Bradford Sport
Bradford Bulls stand-off Jarrod Sammut doesn't pull any punches following brutal beating by Wigan
7:00am Wednesday 22nd February 2012
Jarrod Sammut has delivered a damning assessment of the Bulls’ thumping home defeat to Wigan and admitted: “It wasn’t acceptable.”
Sunday’s 54-16 reverse marked a second successive heavy loss at Odsal following a similar outcome against Catalan Dragons a fortnight earlier.
Sammut said he was left hurting after the performance and result against Shaun Wane’s team.
The Australian stand-off, a close-season signing from Crusa-ders, insisted there was no lack of effort but a collective failure to carry out the game-plan.
He said: “It was another defeat at home and it cuts deep.
“The effort was there but effort doesn’t win you games.
“There were a lot of things that went wrong for us and it was very difficult to find any positives.
“We call ourselves professional sportsmen but after the Wigan game we need to look at ourselves.”
Sammut twice failed to find touch with penalties during the first half against Wigan but he also scored a brilliant individual try, racing 70 metres to cross the line.
Ultimately it meant nothing, as the Bulls went on to concede six tries after the break and ten in total.
Sammut admitted he took little consolation from his second touchdown for the club.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good that try was after a performance like that,” he added.
“After getting beat like we did, that try was the last thing on my mind.”
Sammut called for his side to make a vast improvement when they travel to Wakefield on Saturday.
“The time for talking is over,” he declared. “Every defeat hurts just as much but Wigan was our second home game and our second loss.
“Not just a loss but a heavy loss. We know what we’re capable of and to come out and perform like we did is not acceptable.”
Bradford’s cause was not helped by the loss of Sammut’s half-back partner Luke Gale after just ten minutes.
He sustained ankle ligament damage and will undergo a scan this morning which is expected to confirm that he will be sidelined for several weeks.
Sammut added: “It was a massive loss to lose your key playmaker and No 1 man but we are a professional outfit and should be able to continue with the game-plan regardless.”
Asked what needed to change ahead of this weekend’s trip to Wakefield, Sammut replied: “A lot of personal ownership, a lot more controlling the game defensively and being more patient with the ball in attack.
“Don’t second-guess ourselves, just stick with the plan and complete our sets.
“We are a tight bunch, we do fight like hell for one another, but the Wigan performance showed the complete opposite of that.”
Ben Thaler will referee Saturday’s match against the Wildcats, with Ian Smith named as video referee.