Defending champions Leeds demonstrated a killer touch to complete a hat-trick of Super League wins over their arch-rivals and surge into an eight-point lead at the top of the table.

Bradford conceded 84 points in their two previous derby defeats but overcame a series of injury blows to produce one of their best performances of the season.

The Bulls outplayed the champions for long periods of a thrilling encounter and twice held the lead but they could not match the Rhinos' finishing ability.

Bradford were hit by the late withdrawal of half-backs Paul Deacon and Iestyn Harris with pulled hamstrings and had winger Semi Tadulala taken to hospital with a dislocated shoulder.

With back-up hooker Wayne Godwin also sidelined, coach Steve McNamara asked Terry Newton to play the full 80 minutes, keeping 18-year-old reserve Keal Carlile unused on the bench and still waiting to make his Super League debut.

But it was Bradford who made all the early running, with popular prop Joe Vagana providing the impetus on his eagerly-awaited return from a broken arm with his driving runs.

Their pressure told after 14 minutes when second-rower David Solomona took Newton's flat pass from dummy half to crash over for the first try, despite the attention of three defenders.

Right winger Dave Halley, who signed a new 12-month contract earlier in the day, went close to intercepting Leeds full-back Brent Webb's pass with the line open but he got his reward shortly afterwards with Bradford's second try.

Scrum-half Ben Jeffries hoisted a pin-point kick to the corner and Halley timed his run perfectly to seize on it to score his seventh try of the season.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, third-choice marksman Paul Sykes missed both conversion attempts, hitting the post with one, and they also lost the dangerous Tadulala midway through the first half.

The unlucky Tadulala, who spent most of the 2007 season on the sidelines after breaking an arm in Wakefield's sixth match of the season, ironically against Leeds, fell onto his left shoulder after a thrilling touchline run ended in Carl Ablett's crunching tackle.

The Bulls were good value for their 8-0 lead but Leeds demonstrated their tryscoring menace after 24 minutes when stand-off Danny McGuire went on a diagonal run to the corner, scything through the desperate cover, and stretched out of Jeffries' tackle to plant the ball over the line.

And the visitors undeservedly went in front three minutes before the break when centre Keith Senior took Kevin Sinfield's pass to go through a gap and send the supporting Rob Burrow over a try.

Sinfield added both conversions, beating the Super League record of scoring in 48 successive rounds set by Wigan's Andy Farrell in 1999.

Leeds ought to have extended their lead two minutes into the second half when Scott Donald broke down the left wing but Webb failed to take his inside pass.

The Bulls' injury problems worsened when Sam Burgess went off with a rib injury but they regained the lead after 54 minutes when replacement winger Tame Tupou profited from Newton's long, accurate pass to cross for his first Super League try of the season.

That levelled the scores and Sykes succeeded with his most difficult kick of the night to make it 14-12.

Tupou thought he had scored again in similar fashion five minutes later after taking Solomona's pass 10 metres out but slow-motion replays showed his elbow breaching the touchline.

Leeds then simply stepped up a gear to wrap up the match with two tries in a devastating three-minute spell.

First Gareth Ellis and the clever Webb produced some sublime handling skills to enable McGuire and Sinfield to get substitute Ali Lauitiiti over for a try on his return after a four-match absence with a knee injury.

Then a superb offload from Kylie Leuluai set up the position for Webb to scoot away for the Rhinos' fourth try.

Tupou had another try disallowed before Senior grabbed a late try to pile on the agony for the home side and Sinfield kicked his fifth conversion to wrap up the scoring.