Widnes’s impressive midsummer renaissance may come too late to prevent them spending the tail-end of this season in the Qualifiers, but it will certainly give them hope that if their destiny is a relegation battle in the so-called “middle eight” they could well have enough to get out of trouble.
This mini-revival from Denis Betts’s side, which has seen them win three of their last four games, has the makings of a real late-season surge up the Super League table, and the top eight is still not beyond their reach. Widnes, the surprise package of last season, looked certainties for the bottom four after winning just two of their first 15 games up until a month ago. However, as the key players have begun to return from injury, the Vikings’ form has gradually improved.
Betts said: “You can beat yourself up with where you should be, but wherever we end up, we want to be there playing well.” His side had forged a comfortable 20-0 lead by the interval courtesy of four first-half tries and despite a comeback from Leigh in the second half, Widnes were able to move off the bottom of the table and narrow the gap on eighth-placed Wigan to five points.
Leigh’s first season back in Super League has been one of struggle, and the Centurions now find themselves at the bottom with four games remaining. Avoiding the Qualifiers looks an increasingly unlikely proposition for Neil Jukes’s side – and here they were left to rue a dismal start from which they never recovered.
“It’s as bad a 40 minutes as I’ve been involved in,” Jukes said of the first-half performance. “We looked like we’d never kicked a ball and never made a tackle before. It’s so frustrating.” Tries from Chris Bridge, Corey Thompson and two from the evergreen forward Chris Houston put Widnes firmly in control at half-time.
Nick Rawsthorne and Atelea Vea sparked hope of a revival for the Centurions but that was soon quelled in a moment which summed up the chastening experiences of their first season back in Super League. Pressing for more points, a loose pass from Ryan Hampshire was ruthlessly picked off by Thompson, who raced away unchallenged for his second, before the young winger, Ryan Ince, and Matt Whitley scored further tries to keep Widnes’s belief of the most unlikely of great escapes alive.
Widnes Craven; Thompson, Bridge, Runciman, Ince; Mellor, Chase; Dudson, Heremaia, Buchanan, Houston, Whitley, Cahill. Interchange O’Carroll, White, Gerrard, Olbison.
Tries Bridge, Houston 2, Thompson 2, Ince, Whitley. Conversions Bridge 3, Craven.
Leigh Brown; Dawson, Crooks, Paterson, Rawsthorne; Hampshire, Drinkwater; Burr, Pelissier, Weston, Vea, Hansen, Stewart. Interchange Hood, Tickle, Maria, Hopkins.
Tries Rawsthorne, Vea. Conversion Drinkwater.
Referee J Child. Attendance 5,604.
