Warrington scrape past Bradford Bulls to keep pressure on Wigan

Warrington maintained the pressure on Wigan at the top of the Super League despite an admirable effort from the injury-hit Bradford Bulls at Odsal last night. Bradford were far more competitive than in recent weeks but two tries each for Chris Riley and Mickey Higham secured a victory that lifted the Wolves to within two points of Wigan, before the leaders' home derby against the third-placed St Helens this evening. "We were way off our best," said Higham, who sneaked over for each of his tries from acting half. Bradford had fallen 10-0 behind inside 13 minutes and trailed 22-10 at half-time. However, two tries in six minutes early in the second half, from Dave Halley and the Australian veteran Steve Menzies, brought them level, and it took an imaginative kick by Warrington's old head, Lee Briers, to set up a second try for Riley that re-established a 28-22 lead. Ryan Atkins then supported Simon Grix's break for a long-range score but even then Brett Kearney brought Bradford back within striking range. Higham's second try, in the 73rd minute, made the game safe. Briers ended with 16 points after converting six of Warrington's seven tries and collecting a delightful offload by the former Bradford forward David Solomona to touch down himself. Wakefield Trinity were unable to arrest their summer slump against the bottom club, Catalans Dragons, going down 30-23 in Perpignan after leading 18-4 late in the first half. Clint Greenshields made a try-scoring return from a long-term injury absence for the Dragons, condemning Trinity to a ninth defeat in 10 matches amid growing speculation that their coach, John Kear, will join the French club next season.