Bradford Bulls have teased and tormented their supporters for long parts of this year. This game was no exception before they secured the last of the top-six spots. If they beat Castleford Tigers in their last match of the regular season, they could finish as high as fourth and earn a home play-off, although merely qualifying for the end-of-term jamboree represented the height of their ambitions yesterday.

Trailing 18-0 after 20 minutes, even that basic objective looked like being unfulfilled. “We were dreadful,” Steve McNamara, the Bradford coach, said, blaming a new defensive system. However, Hull Kingston Rovers, their own play-offs hopes going up in smoke, strangely evaporated as an attacking force and the Bulls, notoriously slow starters, clawed their way back and were coasting for the last half-hour.

An eight-try victory appropriately marked the final home league game for Joe Vagana, the hulking former New Zealand prop, a serial winner in the Bulls' heyday, although he failed to sign off in style when he miscued the last conversion in his 240th club appearance. The farewell party would have fallen awfully flat had they lost, but Bradford's recovery included scoring 42 points without reply.

There was a claim by Terry Newton, the Bradford hooker, that Stanley Gene had bitten his arm in the 64th minute, although their old pals' act at the end suggested that his complaint could be withdrawn. Gene was put on report and the incident will go before the RFL video review panel today.

The impetus of David Solomona, the mercurial New Zealand back-row forward, and the kicking game of Paul Deacon galvanised Bradford in an utterly dominant second half, although they were as guilty as the rest in a haywire opening. Ben Jeffries's pass was intercepted by Kris Welham and Michael Vella twice powered over for Rovers. But Justin Morgan, their coach, was unhappy that their “Harlem Globetrotters mood” contributed to missing chances to kill the game off.

Paul Sykes was popped into a gap by Jeffries and Dave Halley squeezed over with 25 seconds of the half remaining to cut the deficit to ten points. When Solomona dummied past Makali Aizue a minute after the resumption, there was only one team in the game.

Semi Tadulala beat four tacklers on the line to touch down and Deacon's kicks created tries for Matt Cook and Chris Nero. Efforts by James Evans and Newton rounded off a resounding win. “We're excited about the possibilities [in the play-offs], but not getting carried away,” McNamara said.

Scorers: Bradford Bulls: Tries: Sykes, Halley, Solomona, Tadulala, Cook, Nero, Evans, Newton. Goals: Deacon 5.

Hull Kingston Rovers: Tries: Welham, Vella 2. Goals: Dobson 3.

Bradford Bulls: P Sykes; D Halley, J Evans, C Nero, S Tadulala; B Jeffries, P Deacon; J Vagana, T Newton, A Lynch, M Cook, S Finnigan, J Langley. Interchange: R Johnson, W Godwin, D Solomona, C Kopczak.

Hull Kingston Rovers: S Briscoe; P Fox, K Welham, J Webster, J Steel; B Galea, M Dobson; M Aizue, B Fisher, D Mills, M Vella, R Lovegrove, S Gene. Interchange: P Cooke, B Cockayne, G Crossman, K Netherton.

Referee: R Silverwood.