Bradford racked up their third successive Engage Super League win by dismantling Hull KR 40-4 yesterday. Andy Lynch and Elliott Whitehead both scored in the space of four first-half minutes, with Matt Orford booting two second-half conversions, while doubles from Brett Kearney and Rikki Sheriffe wrapped up the win for the Bulls. Richie Mathers did not let speculation over his future affect his performance with the Warrington full-back bagging two tries and the man of the match award as the Wolves thrashed Catalans Dragons 40-6. Mathers has been linked with a move to Huddersfield Giants at the end of the season with Brett Hodgson, the Man of Steel, moving in the opposite direction.
Lee Briers also grabbed a comeback try in a feisty contest with Catalans blown away to trail 28-0 at the break. The Wolves ran in seven touchdowns with Ben Westwood booting six goals from seven attempts. David Hodgson grabbed a hat-trick of tries as Huddersfield sank the Crusaders, the Welsh side, 38-10 in Wrexham. The result kept the Giants in a commanding top-half place after 12 matches.
The Crusaders soon found themselves behind after two sucker-punches in the opening seven minutes. First, Kevin Brown, the stand-off, surged through the midfield to score the first Huddersfield try near the posts. The Giants then caught the Crusaders napping again with a neat chip to the corner which gave Hodgson the easiest of scoring touchdowns. Castleford halted their slump to move two points clear of Salford, their fellow strugglers. The Tigers ground out a vital 30-12 win in a scrappy game.
Joe Westerman was a major contributor with seven goals from seven kicks. Ben Jones-Bishop, the Harlequins full-back, sustained a depressed fracture of his skull in Friday's 38-26 win at Wigan, the club confirmed yesterday. The 21-year-old was rushed to hospital at half-time after apparently catching a stud on his head in an accidental collision. He spent two nights in a local hospital having scans but was released yesterday.
"Ben is fine to travel back to London and will have further tests this week to ascertain the full extent of the injury," said a Harlequins spokesman. * Agencies
