requisite response after an awful 42-16 loss at bottom-placed Widnes last time out, are now sure of sixth spot at least and a home tie in the play-offs.

England winger Tom Briscoe scored a hat-trick in this 13-try feast and conceded he never expected Bradford to be so porous.

“I thought it would be the other way around with them getting new owners,” he told the Yorkshire Post.

“I felt Bradford would be wanting to put on a good performance to show them what they’ve bought and what they could do as a team.

“But there was a lot of talk from us that we had to back up ourselves after what happened at Widnes and put right the wrongs of that match which was a pathetic performance.

“We did that and put in a great display but all credit has to go down to our forwards, who really got on top and bullied Bradford.

“We were making 10 and 15 metres every time we carried and that set a massive platform for us three-quarters to play off. It’s not over now, though. We need to push on against Castleford and take this form into the play-offs.”

Briscoe was at the centre of a major talking point when Bulls’s stand-off Ben Jeffries was sin-binned in the seventh minute after barging him into touch with referee Ben Thaler having already called ‘held’.

Bradford coach Mick Potter – who hopes to now be reinstated after working for free since the end of June – labelled it a “ridiculous” decision with Hull scoring twice through Joe Westerman and Jamie Foster during that 10 minutes to cancel out Jason Crookes’s opener and take a lead they would never relinquish.

While still down to 12 men, though, Bradford winger Sean Ainscough produced a stunning try-saving tackle on Hull’s Ryan McGoldrick, racing back 60 metres diagonally to somehow deny the Australian, who then had to depart after dislocating a shoulder in the act of trying to score.

Ainscough’s desire demonstrated just the sort of indefatigable spirit that has underlined the Bulls players’ efforts this season and it received a standing ovation from their understanding public.

However, the destructive Willie Manu crossed soon after for the first of his double and when the Tongan second row slipped through to supply Danny Houghton on 27 minutes, Hull were on their way.

They led 28-6 at the break but completed at 91 per cent in the second period when, with Bradford down to the bare bones, they utterly dominated.

Aaron Heremaia, who scored twice, was a revelation at scrum-half, while Ben Crooks was similarly excellent in the centre.

The teenager had already played 40 minutes in the reserve grade curtain-raiser but was called up after Kirk Yeaman strained a calf in the warm-up.

Crooks, whose perfect running line saw him score a well-deserved try just after the hour mark, completed the entire match and linked brilliantly with Manu and Briscoe down the visitors’ left all game.

Foster finished with 26 points as he added nine goals to his brace of tries, while former Bulls captain Andy Lynch also crossed on his first return to Odsal.

It was Bradford’s biggest Super League defeat since their 66-4 play-off loss against St Helens in 2005 but – as Khan will hopefully have seen – their fans were still there cheering them down that tunnel at the end.

Bradford Bulls: Kearney; Ainscough, Pryce, Lulia, Crookes; Jeffries, Gale; Kopczak, L’Estrange, Hargreaves, Olbison, Whitehead, Langley. Substitutes: Elima, Manuokafoa, Diskin, Walker.

Hull FC: Horne; Foster, Turner, Crooks, Briscoe; McGoldrick, Heremaia; Watts, Houghton, Lynch, Manu, Westerman, Pitts. Substitutes: Seymour, O’Meley, Aspinwall, Green.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).