The Electric Horseman
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Great Britain forward Adrian Morley admitted he was "off the pace" after making a low-key start to his brief Bradford career in the Bulls' 52-34 win over Huddersfield.
The former Leeds favourite, who has joined the Bulls on a short-term deal ahead of the Tri-Nations Series, went on for his debut as a substitute after 17 minutes but made little impact as Bradford struggled to overcome an impressive Giants outfit.
"He's said he was completely off the pace, which is not surprising," revealed Bradford and Great Britain coach Brian Noble. "He's flown around the world and it's not an easy ask.
"We know we'll get a whole lot more out of Adrian and he knows that. He's got a smile on his face and he's thankful that he's got through it."
Huddersfield, who needed the win to keep alive their slender play-off hopes, were in sight of their first win at Odsal for 36 years when they led 34-18 after an hour.
But the Bulls roared back with six tries in the last quarter, two of them from leading scorer Lesley Vainikolo on his 100th appearance, to clinch a seventh straight win and strengthen their hold on third place in the engage Super League.
"It was a strange afternoon," admitted Noble. "I thought we were a little bit flat and it wasn't totally unexpected after what we've been through the last few weeks.
"We've had two big games where we've played really well. I think if you look at most teams in the competition this year, it's hard to maintain it week-in, week-out. It's good that it comes now.
"They decided to roll their sleeves up and do some of the things we weren't doing in the first half but give full credit to Huddersfield. I think they are a super team, well-organised and well-coached.
"I thought we were awesome at the start of the second half and we bombed four tries.
Twenty minutes into the second half I thought it might be one of those afternoons but they kept believing."
Huddersfield made a dream start, with tries in the first quarter from Marcus St Hilaire and James Evans, and further scores from Stanley Gene and Paul March put them 24-18 ahead at the break.
When impressive forward Eorl Crabtree and Lee Greenwood touched down in the third quarter and Chris Thorman kicked his fifth goal, the Giants were in sight of their first away win over Bradford since 1969 but they faded badly in the final quarter.
"We certainly played our part fully in a great contest," said coach Jon Sharp. "We performed really well and challenged the form team in Super League. I'm extremely disappointed that we didn't come away with the win.
"With 25 minutes left, we had three changes left. We just ran out of numbers but I thought over 80 minutes we just about edged it."
Sharp, who is assistant to Noble with Great Britain, believes that Crabtree enhanced his claims for a place in the final squad to face Australia and New Zealand in the end-of-season internationals.
"His form today in front of the Great Britain coach hasn't done him any harm," said Sharp. "I thought he was very strong in the tackle and defensively he came up with some really good shots as well."
Bradford lost full-back Michael Withers at half-time with sore ribs but expect him to be available for next week's final League game at St Helens.
superleague.co.uk
The former Leeds favourite, who has joined the Bulls on a short-term deal ahead of the Tri-Nations Series, went on for his debut as a substitute after 17 minutes but made little impact as Bradford struggled to overcome an impressive Giants outfit.
"He's said he was completely off the pace, which is not surprising," revealed Bradford and Great Britain coach Brian Noble. "He's flown around the world and it's not an easy ask.
"We know we'll get a whole lot more out of Adrian and he knows that. He's got a smile on his face and he's thankful that he's got through it."
Huddersfield, who needed the win to keep alive their slender play-off hopes, were in sight of their first win at Odsal for 36 years when they led 34-18 after an hour.
But the Bulls roared back with six tries in the last quarter, two of them from leading scorer Lesley Vainikolo on his 100th appearance, to clinch a seventh straight win and strengthen their hold on third place in the engage Super League.
"It was a strange afternoon," admitted Noble. "I thought we were a little bit flat and it wasn't totally unexpected after what we've been through the last few weeks.
"We've had two big games where we've played really well. I think if you look at most teams in the competition this year, it's hard to maintain it week-in, week-out. It's good that it comes now.
"They decided to roll their sleeves up and do some of the things we weren't doing in the first half but give full credit to Huddersfield. I think they are a super team, well-organised and well-coached.
"I thought we were awesome at the start of the second half and we bombed four tries.
Twenty minutes into the second half I thought it might be one of those afternoons but they kept believing."
Huddersfield made a dream start, with tries in the first quarter from Marcus St Hilaire and James Evans, and further scores from Stanley Gene and Paul March put them 24-18 ahead at the break.
When impressive forward Eorl Crabtree and Lee Greenwood touched down in the third quarter and Chris Thorman kicked his fifth goal, the Giants were in sight of their first away win over Bradford since 1969 but they faded badly in the final quarter.
"We certainly played our part fully in a great contest," said coach Jon Sharp. "We performed really well and challenged the form team in Super League. I'm extremely disappointed that we didn't come away with the win.
"With 25 minutes left, we had three changes left. We just ran out of numbers but I thought over 80 minutes we just about edged it."
Sharp, who is assistant to Noble with Great Britain, believes that Crabtree enhanced his claims for a place in the final squad to face Australia and New Zealand in the end-of-season internationals.
"His form today in front of the Great Britain coach hasn't done him any harm," said Sharp. "I thought he was very strong in the tackle and defensively he came up with some really good shots as well."
Bradford lost full-back Michael Withers at half-time with sore ribs but expect him to be available for next week's final League game at St Helens.
superleague.co.uk
