Widnes Vikings boss Simon Finnigan praised his side’s “silky” performance after they demolished Workington Town in their second game of the Betfred Championship.
The 70-18 win puts Widnes top of the early season standings, and Finnigan said the performance was a fitting tribute to Liam Walsh.
He said: “I thought it was really good, really professional, I think some of the tries we scored were really silky.
“It was a really important day for the club with the One for Walshy game and [Matty Smith’s] 350th and Brad’s (Holroyd) debut so we wanted to put on a performance for all them reasons.”
Liam Walsh died in a car accident in September last year.
Since then, season ticket holders have been paying an extra £1 to bring another person with them.
The celebration of the second-rower’s life started last week against the London Broncos.
They continued this by storming to victory over Workington Town in their first game at the DCBL Stadium this season.
The Vikings get the victory back at the DCBL!#COYV🏁 pic.twitter.com/duv0VnRXWq
— Widnes Vikings (@WidnesRL) February 6, 2022
With season ticket holders able to bring an extra person with them for a extra £1 turnout was good.
“It was unreal wasn’t it,” added Finnigan.
“It was a good turnout from our fans as we’ve said and I’ve spoke about earlier this season for them to come and watch and see the new-look Vikings.”
When asked for his opinion on top performers, Finnigan replied: “You’re trying to get me to individuals–I was pleased for Adam (Lowton) in his first game, we held him back–we thought he needed another weeks training.
“It’s hard to look past Matty Smith though, 350 games at the level those games are at, he’s not just played 350 run-of-the-mill games, half of them have been play-off games.”
Another man who’s name would be on every fans’ lips is Brad Holroyd.
The 21-year-old opened up his Vikings account with a try on debut, scoring in front of the home fans.
Looking forward
Finnigan was encouraged by the support by spectators, saying his side would need them for this season.
“They’re immense and we’re going to need them next week, we’ve got Halifax next week and it’s a tough place to go and play.
“It’d be nice if we came out for the warm-up and the whole back stand was full-up of Widnes fans.”
The Kiwi coach was buoyed by the domination of Workington saying his side need to build on this win now.
“You want to start the season well and you want to win games, you’ve got to win at the start of the season, build a bit of momentum and build a bit of confidence at the start of the season.”
Widnes Vikings will next face Halifax Panthers at The Shay this Sunday in their third game of the season.
