Halifax Panthers overpower Bradford Bulls in fiery derby encounter

Fax extended their overall winning run against the Bulls to four straight matches as James Saltonstall and Lachlan Walmsley both scored doubles in a fiery encounter.

The victory all but seals Fax’s spot in the Betfred Championship’s top three, with Batley needing an almighty points swing in order to stand any chance of stealing the podium finish.

With the derby day atmosphere turned up to 12, it was the turn of the players to deliver on the field.

It was the hosts who got off to a better start as their early pressure paid quick dividends with Joe Keyes working his way over the whitewash. The Fax scrum-half found himself 10 metres out, before throwing a dummy and stretching over for the opener.

As the clock hit the 10-minute mark, the Panthers found another breakthrough. On this occasion, it was Aston’s last tackle kick which proved problematic for Bradford’s Ryan Millar. The winger was outjumped by Saltonstall who palmed the ball back to Aston. The Fax stand-off then found Will Calcott who raced over from close range.

Moments later, Saltonstall thought he scored Fax’s third, only to be denied by a forward pass. That, however, wasn’t enough to discourage the winger who was soon back in the thick of the action.

With quarter-of-an-hour gone, Halifax took full advantage of a scrum deep in Bradford’s half as Keyes and Louis Jouffret worked the ball out wide, allowing Saltonstall to move the Panthers 16-0 ahead.

Just as the big derby was beginning to turn into a procession, Halifax took their foot off the gas and allowed the Bulls to work their way back into the contest.

Bradford’s first chance of the match was converted into easy points as George Flanagan forced his way through the defence and over the tryline.

Six minutes later, the Bulls hooker turned from finisher to provider as his last tackle grubber was met by the hands of Samuel Kibula. A second conversion from Elliott Kear made the score 16-12.

Just as the Bulls were beginning to close the gap, Brad England was sent to the sin-bin for dissent – a moment which seemingly killed Bradford’s newly-found momentum.

Seconds after England’s departure, Lachlan Walmsley touched down on the left edge as Keyes converted to make it 22-12.

The second half began in similar fashion to the first as Saltonstall capitalised on a Bradford knock on to score his second try of the match. Keyes added the extras as Halifax moved 16 points ahead.

Bradford did hit back through Chester Butler in the 47th minute, though his converted effort was soon cancelled out by Walmsley’s second score of the game.

The Scotland international capitalised on a pitch perfect grubber kick from Keyes, who also successfully converted to make it 34-18.

With eight minutes remaining, Bradford’s issues were further compounded as Dan Murray powered over the whitewash after a short pass from Jacob Fairbank.

A woeful afternoon for the Bulls was soon worsened as Sam Hallas and David Gibbons were sent to the bin. Fax’s Matty Gee also saw a yellow card after last-minute pushing and shoving.

Halifax Panthers: Louis Jouffret, Lachlan Walmsley, Greg Worthington, Joe Arundel, James Saltonstall, Cory Aston, Joe Keyes, Will Calcott, Brandon Moore, Dan Murray, Ben Kavanagh, Ed Barber, Adam Tangata. Subs: Kyle Wood, Jacob Fairbank, Kevin Larroyer, Matty Gee.

Bradford Bulls: Elliott Kear, Matthew Dawson-Jones, Rhys Evans, Kieran Gill, Ryan Millar, David Gibbons, Sam Hallas, Anthony Walker, George Flanagan, Steve Crossley, Brad England, Chester Butler, Jacob Gannon. Subs: Jacob Hookem, AJ Wallace, Marcus Green, Samuel Kibula.

Halifax Tries: Keyes (6), Calcott (9), Saltonstall (16, 43), Walmsley (36, 54), Murray (72)

Halifax Goals: Keyes 6/7

Bradford Tries: Flanagan (24), Kibula (31), Butler (47)

Bradford Goals: Kear 3/3

Match Official: Scott Mikalauskas

Attendance: 2,706