YORK City Knights reeled off a seventh straight Betfred Championship victory by beating rivals Bradford Bulls 20-6 at Odsal.

Here are five things that we learnt from the game.

1. York prepared to tough it out again

If anyone thought that the much-lauded application, effort and work-rate of York City Knights in their 30-18 win at Barrow Raiders last time out was a one-off, then this result painted such a view as sorely misguided.

While York did not have as much goal-line defending to do as they did in Cumbria (they are unlikely to come up against as much sustained pressure for the rest of the season), they were equally as battle-hardened.

The nature of Odsal's narrow pitch meant that points were always going to be tough to come by, particularly when wide shifts were attempted.

Although the Knights made far more handling errors than head coach James Ford would ideally like, it was testament to their character that the stuck in the game for so long before eventually seeing a couple of moments of class from Brendan O'Hagan and Danny Kirmond take the match away from the Bulls.

2. Knights show defensive solidity

The hugely successful York sides of 2018 and 2019, in which the Betfred League One title and a third-placed Betfred Championship were secured in successive seasons, were built on strong defence.

It was a trait that escaped the Knights in the disappointing 2021 campaign yet it appears to have return in kind this year.

After 11 league matches, Ford's side have let in 166 points, the third-best behind big-spending pair Featherstone Rovers and Leigh Centurions.

Conceding just six points at Odsal meant that York have now restricted opposition to two tries or fewer in six of their first 11 Championship games.

3. ... but James Ford was unhappy with the late try

However, while there's positives to take from such a defensive performance, conceding a try in the final few seconds evidently annoyed Ford.

Elliot Hall dummied his way through on the left from a clever scrum play, beating James Glover to score.

“We’ll be having a good look at that because we need to be better," Ford said. "That could be something that costs us later on in the season.

“I love his kick-chase, his hustle, his effort and he gives us something different to what we’ve had before at centre but I’ll be honest with James because I want him to be better.”

4. A poor spectacle on display at Odsal

After the classic tussles between these two sides of recent years, this was far from a match anyone will want to watch again in a hurry.

Numerous handling errors came from the two sides and the set completion must rank among the lowest of the year for both.

The narrow pitch meant little expansive rugby could be played and further highlighted the issue of Odsal's unfit-for-purpose facilities.

5. Bradford's struggles continue

Without wishing to state the obvious, Bradford looked like a side without a permanent head coach as several last plays appeared lacking in organisation and a tendency to attempt ambitious offloads proved costly.

Having possessed top three ambitions in pre-season, the Bulls now sit eighth with a losing record and already eight points behind third-placed York.