Blake Scores Twice As Bradford Beat Catalans
20 February 2026
Bradford (24) 28
Tries: Ackers, Blake (2 ), Aekins Goals: Milnes (6 )
Catalans (0) 10
Tries: Faataape, Sexton Goals: Sexton
Bradford Bulls marked their first Super League home match for 12 years with an emphatic 28-10 win over Catalans Dragons.
Converted attempts from Andy Ackers, Waqa Blake and Caleb Aekins were included to by three charge objectives by Rowan Milnes for a 24-0 lead at half-time.
Quickfire ratings from Solomona Faataape and Toby Sexton threatened a spectacular Dragons resurgence in the second half.
But Blake scored once again to secure a well-known win for the Bulls at Odsal Stadium.
Bradford took an early lead through Ackers, who weaved previously powering over the line from close quarters after Joe Mellor kept the relocation alive.
Milnes kicked two penalties from under the sticks inside 22 minutes, penalizing a string of mistakes by the Dragons.
The visitors were denied by a no-try call when Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui thought he had actually scored on the line, but the video referee maintained the decision, ruling that he had not touched the ball down.
It proved to be a key minute as Milnes included a 3rd charge goal before Blake raced away after a speedy group relocation from right to left to score the Bulls' second try.
Aekins then darted through a gap left by the Catalans' front row for a third shot.
Three minutes after the break, the Dragons were offered a gift when Ethan Ryan's loose pass was pounced on by Faataape, who could not believe his luck as he ran in to score.
The momentum was with the visitors, and another Bradford mistake, this time from Aekins, was punished as Sexton went over, however his conversion attempt went large to leave the deficit at 14 points.
Ryan practically made amends for his mistake by catching a long Milnes kick inside the Catalans' half before Marsters away, however the video referee disallowed the shot, ruling that Ryan had been tackled throughout the play.
Blake added his 2nd shot moments later after Ryan combined with Milnes to cap a remarkable triumph.
Bradford progress pleases Haggerty - reaction
Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty informed BBC Radio Leeds:
"I really took pleasure in the very first half. I actually took pleasure in parts of the 2nd half, particularly defensively.
"We were really sloppy with the ball in the 2nd half, however I liked how we turned Catalans away. We demonstrated how fit we are ... and how far we have actually been available in a brief space of time.
"The belief of the group is really important, we've got another hard video game [meeting Toulouse], it's week to week this. You can't simply peak due to the fact that we have actually got a good crowd at Odsal.
"We'll definitely won't be pleased, we'll attend to the 2nd half, we'll fix it."
Bradford: Aekins; Wynne, Marsters, Blake, Ryan; Hooley, Milnes; Sutton, Ackers, Lewis, Chamberlain, Fulton, Mellor.
Interchanges: Souter, Scurr, Doro, Peposhi.
Catalans: Staines; Makinson, Cotric, Faataape, Simm; Sexton, Dodd; Satae, Da Costa, Navarrete, Lipowicz, Condon, Leeming.
Interchanges: Fa'asuamaleaui, Allen, Lis, Chan.
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