Wakefield slipped deeper into engage Super League relegation trouble after going down to their seventh defeat in eight matches.

The Wildcats, without a coach following the departure this week of Tony Smith, were also lacking ideas in a dreadful first half in which they found themselves trailing 24-0 to the reigning champions.

Quick-fire tries from former Bradford centre Ryan Atkins either side of the interval and a marked improvement in the second half enabled the home side to restore some pride but it was never going to be enough to make up for a shoddy first 40 minutes.

The Wildcats, two points adrift of Wigan, still have six matches left to save themselves from the drop but, on this performance, whoever takes over as coach faces a thankless task.

The signs were ominous when Bradford's giant centre Karl Pryce took a pass from second rower Brett Ferres and strolled through the fragile home defence for the game's first try after only seven minutes.

Paul Deacon kicked the conversion and added a penalty to put the champions 8-0 in front and heighten the state of nervousness in the home ranks.

A handling error from second rower Ned Catic deep inside his own half had given Bradford their first attacking position and Wakefield's inability to mount any sustained pressure played right into Bradford's hands.

The Bulls' scheming half-backs Iestyn Harris and Deacon caused all sorts of problems with their clever kicking game as they made light of the injury absence of Ben Harris and Michael Withers.

A short pass from Deacon got loose forward Jamie Langley romping through another gaping hole in the Wildcats defence before left winger Marcus Bai gathered a high kick from man of the match Harris to send Pryce over for his second try.

Powerhouse right winger Lesley Vainikolo got in on the scoring act, following up a grubber kick from Shontayne Hape as the Wakefield defence hesitated.

Wakefield at least gave themselves a glimmer of hope for the second half when former Bradford academy centre Atkins took a pass from David Solomona to pull a try back in injury time.

When Atkins went over for his second try two minutes into the second half, racing onto a deft kick from the ever-dangerous Solomona, the home crowd briefly sensed a meaningful fightback.

But Jamie Rooney was again wide with the conversion attempt and Bradford quickly struck back to regain control of the match.

Almost inevitably, their next try came from another kick, with Langley successfully getting on the end of a craftily-placed grubber from Deacon.

Substitute Ian Henderson then pounced on a loose ball for the Bulls' sixth try after Solomona had fumbled Harris' high kick and Deacon took his goal tally to six in stretching his side's lead to 36-8 on the hour.

The home side rallied once more, with Rooney going over for two tries in four minutes - one created by Sam Obst and the other a result of a rare scrum against the feed - but it was too little, too late and Hape grabbed a seventh Bradford try nine minutes from the end.