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1998 Bradford Bulls season

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1998 Bradford Bulls season
Super League III Rank5th
Play-off resultElimination Play-off
Challenge Cup5th Round
1998 recordWins: 13; draws: 0; losses: 13
Points scoredFor: 591; against: 540
Team information
ChairmanChris Caisley
Head CoachMatthew Elliot
Captain
StadiumOdsal Stadium
Avg. attendance13,026
High attendance19,188 vs. Leeds Rhinos
Top scorers
TriesTevita Vaikona (13)
GoalsSteve McNamara (81)
PointsSteve McNamara (170)
← 1997 List of seasons 1999 →

This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 1998 season, the 3rd season of the Super League era.

Season review

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February 1998

The 1998 season started off with a 48–10 win over Rochdale Hornets in the Challenge Cup 4th Round, it was in this game that Wigan Warriors legend Shaun Edwards made his try scoring debut with the Bulls. However soon they were knocked out of the Cup for the 1st time before the final since the Super League started. It was Castleford Tigers who scored late in the game to beat Bradford 26–21.

April 1998

Bradford started off their league hopes with a 38–6 win against newly promoted Huddersfield Giants. However they were brought down to earth when they lost 26–6 to arch-rivals Leeds Rhinos after a sublime display from fullback Iestyn Harris. Bradford were soon back winning points as they ground out a hard-fought 11–4 win against Sheffield Eagles. The Bulls managed to get their 1st back to back wins of the season as they struggled against Hull Sharks but just about scraped a 26–24 win.

May 1998

The Bulls won their next game 18–4 against St. Helens however the week after Halifax Blue Sox beat Bradford 21–16 in a thrilling encounter. Bradford bounced back though by stuffing Castleford Tigers 52–10 and then dispatched of London Broncos 17–14.

June 1998

June started off poor for the Bulls as they lost 28–10 to Warrington Wolves after Graeme Bradley was sent off. Bradford also lost to eventual champions Wigan Warriors 28–12. The Bulls bad run continued with a shock 11–10 loss to Salford City Reds with Paul Medley scoring Bradford's only try. Bradford got back to winning ways with a comprehensive 36–10 victory over Huddersfield Giants.

July 1998

Bradford got off to a great start in July as they beat arch-rivals Leeds Rhinos 33–22 at Headingley. The Bulls travelled to Tynecastle Stadium to play London Broncos in an attempt to spread rugby league into Scotland, the Bulls lost to London 22–8 with ex Bulls player Shaun Edwards pulling the strings for the Broncos.

August 1998

Sheffield Eagles added to the Bulls misery when they beat Bradford 38–18 to kick off August, however it wasn't long before the Bulls won again as they beat Hull Sharks 38–18 with Tevita Vaikona scoring 2 tries against his former side. Bradford were brought back to earth with a 33–25 defeat at St. Helens, a late Tommy Martyn try and a Sean Long drop goal won it for the Saints. Halifax Blue Sox continued their fine run of form by beating the Bulls 25–12 at The Shay. The final game in August saw the Bulls beat Castleford Tigers 24–8 to get back to winning ways.

September 1998

The month didn't start well for Bradford as they received a 34–8 hammering by London Broncos. The Bulls responded to this defeat by beating Warrington Wolves 36–8 at Odsal Stadium. The final two games saw contrasting results, the 1st saw the Bulls get hammered by Wigan Warriors 38–4 and the 2nd saw them destroy Salford City Reds 40–18 in the final league game of the year.

October 1998

The Bulls crashed out of the playoffs when they lost 46–24 to St. Helens at Knowsley Road.

1998 milestones

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Table

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Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Wigan Warriors 23 21 0 2 762 222 +540 42
2 Leeds Rhinos 23 19 0 4 662 369 +293 38
3 Halifax Blue Sox 23 18 0 5 658 390 +268 36
4 St. Helens 23 14 1 8 673 459 +214 29
5 Bradford Bulls 23 12 0 11 498 450 +48 24
6 Castleford Tigers 23 10 1 12 446 522 −76 21
7 London Broncos 23 10 0 13 415 476 −61 20
8 Sheffield Eagles 23 8 2 13 495 541 −46 18
9 Hull Sharks 23 8 0 15 421 574 −153 16
10 Warrington Wolves 23 7 1 15 411 645 −234 15
11 Salford City Reds 23 6 1 16 319 575 −256 13
12 Huddersfield Giants 23 2 0 21 288 825 −537 4
Play-offs

1998 fixtures and results

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LEGEND
  Win
  Draw
  Loss

1998 JJB Sports Super League

Date Competition Rnd Vrs H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Att
3 April 1998 Super League III 1 Huddersfield Giants A McAlpine Stadium W 38–6 Vaikona (2), Bradley, Edwards, Forshaw, Peacock, Spruce McNamara 5/7 12,417
12 April 1998 Super League III 2 Leeds Rhinos H Odsal Stadium L 6–26 Calland McNamara 1/2 19,188
17 April 1998 Super League III 3 Sheffield Eagles A Don Valley Stadium W 11–4 Edwards, Spruce McNamara 1/2, Graham 1 DG 6,200
26 April 1998 Super League III 4 Hull Sharks A The Boulevard W 26–24 Calland (2), Peacock (2), Vaikona McNamara 3/5 9,447
10 May 1998 Super League III 5 St. Helens H Odsal Stadium W 18–4 Lowes, McDermott, Vaikona McNamara 3/3 14,091
17 May 1998 Super League III 6 Halifax Blue Sox H Odsal Stadium L 16–21 Paul (2), Vaikona McNamara 2/3 16,337
22 May 1998 Super League III 7 Castleford Tigers A The Jungle W 52–10 Paul (3), Edwards (2), McDermott (2), Donougher, Peacock, Vaikona McNamara 6/10 8,043
29 May 1998 Super League III 8 London Broncos H Odsal Stadium W 17–14 Bradley, Lowes, McDermott McNamara 2/3, McNamara 1 DG 11,893
7 June 1998 Super League III 9 Warrington Wolves A Wilderspool Stadium L 10–28 Calland, Vaikona McNamara 1/2 6,054
12 June 1998 Super League III 10 Wigan Warriors H Odsal Stadium L 12–28 McDermott, Vaikona McNamara 2/2 14,103
21 June 1998 Super League III 11 Salford City Reds A The Willows L 10–11 Medley McNamara 3/3 6,319
28 June 1998 Super League III 12 Huddersfield Giants H Odsal Stadium W 36–10 Bradley (2), Deacon, Forshaw, Lowes, Spruce McNamara 5/5, Deacon 1/1 12,024
3 July 1998 Super League III 13 Leeds Rhinos A Headingley Stadium W 33–22 Forshaw (2), Calland, Paul, Scales McNamara 6/6, McNamara 1 DG 16,824
18 July 1998 Super League III 14 London Broncos N Tynecastle Stadium L 8–22 Bradley, Scales McNamara 0/2 6,863
2 August 1998 Super League III 15 Sheffield Eagles H Odsal Stadium L 18–38 Bradley (2), Lowes McNamara 3/3 11,493
9 August 1998 Super League III 16 Hull Sharks H Odsal Stadium W 38–18 Vaikona (2), Forshaw, McAvoy, Paul, Scales McNamara 7/7 11,294
16 August 1998 Super League III 17 St. Helens A Knowsley Road L 25–33 Vaikona (2), Bradley, Spruce McNamara 4/4, McNamara 1 DG 6,955
23 August 1998 Super League III 18 Halifax Blue Sox A The Shay L 12–25 Deacon, McDermott McNamara 2/2 7,566
31 August 1998 Super League III 19 Castleford Tigers H Odsal Stadium W 24–8 Lowes, Scales, Spruce McNamara 6/6 10,946
6 September 1998 Super League III 20 London Broncos A The Stoop L 8–34 Bradley McNamara 2/2 4,562
13 September 1998 Super League III 21 Warrington Wolves H Odsal Stadium W 36–8 Lowes (2), Bradley, Ekoku, Paul, Spruce McNamara 4/4, Deacon 2/2 10,815
20 September 1998 Super League III 22 Wigan Warriors A Central Park L 4–38 Ekoku McNamara 0/1 11,181
27 September 1998 Super League III 23 Salford City Reds H Odsal Stadium W 40–18 Deacon (2), Bradley, Harmon, Howard, McNamara, Paul McNamara 5/6, Deacon 1/1 11,102

Challenge Cup

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LEGEND
  Win
  Draw
  Loss
Date Competition Rnd Vrs H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Att
15 February 1998 Cup 4th Rochdale Hornets A Spotland Stadium W 48–10 Forshaw (2), Calland, Edwards, Jowitt, Lowes, Paul, Spruce, Vaikona Lowes 3/5, McNamara 3/4 5,466
28 February 1998 Cup 5th Castleford Tigers A The Jungle L 21–26 Calland, Lowes, Peacock, Spruce Lowes 1/2, McNamara 1/2, McNamara 1 DG 10,283

Playoffs

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LEGEND
  Win
  Draw
  Loss
Date Competition Rnd Vrs H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Att
2 October 1998 Play-offs EPO St. Helens A Knowsley Road L 24–46 Donougher (2), Crouthers, Graham McNamara 4/4 8,393

1998 squad statistics

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  • Appearances and points include (Super League, Challenge Cup and Play-offs)
No Player Position Tries Goals DG Points
1 Robbie Paul Fullback 10 0 0 40
2 Tevita Vaikona Wing 13 0 0 52
3 Graeme Bradley Centre 11 0 0 44
4 Abi Ekoku Centre 2 0 0 8
5 Jon Scales Wing 4 0 0 16
6 Danny Peacock Stand Off 5 0 0 20
8 Neil Harmon Prop 1 0 0 4
9 Kevin Crouthers Hooker 1 0 0 4
10 Nathan Graham Fullback 1 0 1 5
11 Jeremy Donougher Second Row 3 0 0 12
12 Paul Medley Second Row 1 0 0 4
13 Sonny Nickle Loose forward 0 0 0 0
14 Mike Forshaw Loose forward 7 0 0 28
15 Paul Anderson Prop 0 0 0 0
16 Warren Jowitt Prop 1 0 0 4
17 Nathan McAvoy Wing 1 0 0 4
19 Harvey Howard Prop 1 0 0 4
20 Matt Calland Centre 7 0 0 28
22 Brian McDermott Prop 6 0 0 24
23 Bernard Dwyer Hooker 0 0 0 0
24 Paul Deacon Scrum-half 4 4 0 24
25 James Lowes Hooker 9 4 0 44
26 Steve McNamara Loose forward 1 81 4 170
27 Tahi Reihana Prop 0 0 0 0
28 Stuart Spruce Fullback 8 0 0 32
29 Stuart Fielden Prop 0 0 0 0
30 Andy Hodgson Centre 0 0 0 0
32 Michael Banks Prop 0 0 0 0
33 Leon Pryce Wing 0 0 0 0
36 Simon Knox Loose forward 0 0 0 0
47 Shaun Edwards Scrum-half 5 0 0 20

References

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