VIKINGS A GOOD BETT THIS TIME

WIDNES coach Denis Betts insists his written-off side are better placed to compete this year – because they have not had to deal with the departure of their best player.

The Vikings’ 2017 pre-season was thrown into turmoil when local rivals Warrington agreed a fee for talismanic skipper Kevin Brown (far right).

Betts was unable to replace the England international and Widnes finished bottom of the regular Super League season before clinging on to their top-flight place in the Qualifiers. A gritty win at Catalans sealed their survival and the Vikings kick-off their 2018 campaign with a rematch against the Dragons tomorrow. Betts (left) believes his team start the year on a better footing having not had to cope with the loss of a key playmaker. He said: “It was a big kick in the teeth last year losing our captain and best player in the middle of our pre-season. “It had a knock-on effect leading into our start, but we’ve not had that this year.

“We’ve been pretty solid, the lads have got the bit between their teeth and they’re still smarting from not being able to have their best chance last year.

“One thing we’ve worked hard on this time is keeping bodies on the field. It’s something we struggled with last year. Having Chris Dean, Joe Mellor and Tom Gilmore training all the time has been a real positive, which is something we didn’t have last pre-season.”

Betts is expecting a tough test from Steve McNamara’s Catalans after they made some eye-catching signings. He added: “Steve has recruited really well.”