2003 Bradford Bulls season

This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 2003 season, the 8th season of the Super League era.

Season review

February 2003

The season started off well for the Bulls as they beat Warrington Wolves 38–12 in the 4th Round of the Challenge Cup. Bradford's start to the league campaign was shocking as they were hammered 46–22 by the 2002 champions St Helens RLFC.

March 2003

Bradford continued their run in the Challenge Cup with an 82–0 victory over lower league Hunslet Hawks with Lesley Vainikolo grabbing a hat-trick. The Bulls got their 1st win of their league campaign with a hard fought 22–10 win against Wakefield Wildcats. Bradford progressed to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup by beating Widnes Vikings 38–28 in the quarter-final. The Bulls got their first back to back wins of the season with an outstanding 62–22 victory against Halifax Blue Sox, both James Lowes and Robbie Paul both grabbed hat-tricks. Bradford finished the month off with a hard fought 26–18 win against Widnes Vikings.

April 2003

The Bulls continued their run of form by opening April with a comfortable 32–8 win over Warrington Wolves. Bradford progressed to the Challenge Cup final as they beat Wigan Warriors 36–22 in the semi-final. The Bulls great league form continued with a 48–24 win over Hull FC. Bradford's month came to a spectacular end as they beat rivals Leeds Rhinos 22–20 to win the Challenge Cup. Tries from Robbie Paul, Jamie Peacock and Tevita Vaikona helped the Bulls win their 2nd Challenge Cup in the Super League era.

May 2003

The Bulls followed their Challenge Cup win with a hard fought 14–8 win against Wigan Warriors. The Bulls good form continued with a hard fought 30–10 win against Castleford Tigers which was made even harder when Leon Pryce was sent off. Bradford recorded a huge win as they beat Huddersfield Giants 52–6 with Robbie Paul scoring a hat-trick. The Bulls finished May with an impressive 48–22 win against arch rivals Leeds Rhinos.

June 2003

Bradford started June with an unfortunate 22–12 loss to London Broncos with Dennis Moran tearing the Bulls apart and scoring a hat-trick. The Bulls got back to winning ways as they edged out Hull FC to win the game 26–20. Bradford once again came away with the 2 points as they beat Warrington Wolves 24–20. The Bulls came crashing back to earth as Wigan Warriors beat them 35–22. Bradford then were demolished 35–0 by St Helens RLFC at the end of the month.

July 2003

The Bulls started July with a 30–18 win against Wakefield Wildcats to get the Bulls back to winning ways. Bradford backed this win up with a 60–12 victory over Halifax Blue Sox. The Bulls continued their fine form with a 40–8 win against Widnes Vikings. The streak continued with a 40–20 win over Castleford Tigers and then a 60–6 win against London Broncos where Leon Pryce scored 4 tries.

August 2003

Bradford continued their form into August as they beat Huddersfield Giants 30–16 and then followed this up by beating Leeds Rhinos 18–16 at Headingley Stadium. The Bulls also beat Hull FC 36–22 in the middle of the month before losing 26–12 to Wigan Warriors. Bradford bounced back and hammered London Broncos 54–12 with Paul Deacon becoming the highest point scorer for the Bulls in the Super League era as he booted over his 400th goal for the club.

September 2003

Bradford started September with a very narrow 22–21 win against arch rivals Leeds Rhinos, the Bulls won thanks to 2 drop goals from scum-half Paul Deacon. In the run up to the end of the season Bradford lost 28–14 to Castleford Tigers. The Bulls finished the regular rounds with a 22–18 win over St Helens RLFC which meant that Bradford finished top of the league ahead of Leeds Rhinos.

October 2003

The Bulls beat arch rivals Leeds Rhinos 30–14 in the Qualifying Semi-final to reach the 2003 Grand Final, in the process Paul Deacon became the first person to score 1,000 points for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League era. A couple of weeks later the Bulls would once again face Wigan Warriors in a Grand Final, the Bradford side won 25–12 after Shontayne Hape, Stuart Reardon and James Lowes (in his last game for the Bulls) all scored tries whilst Paul Deacon kicked 6 goals and a drop goal to make the Bulls Super League champions for a 3rd time.

2003 milestones

• CCR4: Shontayne Hape scored his 1st try for the Bulls.
• CCR4: Leon Pryce scored his 50th try and reached 200 points for the Bulls.
• CCR5: Lesley Vainikolo scored his 1st hat-trick for the Bulls.
• CCR5: Karl Pratt and Rob Parker scored their 1st tries for the Bulls.
• Round 2: Lee Radford kicked his 1st goal for the Bulls.
• Round 3: James Lowes scored his 1st hat-trick for the Bulls.
• Round 3: Robbie Paul scored his 7th hat-trick for the Bulls.
• Round 3: Stuart Reardon scored his 1st try for the Bulls.
• Round 3: Paul Deacon reached 700 points for the Bulls.
• CCSF: Paul Deacon kicked his 300th goal for the Bulls.
• Round 10: Robbie Paul scored his 8th hat-trick for the Bulls.
• Round 10: Paul Deacon reached 800 points for the Bulls.
• Round 11: Daniel Gartner scored his 25th try and reached 100 points for the Bulls.
• Round 15: Robbie Paul scored his 125th try and reached 500 points for the Bulls.
• Round 18: Lesley Vainikolo scored his 25th try and reached 100 points for the Bulls.
• Round 20: Paul Deacon reached 900 points for the Bulls.
• Round 7: Leon Pryce scored his 1st four-try haul and 2nd hat-trick for the Bulls.
• Round 7: Jamie Langley scored his 1st try for the Bulls.
• Round 23: Lesley Vainikolo scored his 2nd hat-trick for the Bulls.
• Round 25: James Lowes reached 400 points for the Bulls.
• Round 25: Paul Deacon kicked his 400th goal for the Bulls.
• Qualifying Semi-final: Paul Deacon reached 1,000 points for the Bulls.

Table

Super League VIII
	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Bradford Bulls	28	22	0	6	878	529	+349	44
2	Leeds Rhinos	28	19	3	6	751	555	+196	41
3	Wigan Warriors	28	19	2	7	776	512	+264	40
4	St. Helens	28	16	1	11	845	535	+310	31a[›]
5	London Broncos	28	14	2	12	643	696	−53	30
6	Warrington Wolves	28	14	1	13	748	619	+129	29
7	Hull	28	13	3	12	701	577	+124	27b[›]
8	Castleford Tigers	28	12	1	15	612	633	−21	25
9	Widnes Vikings	28	12	1	15	640	727	−87	25
10	Huddersfield Giants	28	11	1	16	628	715	−87	23
11	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	28	7	1	20	505	774	−269	15
12	Halifax	28	1	0	27	372	1227	−875	0c[›]

Notes

^ a: St Helens deducted two points for salary cap breaches
^ b: Hull F.C. deducted two points for salary cap breaches
^ c: Halifax deducted two points for salary cap breaches

2003 Fixtures and results

2003 Tetley's Super League

Date	Competition	Rnd	Vrs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att
21 February 2003	Super League VIII	1	St Helens	A	Knowsley Road	L	22–46	L.Pryce (2), Radford	Deacon 5/5	12,217
9 March 2003	Super League VIII	2	Wakefield	H	Odsal Stadium	W	22–10	Gilmour, Hape, Pratt, L.Pryce	Radford 3/4	20,283
23 March 2003	Super League VIII	3	Halifax	H	Odsal Stadium	W	62–22	Lowes (3), Paul (3), Deacon, Hape, Pratt, L.Pryce, Reardon	Deacon 7/9, Lowes 2/2	15,557
30 March 2003	Super League VIII	4	Widnes	A	Halton Stadium	W	26–18	Anderson, Naylor, Paul, Withers	Deacon 5/5	6,320
6 April 2003	Super League VIII	5	Warrington	H	Odsal Stadium	W	32–8	Deacon, Lowes, L.Pryce, Vaikona, Vainikolo, Withers	Deacon 4/6	15,540
18 April 2003	Super League VIII	6	Hull FC	H	Odsal Stadium	W	48–24	Pratt (2), L.Pryce (2), Hape, Lowes, Vaikona, Vainikolo	Deacon 8/8	15,182
2 May 2003	Super League VIII	8	Wigan	A	JJB Stadium	W	14–8	L.Pryce (2), Vainikolo	Deacon 1/3	10,281
11 May 2003	Super League VIII	9	Castleford	H	Odsal Stadium	W	30–10	Vaikona (2), Deacon, Vagana	Deacon 7/7	14,749
18 May 2003	Super League VIII	10	Huddersfield	A	McAlpine Stadium	W	52–6	Paul (3), Vaikona (2), Naylor, Peacock, Pratt, Vainikolo	Deacon 3/4, Radford 5/5	8,297
23 May 2003	Super League VIII	11	Leeds	H	Odsal Stadium	W	48–22	Vaikona (2), Vainikolo (2), Anderson, Gartner, Paul, Pratt	Deacon 8/8	21,784
1 June 2003	Super League VIII	12	London	H	Odsal Stadium	L	12–22	Naylor, Parker	Deacon 2/2	10,835
8 June 2003	Super League VIII	13	Hull FC	A	KC Stadium	W	26–20	Hape, Pratt, Vainikolo	Deacon 7/7	19,549
15 June 2003	Super League VIII	14	Warrington	A	Wilderspool	W	24–20	Forshaw, Gartner, Naylor, Paul	Deacon 4/4	7,507
21 June 2003	Super League VIII	15	Wigan	H	Odsal Stadium	L	22–35	Deacon, Gartner, Paul, Vagana	Deacon 3/4	15,732
27 June 2003	Super League VIII	16	St Helens	H	Odsal Stadium	L	0–35	–	–	11,127
6 July 2003	Super League VIII	17	Wakefield	A	Belle Vue	W	30–18	Hape (2), Gartner, Lowes, Vagana, Vaikona	Deacon 3/6	4,658
11 July 2003	Super League VIII	18	Halifax	A	The Shay	W	60–12	Gartner (2), Parker (2), Vainikolo (2), Anderson, Deacon, Hape, Naylor, Radford	Deacon 8/11	4,555
20 July 2003	Super League VIII	19	Widnes	H	Odsal Stadium	W	40–8	Radford (2), Vainikolo (2), Hape, Reardon, Vaikona	Deacon 6/7	12,116
27 July 2003	Super League VIII	20	Castleford	A	The Jungle	W	40–20	Deacon, Gartner, Gilmour, Naylor, L.Pryce, Radford, Vaikona	Deacon 6/7	9,081
30 July 2003	Super League VIII	7	London	A	Griffin Park	W	60–6	L.Pryce (4), Vainikolo (2), Anderson, Langley, Lowes, Naylor, Vaikona	Deacon 8/11	3,651
3 August 2003	Super League VIII	21	Huddersfield	H	Odsal Stadium	W	30–16	Deacon (2), Radford, Reardon, Vainikolo	Deacon 5/5	11,368
8 August 2003	Super League VIII	22	Leeds	A	Headingley Stadium	W	18–16	Forshaw, Parker, Vainikolo	Deacon 3/3	23,035
16 August 2003	Super League VIII	23	Hull FC	H	Odsal Stadium	W	36–22	Vainikolo (3), Gilmour (2), Anderson, Langley	Radford 4/7	10,478
25 August 2003	Super League VIII	24	Wigan	A	JJB Stadium	L	12–26	Vagana, Vaikona	Deacon 2/2	14,714
31 August 2003	Super League VIII	25	London	A	Griffin Park	W	54–12	Peacock (2), Vaikona (2), Hape, Lowes, Parker, Radford, Vagana	Deacon 9/9	3,510
7 September 2003	Super League VIII	26	Leeds	H	Odsal Stadium	W	22–21	Deacon, Reardon, Vainikolo	Deacon 4/4, Deacon 2 DG	21,102
14 September 2003	Super League VIII	27	Castleford	H	Odsal Stadium	L	14–28	Hape, L.Pryce	Deacon 3/3	13,628
19 September 2003	Super League VIII	28	St Helens	A	Knowsley Road	W	22–18	Hape, L.Pryce, Vaikona, Vainikolo	Deacon 3/4	8,432

Challenge Cup

Date	Competition	Rnd	Vrs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att
8 February 2003	Cup	4th	Warrington	A	Wilderspool	W	38–12	Vainikolo (2), Hape, Naylor, Paul, L.Pryce	Deacon 7/7	5,869
2 March 2003	Cup	5th	Hunslet	A	South Leeds Stadium	W	82–0	Vainikolo (3), Pratt (2), L.Pryce (2), Vaikona (2), Fielden, Gartner, Gilmour, Hape, Parker, Radford	Deacon 11/15	5,685
15 March 2003	Cup	QF	Widnes	A	Halton Stadium	W	38–28	Forshaw (2), Hape, Naylor, Paul, L.Pryce	Deacon 7/7	4,219
13 April 2003	Cup	SF	Wigan	N	McAlpine Stadium	W	36–22	Radford (2), Deacon, Hape, Lowes, Vaikona	Deacon 6/6	15,359
26 April 2003	Cup	Final	Leeds	N	Millennium Stadium	W	22–20	Paul, Peacock, Vaikona	Deacon 5/5	71,212

Playoffs

Date	Competition	Rnd	Vrs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att
4 October 2003	Play-offs	QSF	Leeds	H	Odsal Stadium	W	30–14	Forshaw (2), L.Pryce, Vainikolo	Deacon 7/7	19,786
18 October 2003	Play-offs	GF	Wigan	N	Old Trafford	W	25–12	Hape, Lowes, Reardon	Deacon 6/6, Deacon 1 DG	65,537

2003 squad statistics

• Appearances and Points include (Super League,Challenge Cup and Play-offs) as of 2012.

= Captain = Injured = Suspended

References

External links

• Bradford Bulls Website
• Bradford Bulls in T&A
• Bradford Bulls on Sky Sports
• Bradford on Super League Site
• Red,Black And Amber
• BBC Sport-Rugby League