KURT HAGGERTY has challenged his Bradford Bulls to keep up their encouraging start to the season after claiming a first victory on Super League’s emotional return to Bartercard Odsal.
Bradford, who narrowly went down to Hull FC in round one, enjoyed a fine 28-10 victory over Catalans Dragons.
“I really enjoyed the first (half) and mostly enjoyed the defensive effort in the second half,” said coach Haggerty.
“I’ve been very careful in the week and tried to protect them (the players) as much as I could.
“It was the same at Hull – I tried to keep them away from the razzamatazz and distractions and I’d like to think I succeeded.
“It was very difficult as we were very much in a work mentality before the game.”
Haggerty warned they’ll need to keep improving after a 24-0 half-time advantage was momentarily under threat.
He added: “I even thought we started the better in the second half and then we gave away a bad pass and Catalans showed what Super League is all about.
“You give away a bad pass and they punish you.
“Teams that are at the top of the table, and I’m not saying Catalans aren’t, but with the Wigans and Saints you can’t afford to do that.
“It’s only our second competitive game as a group so we are learning all the time.
“I’m really happy for lads and the scoreline was quite flattering really.
“But you cannot just peak for one game as we got a good crowd for the opener at Odsal – it’s week-to-week so we were happy with the first half and will address the second.
“To do this in rounds one and two is good but can we do it in round 28 – that’s what I’ll put to the team.”