Tickle knows Widnes need to win very soon

Widnes back rower Danny Tickle is relishing the prospect of taking on Warrington Wolves this week.

But he knows that there must be a vast improvement, especially in attack, if the Vikings want to end the Wolves’ 11-game unbeaten run.

“It’s a great opportunity for ourselves back at home,” he said.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game, but these are the games you want to be involved in, these derby games.

“All the lads are really excited for this game, and so will be Warrington as well.

“But we’re at home and we’ll keep improving and looking at the thing where we feel we can break Warrington down.

“I thought our defence was pretty good for a long spell at Wakefield. That’s a good sign.

“Hopefully we can take that on into the Warrington game.

“IF we can tidy our attack up a bit, then hopefully we’ll put on a good show.

“This is the business end of the year, and we know that to achieve our goals and get to where we want to be, that we’ve got to keep improving from now until the end of the season.”

Tickle enjoys playing in derby contests, having experienced some of rugby league’s other local clashes over the years.

The Wire v the Chemics is a clash which he rates as highly as other derbies in Super League.

“Obviously it’s a derby. I played in the Widnes – Warrington derby in the friendly and it was a great atmosphere here,” he said.

“That’s what you want to see, the fans turning out in numbers, and getting behind you.

“It does get you as a player, your adrenaline runs a bit higher and you want the fans on your side.

“It’s something that I’ll be looking forward to again. I’ve played in a number of derbies, the Wigan v St Helens ones, and the Hull derby, this is no different to them in my view.

“You look at the fixture list when it comes out, and these are the games you want to be involved in.”

Widnes were beaten last time out, losing 12-10 at Wakefield. Tickle and his team-mates were bitterly disappointed to lose such a close contest, and want to put things right.

“It was tough pill to swallow,” he said.

“We built a lot of pressure in that first 20 minutes, and we managed to get over for a try, but I thought we could have done a bit more at the start of the game.

“As the game went on I thought we were in control, our defence was a lot better than previous weeks, which was something we spoke about.

“I thought we fell away in attack, really, which probably cost us.

“At this stage of the season, we know where we’re at in the table, around that top eight, so it is important that we do try and find some wins.

“We need to find a win sooner than later.”