Bulls hold off Pryce bid

A hat-trick of tries from Karl Pryce couldn't stop Harlequins slipping to a 24-22 defeat against his old club Bradford at Odsal Stadium.

Winger Pryce, who left the Bulls five years ago to switch codes, took his tally to five tries in six games during his loan spell with the capital club.

However the hosts came out on top in a tight game thanks to the boot of Patrick Ah Van, who converted three of Bradford's four tries and also kicked what turned out to be a match-winning penalty in the second half.

Quins - who have now lost three on the spin after a fine start to the new season - also crossed four times themselves, Tony Clubb getting the other, but Luke Gale could only slot over three of his attempts at goal.

Scrappy opening

It was the visitors who hit the front first during a scrappy opening quarter when Pryce took Chad Randall's long, lofted pass and dived over.

Bradford struggled to make an impact in the opening half hour before the introduction from the bench of debutant Tom Burgess, younger brother of England international Sam, seemed to help spark them into life.

With the 18-year-old forward impressing with some strong running, the Bulls struck twice in the last four minutes of the first half to take the lead.

Olivier Elima scored the first from Brett Kearney's pass and Matt Diskin then forced his way over from close range on the last move before the break.

It could have been even better for Mick Potter's side had they not wasted other opportunities; Luke Dorn did well to deny Craig Kopczak from reaching the line while winger Shaun Ainscough missed a clear-cut chance when he dropped Kearney's high kick with the line beckoning.

Ah Van was successful with one of his two attempts at the uprights to make it 10-4, though the Londoners - who had 20-year-old prop Rob Thomas making his Super League debut - hit back within three minutes of the restart.

Randall again laid on a score for Pryce, who wrong-footed the Bradford defence to get his second of the afternoon.

Crucial

However, Bradford quickly reasserted their authority when Kearney gathered scrum-half Herbert's high kick to force his way over on 52 minutes.

Ah Van kicked the conversion and then added what proved to be a crucial penalty four minutes later to put his side two scores in front.

The game then looked to be over as a contest when centre Paul Sykes took a pass from the influential Herbert to make it 24-10.

To their credit, Harlequins continued to battle bravely and two late tries meant Bradford had to work hard right through to the final hooter to seal the win.

A fine burst by Pryce set up centre Clubb to touch down before the former completed his hat-trick in the closing minutes. Gale added the extras on both occasions, but there was not enough time left for Rob Powell's side to avoid another loss.