Widnes Vikings are now top of the rugby league Championship after a storming 68-18 victory over Workington Town at the DCBL Stadium.
The victory was secured after a rampant second-half performance, which saw Simon Finnigan’s side score 38 unanswered points.
Widnes set the tone early in the game as they took a lightning-fast 18-0 lead within the first 12 minutes of the contest.
Winger Brad Holroyd opened the scoring with less than two minutes on the game clock.
He managed to slip through the defence of the newly promoted Workington Town.
Adam Lawton got himself a hat-trick of tries throughout the game.
His efforts from the second row really drove his side to victory.
He did earn himself a spell in the sin-bin in the second half, though.
Referee Aaron Moore showed him a yellow card for dissent.
Even with their huge lead, the Vikings grew tired of the referee’s leniency, which ended up in Lawton earning his sin-binning.
Winger Ryan Ince also had some really nice moments of play during the game.
He very nearly ran the length of the pitch after a quality interception but he was stopped inside the 10m line by fullback Oscar Thomas.
The eventual man of the match Ollie Davies also showed his quality throughout the match. He scored a try of his own but his defensive contribution really stood out.
The wind blustered around the DCBL Stadium all afternoon, making kicking conditions really difficult to deal with.
Both kickers and catchers were having issues dealing with the swirling movements the ball made in the air.
Joe Edge was near perfect from the tee, even with the wind. He converted 10 of Widnes’ 11 tries on the afternoon.
The only kick that he missed was one from way out on the right flank, which would have been difficult for anyone in those conditions.
As the game wound down, the heavens opened up and drenched both sets of players and the fans.
The momentary downfall really acted as a metaphor for the Workington performance.
The away side had no answer for the quality of Widnes in the second half.
The fitness of the home side also played a huge part in the game.
Workington tired very quickly in the second half and looked lethargic making all of their tackles. The Vikings simply blew them away.
Widnes Vikings now have a perfect start to the season after beating the London Broncos last week in their curtain-raiser.
They have back-to-back away trips coming up next with trips to Halifax and Dewsbury to come before their next game at home against Barrow.
