Vikings slay the
Saturday, February 8, 1958 CHALLENGE Cup opponents Orford Tannery were hammered by 51-2 in this first round tie.
A converted try from Peter Ratcliffe opened the scoring in the 15th minute but a penalty brought Orford within three points. By half-time the scoreboard had advanced to 16-2.
With the amateurs having shot their bolt, the Chemics added a further nine tries after the break, including hat-ricks for Ratcliffe, Harry Dawson and Billy Thompson.
Other tries came from Derek, Johnny and Tom Smith with Dawson and Arthur Pimblett sharing six goals. ● WIDNES VIKINGS: On This Day is available now at £9.99 from the Vikings Superstore. WIDNES VIKINGS ...................... 40 CATALANS DRAGONS .............. 12
ASUPERB second half showing got Widnes off to a flying start in Super League XXIII with a 40-12 victory over Catalans Dragons at the Select Security Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Having gone into the sheds at half-time tied at 12-12 following a disjointed first 40 minutes, the Vikings registered 28 unanswered points after the break to send the Dragons home with their tails between their legs.
There were a number of eyecatching individual performances for Denis Betts’s men, ● none more so than second-row forward Chris Dean.
The 30 year-old missed almost the whole of the 2017 season through injury but returned with a bang on Sunday.
He was rewarded with two well-taken tries and put another one on a plate for half-back Joe Mellor following a blistering break.
Full-back Rhys Hanbury looked sharp at the back, new signing Krisnan Inu at centre provided some telling contributions against his former club, the halfback duo of Mellor and Tom Gilmore guided the team around the park in an assured manner and hooker Lloyd White was a con- stant threat.
Meanwhile, up front, the charge was led by a tremendous effort from Chris Houston operating predominantly in the middle of the field.
Head coach, Betts, said: “We’re the only people who think we can do anything this year so that’s what we’re happy with.
“We’ve trained well, we’ve got a good group of players and those that missed out last year through injury are healthy and fit.
“The new lads who’ve come in have given us a boost and we’ve raised the bar on ourselves a bit.
“I thought Chris Houston was man-of-the-match by an absolute street.
“He’s had some really good games for me, Chris, but I haven’t seen him play that well.
“He’s got the bit between his teeth.
“Chris Dean showed what we missed last year in the sense of a back-rower who can be destructive and quick.
“His combination with Joe Mellor on the right is good and on the left Matt Whitley, Tom Gilmore, Charly Runciman and Pat Ah Van is a handful as well.
“Across the board from Rhys (Hanbury) through my nines and my halves, everybody’s contributed.
“Chris Dean, Lloyd White, Chris Houston and Hep Cahill