Brave effort fails to halt rampant Bulls!

Aug 4 2003 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Bradford Bulls 30 - 16 Giants. Battered squad win proud salute from Smith

PROUD Giants coach Tony Smith has heaped massive praise on his players for their heroic efforts against leaders Bradford Bulls.

His patched-up Huddersfield side may not have left Odsal with another major scalp in the bag, having lost 30-16.

But Smith was able to put the disappointment of defeat to one side to acknowledge the brave effort of his players against the in-form Bulls who were 30-6 up at half-time..

And quite right, too.

After all, the Giants' boss was forced to send a battered squad into battle lacking the likes of inspirational trio Jamie Bloem, Paul Reilly and Marcus St Hilaire, while several others were forced to take the field still nursing injuries.

For instance, it was questionable whether Steve McNamara or Jarrod O'Doherty should have played when they were still struggling with calf muscle and sternum injuries respectively.

To make matters worse, three other players had been forced to leave the field before half-time with injuries which ruled them out for the remainder of the contest.

The most serious was Jonathan Grayshon with a suspected broken ankle, while Paul March (ribs) and Iain Morrison (concussion), also had to be withdrawn.

This meant the Giants had to play the final 21 minutes without the luxury of any substitutes, and at one stage were down to 12 men as Ben Roarty received treatment for a head wound.

It was, therefore, no wonder that Smith was struggling to contain his delight that his wounded warriors were able to prevent the Bulls from scoring at Odsal for the entire second half.