BULLS WOMEN BATTLE IN DERBY DEFEAT

BRADFORD Bulls Women produced a battling display on Sunday against Leeds Rhinos Women - falling to a 42-10 defeat at the Mobile Rocket Stadium.

The Rhinos started the stronger of the two sides and took an early lead - with Bradford's woes compounded following the loss of Hannah Donald to injury. 

Mark Seal's side battled back into the contest however and levelled the scores when Stacey Greenwood's kick caused confusion on Leeds' left edge, with Danielle Bose latching onto the ball to score in the corner. 

The 2019 Super League and Challenge Cup winners restored their advantage soon after with Fran Goldthorp racing through a gap in the Bradford defence to touch down under the posts. 

With the half time hooter approaching, Leeds went over again when a looping pass cut out two Bradford defenders on the right edge. 

The first score of the second half went the way of the Rhinos as Caitin Beevers collected a kick and raced clear from 90 metres. 

Beevers went over again on Leeds' next set, this time breaking from halfway to score.

Sophie Robinson was next to score despite some strong Bradford defence keeping Leeds at bay for a period of pressure. 

The Bulls refused to lie down and battled back into the contest after a sustained spell on the Leeds line. 

Captain Grace Ramsden's kick ricocheted off the posts with Codie Slack the quickest to react for Bradford's second score. 

Leeds scored next to take the game out of Bradford's reach with Ellena Powell diving over in the corner. 

With seconds left of the game, Zoe Hornby broke to touch down to give the scoreboard a one-sided feel despite a promising Bradford performance.