Denis Betts insists Vikings are making progress

Correspondent

Widnes Vikings coach Denis Betts says his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in this season.

The Vikings defeated Castleford 40-10 on Monday night, following on from wins over Huddersfield, Wigan and London.

And Betts believes the Vikings are beginning to show signs of improvement and progress as they jumped off the bottom of Super League.

He said: “They have been through a lot of adversity this year and they have taken a lot of stick. We have a really good bunch here and through no fault of our own, have had tough times but Monday was one of those times where we really pulled together.

“It’s nice to get the rewards for all the hard work week in week out. We’ve been really fortunate we have a good bunch of lads that as a group we have worked really hard to galvanise that, and that gives us a base to be able to do things from.”

Betts gave a debut to former Hull FC forward Eamon O’Carroll, who scored a debut try against the Tigers on Monday night. 

He praised his debutant, as well as several other players who performed admirably on Monday night.

Betts said: “I think our bench really hit us forward with getting John Kite back in the side that gave us a bit of a punch.

I think the toughest thing this year has been that our ball players haven’t been able to up their game from hooker. I think with McShane coming on, and Clarke staying on and being really solid, athat gave us direction and focus which really helped us.

Patrick Ah Van and Willie Isa both worked hard, and Ben Cross was great tonight. McShane was really good, while Clarky (Jon Clarke) was outstanding at times as were both Joe Mellor and Rhys Hanbury.”