Bradford Bulls 46 Saints 22 FORTRESS Odsal continued to be a graveyard for bruised and battered Saints, as they slumped to a third successive defeat for the first time in Super League against a rampant Bulls' now anchored in top spot.

Conversely the reverse meant that Saints slipped to third place and have now lost all four league games at Bradford, while the 'improved defence' claim lay in tatters with 18 tries conceded in the last three outings.

Billed as a clash of the Titans, this game proved anything but because - allowing for the absence of injured Kevin Iro, Tommy Martyn, Paul Sculthorpe and Sonny Nickle plus the loss of Paul Atcheson _ Saints were overwhelmed by a Bulls squad hell-bent on avenging a 58-14 humiliation at Knowsley Road.

In simple terms Bradford were 'up' for this one and back-pedalling Saints were not, with the visitors paying the ultimate penalty for some apologetic tackling and woeful handling errors, particularly in the second half.

Saints trailed by only 16-8 at the break and might have been in serious contention but for the video disallowing of a 'try' by Freddie Tuilagi.

However, it should be remembered that Bradford twice suffered a similar fate in the same period. Nonetheless it meant that scoring of the opening try in the second half was crucial, and the worst fears of the massive Saints' support were confirmed as a barnstorming Bulls' side spearheaded by man-of-the-match Henry Paul notched three in six minutes to seal the issue.

A night when little went right then for Saints on the sunny slopes of Odsal, with the non-stop efforts of Sean Long, Keiron Cunningham and skipper Chris Joynt their brightest beacons, while I also thought the much-maligned Paul Davidson enjoyed a useful stint.

Bradford held possession and territorial advantage from the kick-off and opened the scoring after eight minutes when Paul broke through on the right to feed 17-year-old Leon Pryce, and he turned inside to touch down for Steve McNamara to convert.

Long reduced Saints' arrears with a penalty when Joynt was fouled, and substitute Vila Matautia then signalled his arrival by being placed on report after a challenge on Stuart Fielden as Bradford continued to dominate proceedings.

Twenty-five minutes had ticked by before Saints took a smash-and-grab lead when Long broke through to send Joynt powering between the posts for Sean to goal, but their joy was shortlived when, after James Lowes was refused a try, Paul's brilliant run put Stuart Spruce in with McNamara converting. Almost immediately Lowes chipped ahead to find Paul in support, and the Kiwi's long pass opened the way for Pryce to notch his second try, while Saints were saved further embarrassment when, after McNamara had been overhauled by Anthony Sullivan, Paul Deacon was brought back for 'offside.'

Cunningham, whose incisive running had been a feature, then sent Tuilagi burrowing over but the video camera said 'no' on the stroke of half-time, and the up-hill struggle continued for Saints as Bradford indulged in a scoring spree.

That man Paul chipped to the wing for Michael Withers to enjoy a favourable bounce and put Mike Forshaw over, and worse was follow for sorry Saints when, from a scrum, Paul jinked his way over for Deacon to tack on the extra points.

Saints appeared in total disarray as Scott Naylor left a trail of would-be tacklers floundering in his wake to score after a 40-yard run, but there was a crumb of comfort for the visitors when Paul Newlove carved out a try for Sullivan which Long converted.

And they crept even closer to the Bulls when Matautia, 'Sully,' Long and Davidson engineered a second try for Joynt, but it proved a false dawn for Saints as Nathan McAvoy and Lowes (2) touched down for Bradford when Davidson scored a rousing 40-yard consolation effort for Saints.

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