Widnes Vikings duo head to League 1 on dual-registration amid squad shake-up
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.
Widnes Vikings duo Brad Holroyd and Will Tilleke have joined League 1’s Rochdale on dual-registration ahead of their Good Friday derby with Oldham.
The pair have gone straight into Gary Thornton’s 21-man squad for the League 1 clash.
Holroyd, 22, joined the DCBL Stadium from Workington ahead of the 2022 Championship campaign, having been nominated for League 1’s Young Player of the Year award in 2021.
Widnes-born Tilleke, 23, joined his hometown club at the age of 17, progressing through the Under-19s and Reserves to join the first-team.
He agreed to a new two-year deal ahead of the 2023 season, keeping him at the club until the end of 2024.
Rochdale have also added utility-back John Hutchings to their 2023 squad on a contract until the end of 2023 following a successful trial period.
He has also been included in their squad for the trip to the Vestacare Stadium.
Thornton’s Hornets currently sit eighth in the table, having won one in three so far in the league campaign. Stuart Littler’s Oldham maintain a 100% record with two from two ahead of the tie.
Squad shake-up at Widnes
Widnes boss John Kear has added Wigan youngster and goal-kicking outside-back Zach Eckersley to his squad on a one-month loan deal.
The addition arrives following the club’s defeat to League 1’s Dewsbury Rams in the Challenge Cup, falling to a 32-12 defeat at the Flair Stadium in the fourth round.
The loss also dumped the Vikings out of the 1895 Cup, with Kear admitting after the game that he would look to Super League clubs to bolster his squad.
The 68-year-old coach said following the defeat: “I’ll be ringing around Super League coaches to see if anybody’s available for loan deals, and I’ll be changing some of the players for Friday, because that’s just unacceptable.”
In the Championship, the part-time side sit in a respectable fourth place on the table, having won four of their seven league games to date.
They travel to Heywood Road on Good Friday to face Swinton Lions.