2004 Bradford Bulls season explained

Year:2004
Team Colour:
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Font Colour:
  1. f32824
League:Super League
League Link:Super League IX
League Rank:2nd
League Wins:22
League Draws:1
League Losses:8
Points For:984
Points Against:627
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:Odsal Stadium
Avg Attendance:11,459
High Attendance:23,375 vs. Leeds Rhinos
Top Tries:Lesley Vainikolo (39)
Top Goals:Paul Deacon (124)
Top Points:Paul Deacon (282)
Next Season:2005
List:yes
List Link:List of Bradford Bulls seasons

This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 2004 season, the ninth season of the Super League era.

Season review

February 2004

Bradford started the 2004 season off by beating Penrith Panthers 22–4 in the World Club Challenge to become World Champions for the second time. The Bulls start to the regular season rounds could not have been better as Lesley Vainikolo set a Super League record with the most tries in a match scoring five in Bradford's 34–6 win against Wigan Warriors. The Bulls could not retain their Challenge Cup title as they were knocked out in Round 4 as St Helens R.F.C. beat them 30–10.

March 2004

Bradford continued their run of form with a comprehensive 40–6 win against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. The Bulls kept their league winning streak going with a hard fought 20–6 win against Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Giants.

April 2004

The Bulls started April by grinding out a 25–18 win against Salford City Reds. Bradford's first league loss of the season came in Round 5 against arch rivals Leeds Rhinos who came out 26–18 winners. The Bulls picked themselves up after this defeat and hammered St Helens R.F.C. 54–8 with Shontayne Hape scoring a hat-trick. Bradford lost for the second time this season as Hull F.C. beat them 26–18 with Shaun Briscoe scoring four tries for the Hull side. The Bulls finished the month with a 22–22 draw at Warrington Wolves.

May 2004

Bradford started May with a much needed 24–12 win against London Broncos. The Bulls then beat Castleford Tigers 44–18 with Stuart Reardon scoring four tries. Bradford kept their winning run on track with a 30–20 win against Widnes Vikings. The month finished badly for the Bulls as their winning streak was broken in a 35–30 loss to St Helens R.F.C.

June 2004

The start of June was a poor one for Bradford as they lost 26–12 to arch-rivals Leeds Rhinos. Bradford soon got back on track as they beat Salford City Reds 35–28 in a hard fought match. The Bulls also posted an impressive 40–12 win against Huddersfield Giants with Paul Deacon kicking them to victory with 10 goals. Bradford finished the month with a 38–30 win against Widnes Vikings.

July 2004

The Bulls started July well as they smashed Castleford Tigers 60–12 with Lesley Vainikolo stealing the spotlight with four tries, he then scored another two the following week in a 36–26 win against the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. The good start to the month came to an end as the Bulls lost 32–16 to Wigan Warriors. Bradford recovered from this defeat and beat London Broncos 44–16.

August 2004

Bradford's month got off to a bad start as they lost 25–14 to Hull F.C. keeping the Bulls fifth in the table. The Bulls got their season back on track with a hard fought 36–22 win against Warrington Wolves thanks to a Lesley Vainikolo hat-trick. Bradford backed this win up with an outstanding 38–12 win against Wigan Warriors with Iestyn Harris leading the way with two tries and a goal. The Bulls were brought crashing back to earth as league leaders and arch-rivals Leeds Rhinos beat them 40–12, the Bulls were down to 12 men for at least 20 minutes of the match as Leon Pryce received two sin-bins. Bradford finished the month strong as they beat Hull F.C. 26–12, Lesley Vainikolo scored his fourth hat-trick of the year to help the Bulls get the much needed win.

September 2004

The Bulls continued their charge to second in the league as they beat woeful London Broncos 60–18, Shontayne Hape scored a hat-trick, Logan Swann and Rob Parker also scored two tries each to help the Bulls get the win. Bradford continued their winning end to the season with a nail biting 28–27 win against Warrington Wolves where Paul Deacon's two late drop-goals secured the points for the Yorkshire side. The Bulls finished the regular season by thumping St Helens R.F.C. 64–24, both Stuart Reardon and Lesley Vainikolo grabbed hat-tricks whilst Hape scored two tries to help the Bradford team finish the 2004 season second in the league.

October 2004

Bradford qualified for the 2004 Grand Final by defeating arch rivals Leeds Rhinos in the Qualifying Semi-final. The Bulls came out as 26–12 winner thanks to tries from Robbie Paul, Lee Radford, Lesley Vainikolo and a double from Shontayne Hape. However Leeds soon got revenge as they defeated the Bulls 16–8 in the Grand Final.

2004 milestones

World Club Challenge

LEGEND
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Bradford Bulls!width="150"
Penrith Panthers
6. Michael WithersFullback1. Rhys Wesser
2. Tevita VaikonaWinger2. Brett Howland
16. Paul JohnsonCentre3. Luke Lewis
4. Shontayne HapeCentre4. Paul Whatuira
5. Lesley VainikoloWinger5. Luke Rooney
3. Leon PryceStand off6. Preston Campbell
15. Karl PrattScrum half7. Craig Gower
29. Stuart FieldenProp8. Joel Clinton
24. Aaron SmithHooker9. Luke Priddis
10. Paul AndersonProp10. Martin Lang
11. Lee Radford2nd Row11. Joe Galuvao
12. Jamie Peacock2nd Row12. Tony Puletua
Loose forward13. Trent Waterhouse
8. Joe VaganaInterchange14. Ben Ross
17. Stuart ReardonInterchange15. Colin Ward
19. Jamie LangleyInterchange16. Shane Rodney
27. Rob ParkerInterchange17. Luke Swain
Brian NobleCoachJohn Lang

2004 fixtures and results

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2004 Tetley's Super League

DateCompetitionRndVrsH/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAtt
 20 February 2004Super League IX1Wigan WarriorsHOdsal StadiumW34–6Vainikolo (5), Smith, WithersWithers 3/717,267
 7 March 2004Super League IX2Wakefield Trinity WildcatsABelle VueW40–6Deacon 4/86,472
 21 March 2004Super League IX3Huddersfield GiantsAMcAlpine StadiumW20–6Johnson (2), DeaconDeacon 4/48,039
 2 April 2004Super League IX4Salford City RedsHOdsal StadiumW25–18Deacon, Johnson, L.Pryce, VainikoloDeacon 4/4, Withers 1 DG11,790
 8 April 2004Super League IX5Leeds RhinosAHeadingley StadiumL18–26Hape, Vaikona, VainikoloDeacon 3/321,225
 12 April 2004Super League IX6St. HelensHOdsal StadiumW54–8Hape (3), Vaikona (2), Vainikolo (2), Withers (2), Langley, RadfordDeacon 1/5, Withers 3/4, Paul 1/215,623
 23 April 2004Super League IX8Hull F.C.HOdsal StadiumL18–26Deacon, HapeDeacon 5/512,684
 27 April 2004Super League IX7Warrington WolvesAHalliwell Jones StadiumD22–22Withers (2), Smith, VainikoloDeacon 3/48,111
 3 May 2004Super League IX9London BroncosAGriffin ParkW24–12Reardon (2), Deacon, Langley, L.PryceDeacon 2/53,987
 9 May 2004Super League IX10Castleford TigersHOdsal StadiumW44–18Reardon (4), Langley (2), Vainikolo (2)Deacon 6/812,877
 23 May 2004Super League IX11Widnes VikingsAHalton StadiumW30–20L.Pryce (2), Hape, Johnson, SmithDeacon 5/56,615
 29 May 2004Super League IX12St. HelensAKnowsley RoadL30–35Pratt (3), Anderson, ParkerDeacon 5/510,993
 5 June 2004Super League IX13Leeds RhinosHOdsal StadiumL12–26Reardon, VainikoloDeacon 2/223,375
 13 June 2004Super League IX14Salford City RedsAThe WillowsW35–28Johnson (2), Vainikolo (2), Bridge, HapeBridge 4/4, Withers 1/2, Withers 1 DG5,003
 20 June 2004Super League IX15Huddersfield GiantsHOdsal StadiumW40–12Hape (2), Fielden, Reardon, SwannDeacon 10/1011,069
 27 June 2004Super League IX16Widnes VikingsHOdsal StadiumW38–30Paul (2), Pratt (2), Johnson, L.Pryce, SmithDeacon 3/5, Bridge 2/211,137
 4 July 2004Super League IX17Castleford TigersAThe JungleW60–12Vainikolo (4), Hape (2), Deacon, Parker, Peacock, L.PryceDeacon 10/106,606
 11 July 2004Super League IX18Wakefield Trinity WildcatsHOdsal StadiumW36–26Vainikolo (2), Deacon, Parker, Peacock, ReardonDeacon 6/612,670
 16 July 2004Super League IX19Wigan WarriorsAJJB StadiumL16–32Hape, Peacock, SwannDeacon 2/315,102
 25 July 2004Super League IX20London BroncosHOdsal StadiumW44–16Vainikolo (2), Fielden, Langley, Paul, Reardon, Smith, SwannDeacon 4/5, Harris 2/310,283
 1 August 2004Super League IX21Hull F.C.AKC StadiumL14–25Hape, PaulDeacon 3/314,124
 8 August 2004Super League IX22Warrington WolvesHOdsal StadiumW36–22Vainikolo (3), Bridge, Hape, ReardonDeacon 6/612,891
 13 August 2004Super League IX23Wigan WarriorsHOdsal StadiumW38–12Harris (2), Hape, Langley, Paul, L.Pryce, VainikoloDeacon 4/5, Harris 1/212,610
 20 August 2004Super League IX24Leeds RhinosAHeadingley StadiumL12–40Harris, SwannDeacon 2/221,225
 30 August 2004Super League IX25Hull F.C.AKC StadiumW26–12Vainikolo (3), Harris, LangleyDeacon 3/513,593
 5 September 2004Super League IX26London BroncosHOdsal StadiumW60–18Hape (3), Parker (2), Swann (2), Fielden, Vagana, WithersDeacon 10/1011,319
 12 September 2004Super League IX27Warrington WolvesAHalliwell Jones StadiumW28–27Harris (2), Hape, Langley, VainikoloDeacon 3/5, Deacon 2 DG10,008
 19 September 2004Super League IX28St. HelensHOdsal StadiumW64–24Reardon (3), Vainikolo (3), Hape (2), Deacon, Peacock, WithersDeacon 10/1113,127

Challenge Cup

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Playoffs

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DateCompetitionRndVrsH/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAtt
 2 October 2004Play-offsQSFLeeds RhinosAHeadingley StadiumW26–12Hape (2), Paul, Radford, VainikoloDeacon 3/521,225
 16 October 2004Play-offsGFLeeds RhinosNOld TraffordL8–16Hape, VainikoloDeacon 0/265,537

2004 squad statistics

width=3%Nowidth=47%Playerwidth=15%PositionTriesGoalsDGPoints
1Robbie PaulFullbackalign=centre6align=centre1align=centre0align=centre26
2Tevita VaikonaWingalign=centre5align=centre0align=centre0align=centre20
3Leon PryceCentrealign=centre8align=centre0align=centre0align=centre32
4Shontayne HapeCentrealign=centre24align=centre0align=centre0align=centre96
5Lesley VainikoloWingalign=centre39align=centre0align=centre0align=centre156
6Michael WithersFullbackalign=centre7align=centre10align=centre2align=centre50
7Paul DeaconScrum-halfalign=centre8align=centre124align=centre2align=centre282
8Joe VaganaPropalign=centre1align=centre0align=centre0align=centre4
10Paul AndersonPropalign=centre1align=centre0align=centre0align=centre4
11Lee RadfordSecond rowalign=centre3align=centre0align=centre0align=centre12
12Jamie PeacockSecond rowalign=centre4align=centre0align=centre0align=centre16
13Logan SwannLoose forwardalign=centre7align=centre0align=centre0align=centre28
14Toa Kohe-LoveCentrealign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
15Karl PrattStand offalign=centre5align=centre0align=centre0align=centre20
16Paul JohnsonCentrealign=centre8align=centre0align=centre0align=centre32
17Stuart ReardonFullbackalign=centre15align=centre0align=centre0align=centre60
18Iestyn HarrisStand offalign=centre6align=centre3align=centre0align=centre30
19Jamie LangleyLoose forwardalign=centre8align=centre0align=centre0align=centre32
20Matt CookPropalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
22Karl PryceWingalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
23Vinny MylerPropalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
24Aaron SmithHookeralign=centre3align=centre0align=centre0align=centre12
25Brett FerresSecond rowalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
26Chris BridgeCentrealign=centre4align=centre6align=centre0align=centre28
27Rob ParkerPropalign=centre6align=centre0align=centre0align=centre24
28Nicky SaxtonFullbackalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
29Stuart FieldenPropalign=centre3align=centre0align=centre0align=centre12
30Richard MooreWingalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
31Richard ColleyScrum-halfalign=centre0align=centre0align=centre0align=centre0
32Andy SmithWingalign=centre2align=centre0align=centre0align=centre8

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