REPORT | Bradford Bulls 18 Dons 12

The Dons fell to a narrow defeat on the road as they lost out to Bradford Bulls at Odsal Stadium.

Richard Horne's side led in the first half thanks to Watson Boas' try and two successful Connor Robinson kicks, but the Bulls responded just before the hooter to see the visitors' lead reduced to two points at the break.

The Dons came out fighting in the second half and went further ahead through Ben Johnston, but the Bulls scored two tries in quick succession late on to take victory.
Horne made three changes to the side that started in the win against Hunslet five days earlier, with Ben Johnston, Connor Robinson and Pauli Pauli all coming into the starting XIII. Andre Savelio returned to action as an interchange, as Luis Johnson also made his Dons debut.
After an elaborate fireworks display, the early stages of the fixture saw the sides evenly matched, with both completing well and neither giving up an inch.
Bradford were all set to take the lead on 13 minutes after being awarded two back-to-back penalties within 20 minutes, but the Dons' line defence was superb to keep the Bulls out.
And five minutes later, Horne's men built on that foundation. The Dons made the most of a penalty ten metres out and kicked towards the right-hand corner, where Boas jumped highest to collect and ground. Robinson added the extras.
The hosts looked for a route back into the game over the next ten minutes and looked to be in on the left, but the referee ruled the try out and awarded the Dons possession.
And the Bulls were punished for coming up short on half an hour as Greg Burns won the visitors a penalty in front of the sticks that Robinson obliged to notch between the sticks for an eight-point lead.
Bradford came into the half towards the break and went close after 34 minutes with a kick over to the right wing, but the Dons collected and picked up another of a string of penalties.
The Bulls grounded behind the sticks two minutes later, and the home fans celebrated, but the referee awarded another Dons penalty.
But the hosts' persistence paid off just before the hooter, as Joe Keyes found the line and Hooley converted to see the sides separated by two points at the interval.
The Dons came out for the second half looking to restore their advantage and almost did just three minutes from the restart as Connor Robinson squeezed his way through on the left, but he was stopped just short of the line.
Boas went close to securing a brace another three minutes later, but he was also stopped agonisingly short of the line, this time on the right.
Bradford went close with a kick into the goal area at the other end, but Robinson managed to palm behind in the nick of time. The resulting goal line drop-out bounced out of play 30 metres from the Bradford line, and the Dons had it back in a promising position.
Horne's men were then awarded another penalty ten metres out, and they again made the most of it. Johnston squirmed his way through the Bradford line to ground on the right and gave the visitors a six-point lead.
The Bulls were awarded two consecutive penalties ten metres out just before the hour mark, but another error saw the Dons survive.
The hosts kicked into the goal area on the right after 62 minutes, only for Harvey Horne to collect safely.
But it was that avenue that the home side found their way. Waka Blake picked up the ball on the wing and grounded in the corner. Hooley again converted to level the scores after 66 minutes.
Three minutes later Keyes kept the ball alive on the last and found Jayden Okunbor, who grounded to give the Bulls the lead. Hooley converted from the wing to give the hosts a six-point advantage.
The Dons searched for a response in the remaining 11 minutes, but after the visitors went down to 12 men following an injury to Alex Sutcliffe, Bradford held out for the win.
Dons: Moy, Hall, Boas, Sutcliffe, Horne, Johnston, Robinson, Matagi, Burns, Baldwinson, Smeaton, Jones, Pauli. Interchanges: Misky, Johnson, Gardiner, Savelio.