Bradford close gap on Rovers in scramble for top eight

The Bulls trailed 16-4 midway through the first half but rallied, scoring seven tries to move onto the heels of eighth-placed Hull KR in the Stobart Super League table.

The Bradford boss, who has been working without pay since being made redundant by the cash-strapped club, again heaped praise on his team, especially experienced Australians Heath L’Estrange and Brett Kearney.

“I thought those two were very good for us, along with Ben Jeffries, and they were probably the difference and gave us a little bit more variety in our game and more ball for us to utilise,” said Potter after the game finished in a second torrential rain storm.

“It wasn’t a game for the purist today.

“They’d obviously play in dry conditions but we had two dumpings of rain and you just have to adapt and adapt quickly.

“It (the result) puts us in striking distance and might leave a few people a bit nervous because a team that has been deducted six points – do they want them in the eight?

“Have we warranted it and should we even have a chance to be in the eight?

“But the players have worked very hard to be in the eight and the fans want to see them in the eight.”

Bradford remain ninth but Hull Kingston Rovers are just two points above the Bulls now after losing narrowly at home to Leeds Rhinos.

Potter added: “There’s a bit of work to do yet but it sets up for a fantastic game against Hull KR on Friday – it’s a short turn around for both teams – but it should be a great game.”

Widnes, who had won two of their previous four games while pushing St Helens and Hull KR close in the others, got off to a dream start with two tries, from former Bradford winger Patrick Ah Van and Ben Davies, both converted by Rhys Hanbury, in the opening 10 minutes.

Bradford responded through Michael Platt but Danny Craven restored the Vikings’ 12-point advantage with a try in the 21st minute.

The Bulls hit back again and three tries in a dozen minutes, from Kearney, Shaun Ainscough and Jeffries – his 100th touchdown in club rugby – put the Bulls ahead for the first time.

Hanbury scored for Widnes on the stroke of half time but further Bulls tries from L’Estrange, Platt and Aisncough saw Bradford home, Luke Gale kicking five goals from seven attempts.

Ah Van claimed his second for Widnes but it proved to be just a consolation, leaving coach Denis Betts to reflect on another game where they proved very competitive but ultimately came away without the two points.

“We conceded some soft tries and switched off a couple of times and they are a really good side who deserve a lot of credit considering what’s going on around them,” Betts said.

“Were still showing encouraging signs – we were even when we were getting heavily beaten.

“We are getting better but we wanted to win today – it was the same in the Hull KR game (which they also lost narrowly the previous week) – we were good enough to win that game and I believe it was the same today.”

Bradford: Kearney, Ainscough, Platt, Lulia, Pryce, Jeffries, Gale, Kopczak, L’Estrange, Hargreaves, Olbison, Whitehead, Langley. Substitutes: Burgess, Manuokafoa, C. Walker, Addy.

Widnes: Phelps, Isa, Marsh, Dean, Ah Van, Craven, Hanbury, Davies, McShane, Pickersgill, Winterstein, Allen, Cahill. Substitutes: Clarke, J. Kite, Haggerty, Gerrard.

Referee: S Ganson (St Helens)