Denis Betts says week off isn’t ideal

Widnes coach Denis Betts admits he’s frustrated at the free weekend afforded to them due to Leeds’ World Club Challenge commitments.

The Vikings should have been making the trip to Headingley in round four, but the Rhinos instead take on Melbourne Storm as they look to win back-to-back world titles.

It means a week off for Betts’ men, who saw their encouraging start to the new campaign suffer a bump with a 44-18 defeat at Hull KR last weekend.

He told the Widnes Weekly News: “We are only three weeks into the season so having a week off is not ideal.

“I want us to keep going on the back of a poor performance so we can correct it.

“We cannot afford to let the Hull KR result disappear from our minds because we can use that disappointment to drive us on for the next game.”

Widnes’ next game is against Hull on Saturday week, in front of the SKY TV cameras.