Bradford Blown Away By Magic Leeds As Charms of Cardiff Fade

Millennium Magic has been anything but for Bradford over the past two years, and the vibes from Rugby Football League officials in Cardiff this weekend have suggested that the Bulls may enjoy a change of scenery for the Super League's annual weekend on the road in 2009.

Murrayfield is being talked of as an increasingly attractive alternative venue because of the RFL's frustration at the lack of promotional support provided by the Millennium Stadium, and the cost of accommodation in Cardiff which they are convinced has significantly restricted the number of supporters who have travelled down from the north.

Given those factors league officials said they were satisfied by an overall attendance of 63,144 for the weekend, compared with the 57,000 for last year's toe in the water. "We think the concept is now an established and popular one with our fans and the wider sporting public, who have again traveled in big numbers and created a carnival atmosphere in Cardiff," said the RFL's communications manager, Craig Spence.

"But we have always said that we would consider other venues, and we'll be asking for feedback from all relevant parties, including the supporters, before making a decision on next year."

Bradford were confident of making amends for their bitterly controversial 42-38 defeat by Leeds in the last game of the first Millennium weekend, with Iestyn Harris's Welsh rugby union contacts helping to secure them the use of more convenient training facilities than the other 11 clubs enjoyed.

But after building a 10-6 half-time lead in the last game of Saturday's triple bill thanks to three penalties from their captain Paul Deacon - the last of them a 48-metre monster that luminary Welsh union kickers like Neil Jenkins would have admired - the Bulls were blown away by a scintillating passage of play by Leeds. The Rhinos scored four tries in 14 minutes, three of them spectacular long-range efforts, with the 17-year-old centre Kallum Watkins following a first-half try on his Super League debut with a left-wing break and perfectly-timed pass to lay on the first of the quartet for the recent French loan signing, Eric Anselme.

Leeds won 40-26 to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points on Saturday night, although the Catalans Dragons trimmed it back to five in yesterday's first game by scoring two tries in the last nine minutes to pinch an 18-16 win against Harlequins.Warrington had kicked the weekend off with a breathless 36-34 win against Huddersfield after trailing 22-6 at half-time, with the Wales stand-off Lee Briers scoring two tries to avert a fifth consecutive defeat.Wakefield's 54-16 humiliation of a disappointing Castleford was far more impressive with Danny Brough, who has elected to play for Scotland in this year's World Cup, showing England what they will be missing. Brough relished his first appearance at Cardiff since kicking a match-winning drop-goal for Hull in their 25-24 win against Leeds in the 2005 Challenge Cup final. Brough, who left Castleford last winter to link up again with his former Hull coach John Kear, maintained his recent form in addition to kicking nine goals from 10 attempts.

Trinity are bolstering their hopes of pushing for the top-six play-offs this week by signing Matt Peterson, an Australian wing who has been released by the Gold Coast Titans who glories in the nickname of Sideshow Bob because of his resemblance to the Simpsons character.