Legend Offiah thrilled with his Hall honour
● ALL-TIME great Martin Offiah is looking forward to yet another honour when he’s inducted into the Widnes Hall of Fame tomorrow night.
The flying winger scored 181 tries in 145 appearances for Widnes between 1987 and 1991 after being brought to the club by master talent-spotter Doug Laughton.
And he is particularly delighted to be sharing the honour with Kiwi prop-forward Kurt Sorensen.
Offiah told the Weekly News: “With an MBE, a statue at Wembley and being in two Halls of Fame already, it’s nice to complete the set with the club it all started with all those years ago. It was a very special time for myself and the club and I’m honoured to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with somebody who really did look after me after I came in as a relative unknown.
“I suppose I was the first of Dougie’s union converts and if it hadn’t worked with me, maybe he wouldn’t have brought all the others along!
“Going to play rugby league with Widnes was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.” ● You can read a full interview with Martin Offiah in next week’s Weekly News, including his take on his controversial transfer to Wigan.
Wednesday, October 25, 1978 WIDNES became the last club side to beat the touring Australians when a late penalty goal from Mick Burke gave them victory by 11 points to 10.
Having gone behind to an early Burke penalty, the Aussies equalised but Stuart Wright’s try and another Burke penalty shot sent Widnes in at half-time with a 7-2 lead.
Three minutes after the break the tourists levelled again before taking a three point advantage which Burke reduced to a single point with another goal.
Mick Adams and Eric Hughes failed with drop-goal attempts before Burke’s fourth and decisive strike saw Widnes make history. ● WIDNES VIKINGS: On This Day is available now at £9.99 from the Vikings Superstore. ●
IT’S been another week of player movement at Widnes as the club prepares for life in the Championship in 2019. The Vikings confirmed the capture of Leigh hooker Liam Hood earlier in the week and the latest player to commit his immediate future to the Vikings is up-and-coming young half-back Joe Lyons.
The 21-year-old has been with the club since the age of 14, being picked up at scholarship level after playing his junior rugby with local community club, Moorfield ARLFC.
He then went on to work his way through the ranks progressing to U19s captain for the 2017 season and earning himself his first professional contract.
Last season, Lyons featured 16 times on dual-registration for partner club North Wales Crusaders in League 1 and he then went on to make his first-team debut against Leeds Rhinos in The Qualifiers.
He retained his place in the side for the remaining games against Halifax, Toronto and Hull Kingston Rovers.
Lyons said: “I’m made up to be staying.
“Widnes is the only place that I want to play my rugby so it was a no-brainer for me.
“Whilst from a club perspective last year wasn’t great, I feel 2018 went well for me personally. My spell with Crusaders helped me to develop as a player and keep match-fit for when I was given the chance at Widnes.
“It was a great honour for me to make my debut for my hometown club this year and then stay in the side for the back end of The Qualifiers.
“There’s a lot of young talent at the club coming through and that’s why I wanted to stay as I feel like we can do something with this group of lads.
“Widnes is a club that needs to be in Super League so I, along with the rest of the lads, will be doing everything we can to get promoted at the first attempt next year.”
Phil Finney, performance director at Widnes Vikings, added: “Joe is another one of our players who has progressed from our Academy system to the first-team squad.
“Joe has shown great dedication and determination since joining the club as a 14-year- old. He had a great year last year playing for North Wales Crusaders which enabled him to earn his opportunity at senior level with us.
“We are all looking forward to seeing how Joe develops with another pre-season of training.”
Lyons’s re-signing comes on the back of fellow half-back/full-back Danny Craven putting pen to paper on a new deal until the end of the 2020 season.
Earlier in the week, the Vikings confirmed that experienced first-teamers Joe Mellor, Gil Dudson and Matt Whitley would be departing for pastures new in 2019, as will promising hooker Danny Walker.
It has since been confirmed that half-back Mellor will be joining Championship rivals Toronto Wolfpack, back-rower Whitley is to cross the channel to play for Catalans Dragons while prop-forward Dudson has been linked with a move to Salford Red Devils.
Walker is set to link up with hometown club Warrington next season with Widnes receiving an undisclosed fee for the 19-yearold player.