Bulls' stampede stopped by sizzling Saints' super show SIMPLY breathtaking! That was superb seven-try Saints as they tethered stampeding league leaders Bulls in this heart-stopping four-pointer on Saturday night. It ranked among the code's greatest games and the video will prove a best-seller at Knowsley Road after 80 pulsating minutes which exhausted superlatives, with epic and classic regularly bandied about.

Injury-hit Saints made light of the absence of dynamic half-back pair Tommy Martyn and Sean Long with 18-point Paul Sculthorpe and Paul Wellens stepping into the breach magnificently, while every other player gave his all in the cause of a famous victory.

Faced with such adversity, it was a very special night for Chris Joynt's squad, who fully lived up to their World Club Champions tag and reputation as entertainers supreme, with some riveting rugby highlighted by brilliant handling and running.

Barnstorming Bradford contributed in considerable measure to an awesome confrontation where not one illegal blow was struck in anger and which -- at the risk of a cliche -- was a compelling story of contrasting halves.

For, with the wind at their backs, Saints led 28-10 at the interval, only for the enraged Bulls to rally in miraculous manner by scoring 16 unanswered points in as many minutes, leaving the issue in doubt until the closing stages.

Dwelling on personal heriocs might seem foolish given such unity from Saints, but youngsters Tony Stewart earned the Airtec sponsor's award and Tim Jonkers pocketed the Tissot watch from Sky Television, while Mark Edmondson and Steve Hall also confirmed their undoubted promise.

Add to this the tackling of Sonny Nickle; the sheer graft of Keiron Cunningham; David Fairleigh, Peter Shiels and Joynt; the timely interventions of Sean Hoppe and Kevin Iro; the strong running of Paul Newlove and Anthony Sullivan, I could go on...

Conditions were blustery at kick-off, and it was Bradford who grabbed the initiative when a long pass from James Lowes sent Tevita Vaikona over after Sullivan had been caught out of position. Henry Paul hit the post with the conversion.

Shell-shocked Saints response was immediate as Sculthorpe and Stewart carved out an opening for Joynt to cross the Bulls' line, but Scully was off-target with the goal-kick before suffering the same fate with a penalty after Brian McDermott fouled Fairleigh.

Robbie Paul's shrewd pass made a try for Lee Gilmour, with Henry Paul tacking on the goal, prior to Scott Naylor being sin-binned for dissent.

And it was all square again when Shiels' sleight-of-hand put Nickle over with Sculthorpe converting.

Three pre-interval tries in 11 minutes gave Saints what appeared to be a stranglehold.

These came from Sculthorpe after a convincing dummy; Stewart, following a field-length move involving Iro and Newlove, and a second from Joynt with Sculthorpe and Stewart laying the foundation.

However, Saints were rocked back on their heels when a Bulls side, now with the wind in their favour, hit back in similar fashion with a trio of touchdowns from Robbie Paul (2) and Jamie Peacock, plus two further goals from Henry Paul.

It added up to a nerve-jangling final quarter as Saints clung to a 28-26 lead with great tackles from Sullivan on Graham Mackay and Newlove on Henry Paul saving Saints.

Cometh the hour cometh the man and Sculthorpe plunged over for a six-pointer after Iro, Hall and Cunningham made the running.

Hooker extraordinary Cunningham - is there any limit to his talents? - then outpaced the Bradford cover over 40 yards before being overhauled by Leon Pryce.

The damage had been done, however, as the ever-alert Shiels picked his spot to score his first try for Saints.

Coach Ian Millward was remarkably downbeat in saying that it was "just another game" for Saints with no trophies being handed out, while opposite number Brian Noble believed Bulls effectively lost the game in the ten minutes before half-time, but was generous in his praise of Joynt's men.

One conclusion can certainly be drawn after such a compelling encounter and that is, as well as Saints, the Rugby League code was also a winner.

The hope must be that it results in increased attendances at Knowsley Road, with a good proportion of Saturday's 10,000-plus crowd having trekked from Bradford. How they lined-up Saints: Stewart; Hoppe, Iro, Newlove, Sullivan; Sculthorpe, Wellens; Nickle, Cunningham, Fairleigh, Shiels, Joynt, Jonkers. Substitutes: Edmondson for Nickle (26), Hall for Joynt (58), Nickle for Fairleigh (34), Fairleigh for Edmondson (49), Edmondson for Nickle (68) Joynt for Edmondson (78). Higham and Cruckshank not used.

Bradford Bulls: Withers; Vaikona, Naylor, Gilmour, Pryce; H. Paul, R. Paul; Vagana, Lowes, McDermott, Peacock, Gartner, Forshaw. Substitutes: Anderson for Vagana, Fielden for McDermott (20), Mackay for Naylor (49), Vagana for Anderson (62).

Referee: Robert Connolly. Attendance: 10,428.