Pipped by a point in the first round, Pirates stampeded the Bulls in the middle 40 minutes of the game to overcome an 11-nil deficit and set up a 38-25 win.

"Our start was very slow," coach Mat Kelly said.

There was "just no talk" and they slipped off too many tackles for his liking.

"In saying that, Moree did come out of the gates well and played some good football," Kelly said.

The Bulls opened the scoring through the boot of skipper Ben Carrigan three minutes in.

They had another couple of chances to extend their lead before fullback Kyle O'Çonnor burst through the line and sent winger Adam O'Neile away.

Carrigan couldn't add the extras but landed a penalty a few minutes later to push the Bulls out to 11-nil with just over 20 minutes to go in the first half.

The tide started to turn from the kick-off with Pirates claiming the kick and earning a penalty.

From the ensuing lineout they received another penalty as the Bulls lost prop Macia Latabua for 10.

Wanting to exploit that, and their already evident dominance in the scrum, Pirates opted for the scrum.

That decision looked like paying off as they marched forward but Bulls half-back Henry Noble picked up the loose ball to save the day.

It was a short-lived reprieve though, with Andrew Moodie brought down just short of the line but managing to pop the ball up to second-rower Andrew Wynne to get the home side on the board.

They had started to find their rhythm and produced some scintillating football on their way to a 26-11 lead at half-time.

The Bulls had chances in the first couple of minutes either side of the break to reduce the deficit but were unsuccessful, and from there the home side kicked away to a 38-11 lead with about 15 minutes to go.

"Our scrum dominance allowed us so much front-foot ball," Kelly said.

It's been a weapon for them in recent weeks.

Their defence was again hard to crack and forced the Bulls attack to become a bit flustered at times.

Bulls second grade coach Peter Copeman was running them on Saturday and said Pirates were a hard side to defend against, and they probably didn't defend well enough.

"We probably fell off a few more tackles than we should have," he said.

The fact their scrum was going backwards didn't help them either, and made it difficult for them to get themselves back in the game.