Potter hails comeback kids

Bulls boss delighted with second half fightback

Last updated: 10th March 2012   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Potter hails comeback kids

Mick Potter: Delighted with away triumph

Unless we get that tough mentality that we want to compete and defend an error then, that's what going to happen.

Craig Sandercock
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Bradford Bulls coach Mick Potter praised his side's battling qualities after watching them rally from 24-8 down to beat Hull KR 36-24 at Craven Park.

Bradford looked dead and buried trailing by 16 with 25 minutes to play, but five unanswered tries saw them leave east Hull with the Stobart Super League points.

The Bulls trailed by 10 points at the interval and Potter told his players the second half could go either way.

When Craig Hall scored to extend Rovers' lead three minutes after the break, Potter must have feared the worst.

However, his players had other ideas and produced a spell of rugby that blew the home side away and left Potter elated.

Flamboyant

He said: "The second half could have gone one of two ways. The guys responded the way I wanted them to and the way the players wanted to.

"We played some good footie in the second half and it was fantastic for the fans and pleasing for the coaching staff. It was pleasing from a coach's point of view.

"We came up with some flamboyant plays and we got a bit of space which is something we've not been used to this season."

Potter revealed he had to do it the hard way with Jamie Langley and Nick Scruton unable to finish the game because of injuries.

But the Bulls stuck together to get the job done.

Potter continued: "You have to work for it and I think our players earned the right to be where they were.

"It's good to see the players stay solid and score those sort of tries.

"Jamie Langley and Nick Scruton couldn't go back on so we only had two subs to rotate."

Rovers coach Craig Sandercock was at a loss to explain how his side threw away a game they were in control of for the first 50 minutes.

He said the same problems that were blighting their play earlier in the season returned to ruin their chances of success against the Bulls.

"Like we have been doing, too many silly penalties and errors and not being able to defend those cost us," said Sandercock.

"Unless we get that tough mentality that we want to compete and defend an error then, that's what going to happen.

Tough

"A lot of it has got to do with concentration, desire, attitude, determination. All those things embody a first grade rugby player.

"Unless we get that we'll be on the end of those scorelines on a regular basis."

The game's turning point came when Jake Webster's 62nd-minute try was ruled out when Rhys Lovegrove was adjudged to have been tackled before he got his pass to Webster off.

Sandercock said there were other incidents that cost his side victory.

"It's hard to tell but I think they got Jake's right," he said.

"I thought one more try would have been the game but in saying that we should still have done better than we did.

"There were a few turning points...we put a grubber kick in and nobody bothered to tackle Kearney and he goes 80 metres.

"A lot of little things went against us and if you're not mentally tough and don't concentrate for 80 minutes then you get what happened to us."

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