"HE got tested and did not have it all his own way - but at a big time in the game he's come up with a huge play."

So said head coach James Ford as he hailed young winger Judah Mazive for overcoming arguably the toughest task of his fledgling career by scoring the length-of-the-field try that put York City Knights right into the title reckoning.

The Knights were on the back foot in the second half of their top-of-the-table humdinger at title favourites Bradford Bulls, with John Kear's men looking poised to pinch the Betfred League One points as they stormed back from 24-0 down in a rousing period.

But Mazive, who had been given a tough time all afternoon by Dane Chisholm's high bombs, then combined with Jake Butler-Fleming to counter the next such kick and score a cracker against the run of play with 10 minutes to go. And the try, his second of the game, proved decisive as Ford's troops held on to win 30-28.

Defeat would effectively have left the Bulls with one hand on the trophy, but this result put York level on points with them at the summit with eight games to go.

"It's what wingers want - they want the opportunity to run long-range tries," said Ford.

"I'm really pleased for Judah. He got tested and did not have it all his own way.

"But at a big time in the game he's come up with a huge play."

Ford had identified the threat posed by Bradford's bombs in the build-up to the game, especially those to tall left-winger Ethan Ryan, and he had worked with Butler-Fleming and Mazive in training in a bid to counter it.

But he said all the plaudits belonged to his players.

"That's a real weapon for Bradford - kicking for Ethan Ryan - and it was something we'd worked on," he explained.

"But me identifying it and us practising it in training is one thing, the guys doing it on the field is another."

Ryan had scored one of the tries of the rugby league season just seven minutes earlier, following another Chisholm bomb to his corner.

The ball looked to be drifting out of play by the flag high over Ryan's head but the winger not only kept it in play but caught it and somehow touched it down in one magical movement - Mazive unable to do anything about it.

Youngster Mazive conceded a dropout underneath Chisholm's next bomb as the Bulls turned the screw but, before the next, he and Butler-Fleming switched positions - with the Aussie winning the challenge and then slipping the ball to the 20-year-old to sprint 80 metres home.

Said Ford of Ryan's breathtaking try: "Bradford are really good at that - they have been good at it all year. Chisholm put it up nice, Ethan got up really high and it’s a quality catch.

"He’s got some potential has Ethan, so we were aware of it, but sometimes there’s not a lot you can do (to stop it)."

But of Butler-Fleming and Mazive's positional switch and counter-punch, he said: "We had spoken about it all week.

"Jake's tall and he's got a really good overhead catch.

"It’s a big play from Judah and a big play from Jake. Jake's gone out wide and come up with a great catch and then had the awareness to come up with that pass, and Judah... well, off he went.

"Jake and Judah need to take the plaudits."