Forwards’ play will be key to success – Burke

GREG BURKE believes the forwards will be vitally important to the Vikings’ success as the club ramp up their preparations for the 2017 Betfred Super League season.

Burke joined Widnes from Wigan Warriors in July last year, going on to make nine appearances as he helped the Vikings finish in a Super League best of seventh place.

The 23-year old is currently experiencing his first pre-season with Widnes, and he says that although it has been gruelling, it is something that he is quite enjoying.

“It’s been quite tough to be honest with you, but that is exactly what you want,” he said.

“Pre-season is all about conditioning and making sure you’re in the right shape for when the season starts, and although there are parts where you feel like you’re dying and thinking how tough it is, you do sort of enjoy it and power through, so it’s been good so far.”

Burke has spent the majority of his career at Wigan Warriors, with spells at Bradford Bulls, Hull KR and Workington Town to aid his development, but he believes adjusting to pre-season schedules at varying clubs is not that that difficult.

“I don’t think pre-season between clubs is much different,” he said.

“Obviously coaches have their own techniques and ways in which they want to go about it and how they want to play, but in terms of the hard work and graft it’s quite similar so I found it quite easy to adjust here and get stuck in.

“I’m quite pleased with how it’s gone at Widnes so far, the lads have worked really hard throughout pre-season and we’re looking good for the season ahead.”

Burke, along with fellow signing Jack Buchanan, was a mid-season acquisition for Denis Betts’s side to bolster the club’s forwards for the rest of 2016 and beyond.

He said that the first few days at the club was a nervous experience that was eased quite quickly due to the players that were already here.

“To be honest, it is quite daunting to come in midway through a season to a bunch of new teammates,” he said.

“But, in my case, it was easier because there is a lot of lads that are from Wigan here or players that I have played with before, and I settled in to the team quite quickly.

“There’s no looking back for me now. I’ve had my first pre-season with the club, I’m fully settled and hopefully we can start as well as we did last year and hopefully keep that form up. To be successful in Super League, you need a solid, strong middle to lead from the front and I am certain that our middles are capable of doing that.”