Rugby League: Fox toasts Northern's nearly season: Bradford register victory over a depleted Leeds side whose sights are fixed firmly on Wembley

Leeds. . . . . . . . .10

Bradford Northern. . .52

LAVISH as he was in his offer to buy the whole Oldham team a non-alcoholic beverage if they beat Wigan yesterday, Peter Fox knew at Headingley on Saturday that the game was up.

No amount of points against a woefully depleted Leeds could install Bradford as anything more than temporary First Division leaders. 'But we've had a marvellous season,' the Northern coach said. 'We've not been in a final, unfortunately, but we've taken Wigan all the way. I can't be unhappy with that.'

Several of the strengths that have carried Bradford, almost relegated two years ago, into that position were on display in this largely bloodless encounter.

The all-round excellence of Deryck Fox saw him contribute to several tries and kick eight goals from nine attempts. Dave Watson was dangerous and elusive every time he had the ball and could have finished with more than his two tries.

Most of all, there was Paul Newlove, whose hat-trick took him to 33 for the season. With all due respect to the sterling qualities of those around him, it is hard to imagine Bradford being anything like as close on the last day of the League season without the penetration he has added to their backline. As Fox says, one more forward and one more back and nearly could become something more tangible next time.

A Leeds side - who started with only five likely Wembley players and were reduced to three at one stage by hamstring tweaks to Kevin Iro and Graham Holroyd - toiled gamely enough until the last 10 minutes, when three converted tries emphasised their weakness.

A club fined pounds 8,000 last week for fielding an even weaker team at St Helens could now face further punishment. Their coach, Doug Laughton, was adamant that this was his best available team - 'They can send round the RSPCA and the NSPCC to inspect them if they want' - but tradition and suspicion suggest that most, if not all, of the absentees will be fit for the Silk Cut Challenge Cup final on Saturday.

Leeds: Cook; Fallon, Iro (Hassan, 13), Innes, Scales; Holroyd (Stephens, 40; Holroyd, 59), Donohue; O'Neill, Maskill, Pearson, Scott, Pickles, Vassilakoulos.

Bradford Northern: Watson; Hall (Holding, 57), Shelford, Newlove, Cordle; Summers, Fox; Powell, Clark (Dixon, 76), Hamer (Hall, 79), Dixon (Heron, 57), Fairbank, Heron (Grayshon, 26).

Referee: J Connolly (Wigan).