Super League: Bradford Bulls beat Hull KR to stretch unbeaten run
Bradford Bulls made it two wins in three Super League games with a 34-12 victory over Hull KR on Sunday.
Last Updated: 17/03/13 6:19pm
Jarrod Sammut ran in a brace of tries for the hosts, while Jamie Foster, Brett Kearney, Elliot Kear and John Bateman also touched down. David and Josh Hodgson scored tries for Rovers.
The game saw Adrian Purtell make his comeback after suffering a heart attack on the way home from the Magic Weekend defeat to Leeds last May.
Having been given the all-clear by specialists during the week, the 28-year-old Australian came off bench to rapturous applause after 24 minutes.
At that stage the Bulls - who were without Matty Blythe and Chev Walker (both ankle), Jamie Langley (groin) and Matt Diskin (illness) - had already crossed twice to hold a narrow lead.
They then went on to add three more first-half tries as error-strewn Rovers struggled to get into the game.
One of those tries was scored by teenage England Academy international Bateman, who was also on the comeback trail having been out of Super League action since last August following a shoulder reconstruction.
Bradford went in 26-6 ahead at half-time but Rovers rallied after the break, dominating as the Bulls conceded a stream of penalties.
Josh Hodgson dummied his way over to give Rovers' hope, but the determined home defence then restricted any further damage.
The victory stretched Bradford's unbeaten run to three games and ended the Robins' encouraging sequence of back-to-back wins which had lifted them into the play-off zone.
The win saw the Bulls jump above arch-rivals Leeds in the table, alongside four other clubs tied for second place on nine points.
But it was not all good news for Bradford with James Donaldson and Keith Lulia both suffering worrying knocks in the victory.
