Bradford were indebted to a perfect goalkicking display from skipper Paul Deacon as they kept alive their slender Super League play-off hopes with a thrilling 36-22 win over Wakefield.

With both sides scoring five tries, Deacon provided the difference, landing all eight kicks at goal, in marked contrast to Wakefield's Danny Brough, who managed just one from five attempts.

Defeat was tough on Wakefield centre Sean Gleeson, who scored a first-half hat-trick of tries after being called into the side as a replacement for the injured Ryan Atkins.

Atkins, who has a shoulder injury, is rated a 50-50 chance to line up for England against France on Saturday.

Bradford's solitary international, Sam Burgess, could also be a doubt after being sin-binned, along with Wakefield captain Jason Demetriou, for his part in a second-half flare-up and could be forced to face a disciplinary hearing.

There was relief all round Odsal as the Bulls gained a second win over the Wildcats in a month but only their second at home this season as they seek to revive their flagging campaign.

Bradford coach Steve McNamara responded to back-to-back defeats at the hands of the two promoted clubs by dropping Michael Platt and Matt Cook in giving a debut to 19-year-old second rower Elliott Whitehead.

The changes paid off in the opening stages as the Bulls started promisingly to open up a 14-4 lead after 21 minutes.

After the flurry of scoring, the game eventually settled down, only to flare up on 67 minutes when both sides traded punches, and they were reduced to 12 men when Demetriou and Burgess were showed the yellow card.

Wakefield gave themselves hope when Brad Drew's cut-out pass got winger Scott Grix over for a fifth try on 67 minutes but it was not enough to release Bradford's grip on the game and Deacon made sure of the win with two further penalties in the last seven minutes.