Kurt Haggerty salutes Bradford Bulls' courage in crucial victory over Castleford Tigers

The Bulls defied the wet and windy conditions to blitz Castleford on Thursday night, piling pressure on York Knights in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon.

The victory took Bradford level on points with the Knights, who face Catalans Dragons in Perpignan on Saturday before hosting the Bulls on the final weekend in a potential decider.

"It was supposed to have been five drives and a kick to the corner but they just won’t do it because of the way I coach them," said Haggerty, whose injury-ravaged side had lost their previous seven Super League games.

"When it's bred into your DNA, that's just how you play.

"You can't rely just on shape to win games because we don't believe it wins big games so you need a little bit more.

"That DNA is put into the players, coached into them, and you've got to have balls to play – and they've got balls."

Bradford took a 26-4 lead into half-time and never looked back against the dismal Tigers.

Castleford outscored their West Yorkshire rivals in the second period but the 32-22 defeat highlighted the issues facing the next head coach.

Luke Robinson, who is effectively in interim charge after being drafted in as an assistant following Ryan Carr's departure, believes the Tigers lack the appetite to grind out results.

Castleford have claimed eye-catching victories over Wigan Warriors, St Helens and Leeds Rhinos this season but no team has shipped more points than the beleaguered Tigers.

"We're probably a side that, from an outsider coming in, we want to score more points than the opposition rather than defend our way to wins," said Robinson after watching Castleford concede five tries in the first half at Odsal.

"It's mad, really, the analysts at the end of the game told me we average 34 points a game conceded. That is a crazy stat and shows where we need to be at with a little bit more of a defensive mindset."