Focused Betts is acutely aware of Saints’ threats
● WIDNES boss Denis Betts has identified several key threats in the St Helens side his team visit on tomorrow night.
Perhaps chief among them is prop-forward Alex Walmsley whose outstanding form in 2017 has brought him to the attention of England boss Wayne Bennett. When Walmsley’s on the field, Saints’ ground gaining capacity goes up a notch and creates the space for others to exploit.
Betts said: “They have a number of players who are playing well now. Mark Percival is looking dangerous with the ball and Jonny Lomax is back in the side.
“Tommy Makinson has been outstanding for a month and deserves his England call and Alex Walmsley too.
“If you look through the side and see the yards Walmsley makes with his quick play-the-balls giving Roby the chance to move again, they are starting to look like a threatening team again.
“Justin Holbrook coming in as their new coach has given them a bit of a boost too.”
The Vikings certainly should not be short on confidence this week. The 26-6 win over Catalans Dragons at Halton Stadium on Sunday meant it was the first time this season Widnes have enjoyed back-to-back victories with Leeds being downed 28-20 the previous week.
And Betts’s charges will also have the memory of their home game against Saints to draw on when they ran out 16-14 winners back in April.
Betts added: “To get the two wins and three performances, starting with Castleford away, was crucial. That pushed the lads against Leeds and our home form and our consistency at home has to be better for our supporters and for our own good – and we delivered.
“We’ve played three games in eight days but we’ve come out of it relatively OK. It’s a matter of who comes out of this period the least beaten up.
“We had a young side at Castleford because I knew we had some players who could only play once over that weekend, so the six or seven changes I made came off.
“The young side’s fearless approach inspired the next two performances. The tough games are now – the Catalans game and St Helens with a short turnaround.
“Well it is for us and those teams that played twice over Bank Holiday, for Saints and Huddersfield it will be like a normal week.”