Leeds cut St Helens' lead at the top of Super League XI to three points after coasting past Bradford Bulls at Odsal.


A solitary try from the diminutive Rob Burrow was all that separated the two sides in an electric opening half.


The Bulls, who lost Brett Ferres and Michael Withers just before kick-off to a virus, threw everything at the Rhinos to get back into the game.


But second-half tries from Willie Poching, Chev Walker, Ryan Bailey and Keith Senior led to a convincing win.



Despite their attacking flair, Leeds were indebted to their defence, which repeatedly kept Bradford at bay.


In the first half, Shontayne Hape had a good chance to score for the Bulls, only to spill the ball going for the line.


Then Ben Harris thought he had scored after intercepting a Senior pass only to be felled by the relentless Burrow.

Follow up:

Burrow was equally effective on the offensive and was rewarded with the opening try, combining well with Senior to jink around Paul Johnson and evade the clutches of Marcus St Hilaire before touching down.


Sinfield added the extras and repeated the feat early in the second half after a controversial try.


On the fifth tackle, he booted the ball into the legs of Andy Lynch, which resulted in five more tackles for the Rhinos after it was deemed a charge down.


From the resulting attack, a Sinfield kick came off Johnson's legs, allowing Poching to score.


Bradford had chances to get back into the match, most notably just before the hour mark when Iestyn Harris broke clear.


But the former union international lost possession when breaking clear.




Moments later, he was made to pay when Leeds counter-attacked, Walker barging his way into the left-hand corner from the end of a line of runners.


Bradford's misery was then compounded in the final 10 minutes when Bailey bulldozed through four tacklers and Senior produced a stunning solo effort for a try apiece.


Source: BBC Sport