2002 Bradford Bulls season explained

Year:2002
Team Colour:
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Font Colour:
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League:Super League
League Link:Super League VII
League Rank:2nd
League Wins:25
League Draws:0
League Losses:6
Points For:1001
Points Against:603
Playoff Result:Runners Up
Cup:Challenge Cup
Cup Result:4th Round
Cup Wins:0
Cup Losses:1
Ceo Title:Chairman
Ceo:Chris Caisley
Coach Title:Head Coach
Coach:Brian Noble
Stadium:Valley Parade
Avg Attendance:11,542
High Attendance:14,271 vs. St. Helens
Top Tries:Michael Withers (20)
Top Goals:Paul Deacon (155)
Top Points:Paul Deacon (336)
Prev Season:2001
Next Season:2003
List:yes
List Link:List of Bradford Bulls seasons

This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 2002 season, the 7th season of the Super League era.

Season review

February 2002

As Bradford won the 2001 Super League Grand Final they had to play the winners of the 2001 NRL Grand Final. Newcastle Knights beat Parramatta Eels 30–24 and played the Bulls in the 2002 World Club Challenge. Bradford came away with a 41–22 victory over the Australian champions thanks to a Robbie Paul double and 2 tries from Michael Withers. Bradford were knocked out of the Challenge Cup by a Ben Walker inspired Leeds Rhinos. The Bulls succumbed to a 17–4 loss.

March 2002

The Bulls started off their Super League defence with a hard fought 18–4 win over last years runners up Wigan Warriors. Bradford backed this performance up with a 38–12 win over Warrington Wolves. The Bulls continued their good start to the season by beating Widnes Vikings 22–16. Once again the Bulls overcame the challenge set before them as they recorded 4 wins from 4 games by beating Hull F.C. 32–18.

April 2002

Bradford started April with a 44–12 win over Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. New signing Lesley Vainikolo scored 2 tries to help the Bulls to a victory. The Bulls suffered their first league defeat at the hands of London Broncos as they were beaten 15–14. Bradford soon got back to winning ways as they demolished St Helens R.F.C. 54–22 with Tevita Vaikona scoring a hat-trick. They backed up this fine form with a 44–18 win over Salford City Reds.

May 2002

The Bulls started May off with a hard fought 32–8 victory against Castleford Tigers. The good run came to an end at the hands of rivals Leeds Rhinos. The Rhinos beat Bradford 28–20 at Headingley Stadium. Bradford bounced back from this defeat to beat Halifax Blue Sox 46–22. The Bulls finished May with a hard fought 28–26 win against Wigan Warriors.

June 2002

Bradford started June with a great 40–12 victory over the Warrington Wolves. The Bulls continued their good run of form with a 22–12 win against London Broncos. Bradford then demolished Salford City Reds 48–10 to stay top of the league. Their good run came to an end as the Bulls went down 34–26 to St Helens R.F.C. at Knowsley Road.

July 2002

The Bulls got back to winning ways with a 44–6 win against Widnes Vikings. Bradford then followed this win with yet another victory as they beat Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 36–18. The Bulls continued this run of form with a hard fought 25–24 win at Hull F.C. with Michael Withers kicking the decisive drop goal. Bradford finished the month with a 40–18 win against Castleford Tigers.

August 2002

Bradford started August with a bang as they beat local rivals Leeds Rhinos for the first time this year, a Lesley Vainikolo double helped the Bulls to a 46–18 victory at Valley Parade. The Bulls continued this winning streak by beating Halifax Blue Sox 25–8. Bradford's 6 game winning run was brutally ended by St Helens R.F.C. as the Saints smashed the Bulls 50–22. For the first time this season the Bulls lost two games in a row as they went down 44–14 to Castleford Tigers.

September 2002

The Bulls got back to winning ways with a 46–14 win against London Broncos. Bradford backed this up with a 20–18 win against arch-rivals Leeds Rhinos. The Bulls also beat Wigan Warriors 32–14 however due to a lower points difference Bradford slipped down to 2nd in the table behind St Helens R.F.C. with one game to go. The Bulls finished the regular rounds with a 32–18 win over Hull F.C. however the margin of victory was not enough to claim top spot in the league and Bradford finished 2nd, they finished with 46 points (same as St Helens R.F.C.) but Saints had 14 points more in the points difference column.

October 2002

Bradford faced St Helens R.F.C. in the Qualifying Semi-final at Knowsley Road, the Bulls came out on top as they narrowly defeated the Saints 28–26 in a hard fought contest. In the Grand Final the Bulls lost 19–18 to St Helens R.F.C. however the final second of the game is subject to controversy as Saints captain Chris Joynt gave himself up in a voluntary tackle (a penalty should have gone to the Bulls for this action) in a kickable range which would have given Paul Deacon the chance to win the game 20–19.

2002 milestones

World Club Challenge

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Bradford Bulls!width="150"
Newcastle Knights
6. Michael WithersFullback1. Robbie O'Davis
2. Tevita VaikonaWinger2. Joshua Smith
20. Scott NaylorCentre3. Matthew Gidley
14. Lee GilmourCentre4. Mark Hughes
5. Lesley VainikoloWinger5. Kurt Gidley
1. Robbie PaulStand off6. Sean Rudder
7. Paul DeaconScrum half7. Andrew Johns
8. Joe VaganaProp8. Josh Perry
9. James LowesHooker9. Danny Buderus
22. Brian McDermottProp10. Matt Parsons
11. Daniel Gartner2nd Row11. Steve Simpson
12. Jamie Peacock2nd Row12. Daniel Abraham
Loose forward13. Bill Peden
3. Leon PryceInterchange14. Matthew Jobson
10. Paul AndersonInterchange15. Clinton O'Brien
15. Brandon CostinInterchange16. John Morris
29. Stuart FieldenInterchange17. Clint Newton
Brian NobleCoachMichael Hagan

2002 fixtures and results

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2002 Tetley's Super League

DateCompetitionRndVrsH/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAtt
 1 March 2002Super League VII1Wigan WarriorsAJJB StadiumW18–4Forshaw, Gilmour, VaikonaDeacon 3/314,170
 10 March 2002Super League VII2Warrington WolvesHValley ParadeW38–12Anderson, Costin, Gartner, Gilmour, McAvoy, Vaikona, WithersDeacon 5/713,876
 24 March 2002Super League VII3Widnes VikingsAHalton StadiumW22–16Lowes (2), McAvoy, McDermottSykes 3/48,844
 28 March 2002Super League VII4Hull F.C.HValley ParadeW32–18Anderson, Gilmour, McAvoy, Vagana, VaikonaDeacon 6/613,268
 1 April 2002Super League VII5Wakefield Trinity WildcatsABelle VueW44–12McAvoy (2), Naylor (2), Vainikolo (2), Costin, PryceDeacon 6/86,647
 7 April 2002Super League VII6London BroncosAGriffin ParkL14–15Costin (2), VaikonaDeacon 1/34,605
 20 April 2002Super League VII7St. HelensHValley ParadeW54–22Vaikona (3), Fielden, Forshaw, Gilmour, Naylor, Paul, Peacock, VainikoloDeacon 7/1014,271
 29 April 2002Super League VII8Salford City RedsHValley ParadeW44–18Lowes (2), Anderson, McDermott, Naylor, Pryce, RadfordDeacon 8/89,652
 3 May 2002Super League VII9Castleford TigersAThe JungleW32–8McAvoy (2), Gilmour, PeacockDeacon 8/87,416
 10 May 2002Super League VII10Leeds RhinosAHeadingley StadiumL20–28Fielden, Paul, VaikonaDeacon 4/418,305
 17 May 2002Super League VII11Halifax Blue SoxHValley ParadeW46–22Deacon (2), Withers (2), Naylor, Paul, Radford, VaikonaDeacon 7/810,762
 24 May 2002Super League VII12Wigan WarriorsHValley ParadeW28–26Withers (2), McAvoy, Naylor, VaikonaDeacon 4/513,314
 2 June 2002Super League VII13Warrington WolvesAWilderspoolW40–12Vaikona (2), Deacon, Forshaw, Naylor, Paul, WithersDeacon 6/76,619
 7 June 2002Super League VII14London BroncosHValley ParadeW22–12Paul, WithersDeacon 7/79,216
 23 June 2002Super League VII15Salford City RedsAThe WillowsW48–10Gilmour (2), Vaikona (2), Costin, Gartner, Paul, PryceDeacon 8/84,806
 28 June 2002Super League VII16St. HelensAKnowsley RoadL26–34Costin (2), Vaikona, WithersDeacon 5/512,297
 4 July 2002Super League VII17Widnes VikingsHValley ParadeW44–6Lowes (2), Paul (2), Gartner, McDermott, Vainikolo, WithersDeacon 5/7, Withers 1/110,264
 12 July 2002Super League VII18Wakefield Trinity WildcatsHValley ParadeW36–18Forshaw, Gartner, McAvoy, Naylor, Vainikolo, WithersWithers 5/5, Paul 1/18,288
 19 July 2002Super League VII19Hull F.C.AThe BoulevardW25–24Fielden, Paul, PryceDeacon 6/6, Withers 1 DG6,257
 26 July 2002Super League VII20Castleford TigersHValley ParadeW40–18Gilmour, Lowes, McDermott, Naylor, Vaikona, Vainikolo, WithersDeacon 6/79,316
 2 August 2002Super League VII21Leeds RhinosHValley ParadeW46–18Vainikolo (2), Fielden, Gilmour, Lowes, Paul, Vaikona, WithersDeacon 6/7, Withers 1/113,631
 9 August 2002Super League VII22Halifax Blue SoxAThe ShayW25–8Naylor (2), McAvoy, PryceDeacon 4/4, Deacon 1 DG4,170
 16 August 2002Super League VII23St. HelensHValley ParadeL22–50Fielden (2), NaylorDeacon 5/513,948
 25 August 2002Super League VII24Castleford TigersAThe JungleL14–44Deacon, PryceDeacon 2/2, Withers 1/16,697
 1 September 2002Super League VII25London BroncosHValley ParadeW46–14McAvoy (2), Pryce (2), Withers (2), Lowes, VaikonaDeacon 7/88,965
 6 September 2002Super League VII26Leeds RhinosAHeadingley StadiumW20–18Gartner, Paul, Pryce, WithersDeacon 2/415,328
 14 September 2002Super League VII27Wigan WarriorsHValley ParadeW32–14Withers (2), Fielden, VainikoloDeacon 8/812,576
 20 September 2002Super League VII28Hull F.C.AThe BoulevardW32–18McAvoy (2), Deacon, Gartner, Paul, VaikonaDeacon 4/68,630

Challenge Cup

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Playoffs

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DateCompetitionRndVrsH/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAtt
 5 October 2002Play-offsQSFSt. HelensAKnowsley RoadW28–26Costin, Deacon, Forshaw, Gartner, VainikoloDeacon 4/515,100
 19 October 2002Play-offsGFSt. HelensNOld TraffordL18–19Naylor, Paul, WithersDeacon 3/461,138

2002 squad statistics

width=3%Nowidth=47%Playerwidth=15%PositionTriesGoalsDGPoints
1Robbie PaulFullbackalign=centre15align=centre1align=centre0align=centre62
2Tevita VaikonaWingalign=centre19align=centre0align=centre0align=centre76
3Leon PryceCentrealign=centre9align=centre0align=centre0align=centre36
4Nathan McAvoyCentrealign=centre14align=centre0align=centre0align=centre56
5Lesley VainikoloWingalign=centre11align=centre0align=centre0align=centre44
6Michael WithersFullbackalign=centre20align=centre8align=centre1align=centre97
7Paul DeaconScrum-halfalign=centre6align=centre155align=centre2align=centre336
8Joe VaganaPropalign=centre1align=centre0align=centre0align=centre4
9James LowesHookeralign=centre9align=centre0align=centre0align=centre36
10Paul AndersonPropalign=centre3align=centre0align=centre0align=centre12
11Daniel GartnerSecond rowalign=centre9align=centre0align=centre0align=centre36
12Jamie PeacockSecond rowalign=centre2align=centre0align=centre0align=centre8
13Mike ForshawLoose forwardalign=centre5align=centre0align=centre0align=centre20
14Lee GilmourCentrealign=centre9align=centre0align=centre0align=centre36
15Brandon CostinStand offalign=centre8align=centre0align=centre0align=centre32
16Alex WilkinsonWingalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
18Lee RadfordSecond rowalign=centre2align=centre0align=centre0align=centre8
19Jamie LangleyLoose forwardalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
20Scott NaylorCentrealign=centre13align=centre0align=centre0align=centre52
22Brian McDermottPropalign=centre4align=centre0align=centre0align=centre16
26Paul SykesCentrealign=centre0align=centre3align=centre0align=centre6
27Rob ParkerPropalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
29Stuart FieldenPropalign=centre7align=centre0align=centre0align=centre28
30Richard MoorePropalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0

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