 Vainikolo has scored 134 tries in 135 appearances for the Bulls |
Bradford: (18) 32
Tries: Vainikolo 3, Morrison, Newton
Goals: Deacon 6
Wigan: (10) 28
Tries:Fletcher, Ashton, Fielden 2, Leuluai
Goals: Richards 4
Bradford's Lesley Vainikolo grabbed a hat-trick to help the Bulls record their third straight Super League win.
Wigan took an early 10-0 lead thanks to tries from Bryan Fletcher and Chris Ashton, but Bradford hit back swiftly through Vainikolo's first two scores.
Glenn Morrison's try gave the Bulls an 18-10 lead at the break.
Vainikolo completed his hat-trick and Terry Newton crossed, meaning Stuart Fielden's two tries on his return to Odsal were not enough for Wigan.
Former Bradford favourite Fielden was booed by the home fans, as was Brian Noble, their coach who departed for Wigan last April.
606 DEBATE: Give your thoughts on the match
But the early stages were totally dominated by the visitors, with Fletcher pouncing on Thomas Leuluai's grubber after three minutes for the first points.
Ashton supported Sean O'Loughlin's break to touch down at the corner, but superb play from David Solomona and Shontayne Hape put Vainikolo in for his first after 18 minutes.
Vainikolo followed it with another, powering through Ashton's tackle and Morrison grabbed the Bulls' third after Ben Harris's kick ahead.
Newton got the next score, getting himself on Harris's shoulder to touch down and Vainikolo sealed his hat-trick as he got on the end of Solomona's kick.
Fielden grabbed two good tries - his first for Wigan - but Ashton's 70th-minute sin-binning effectively ended Wigan's hopes.
Leuluai jinked his way over for a fifth Wigan try three minutes from the end, but Bradford's Paul Deacon had the final say with a late penalty goal.
Bradford coach Steve McNamara: "I have two kids, a five-year-old and a six-year-old, and I want to see them grow up. If these players on doing that, I probably won't.
"We nearly paid the price. We had a dreadful start and a dreadful finish. In between, we were OK.
"I didn't think we were that flash. Our completion rate was down to 57% which was way less than Wigan's. We gave three penalties while in possession and gave a couple of suicide balls near our line."
Wigan coach Brian Noble: "I thought we handed the game to Bradford. They're a quality team and to give them free field position as we did was difficult to get back.
"It's about time we had some accountability and responsibility. We went 10-0 up and decided to play Harlem Globetrotter stuff.
"We have to learn the lessons from this very quickly."
Bradford: Platt, St Hilaire, B. Harris, Hape, Vainikolo, I. Harris, Deacon, Vagana, Newton, Feather, Burgess, Solomona, Morrison
Replacements: Cook, Henderson, Evans, Lynch
Wigan: Withers, Ashton, Bailey, Vaealiki, Richards, Barrett, Leuluai, Fielden, Higham, Paleaaesina, Hock, Fletcher, O'Loughlin
Replacements: Millard, Prescott, Hansen, O'Carroll
Referee: A Klein (Australia)