Farrell joins Widnes on season-long loan

Wigan back-rower Connor Farrell has joined Super League rivals Widnes on a season-long loan.

Farrell, 22, follows in the footsteps of brother Liam, who spent time on loan with the Vikings in 2010 before establishing himself as a Wigan and England regular.

Vikings coach Denis Betts said: “We’ve been looking for replacements for Danny Galea and in Connor, we feel that we’ve found the best quality player available to do that.

“There aren’t a lot of players out there, and we lost Danny very late, so it’s hard to find anyone who isn’t already under contract. Wigan have a lot of good players with Super League experience, they need him to play at a better level than in the Championship and we needed to fill a spot in the back-row.”

Prior to the move, Farrell has signed a new deal at Wigan to keep him tied to the DW Stadium until 2018.

Wigan head coach Shaun Wane added: “This is a good move for Connor and one that will serve him well in the future. Greg Burke recently returned to Wigan after spending a year with Hull KR and is a much better player for that and I know that Connor will take this opportunity with both hands.

“Widnes are getting a highly professional young player who works very hard. We are looking forward to monitoring how he reacts to the pressure of Super League this year.”