Bradford head coach James Lowes admitted it was great to see his players smiling again after they beat local rivals Leeds 20-14 to make it back-to-back wins over First Utility Super League title contenders. The Bulls have endured a horror season and had their relegation to the Kingstone Press Championship confirmed at Huddersfield Giants two weeks ago. Since then, however, they have turned in their best two performances pf the campaign to see off champions Wigan Warriors and then Leeds at a wet Headingley Carnegie on Friday night. The victory over the Rhinos was Bradfords first in six attempts and earned them bragging rights in the final West Yorkshire derby between the sides before they drop into the second tier. Im made up for the boys, said Lowes. Its good to walk into the dressing room again and see them smile. Scrambled I thought it was an evenly-matched game. Both sides created very good chances and scrambled so well defensively. They chased lost causes down and that makes a big difference in the game. I couldnt have had a complaint if the game had gone either way, it was that evenly balanced. Bradford still have Hull FC, Castleford and Widnes to come and Lowes is determined to continue making life difficult for teams with play-off aspirations. If thats the last thing we do in Super League, then it wouldnt be a bad way to exit, he added. Well certainly try, if it means we affect things at the top of the league then so be it. But Im more concerned about the lads getting more of them Ws (wins). Its a great feeling when you win and when you play well, so Im overjoyed. McDermott frustrated For Leeds it was far from ideal preparation for next weekends Tetleys Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington. With that in mind, head coach Brian McDermott rested Ryan Hall and Kallum Watkins and took no chances with the likes of Jamie Peacock and Joel Moon, who were carrying niggles. His Rhinos side, already missing captain Kevin Sinfield through suspension, struggled for fluency all night and were their own worst enemies at times, according to a frustrated McDermott. We lost a ridiculous amount of ball, said the former Bradford player. We got a bit bloody-minded in the second half and we just needed to calm down a bit. Ive got no qualms with the nature of the loss, its just how we played. The amount of possession we lost made it almost impossible for us to win the game.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 15:06:02 +0000
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