Widnes wary of resurgent Rhinos

Widnes coach Denis Betts remains way of Leeds as he prepares to take his team to Headingley on Sunday.

The Rhinos come into the game after back-to-back Super League wins over Wakefield and Salford.

“They’re a good side,” Betts said.

“They just needed to turn some performances around this year and things to stick for them.

“But they’ve got quality in their team and you always trusted the fact that they could get some wins together and to give themselves an opportunity to maybe claw themselves out of that bottom four.

“They need the two points. We’re sitting in eighth, they’re sitting in 12th still. They’re six points behind us with four games to go.

“They’ve got to win four out of four, so there’s the motivation for them.”

Betts said the fixture is crucial for both teams.

“The beauty for them is they’re at home,” he said.

“They’ve had two weeks to get ready for this game. There is a lot at stake. You don’t want to go into those last three games needing one win.

“You don’t want to go into the last game needing a win.”

Widnes are coming off a close Challenge Cup loss to Warrington on Friday.

“The Cup was something that we felt we had a great opportunity in,” he said.

“To lose in such a tight game, to a penalty, is frustrating. We just need to clear our heads.”

Betts admits the Vikings have been their own worst enemy at times this season, especially after a blistering start to the year faded away after Easter.

“We’ve frustrated ourselves and probably our supporters because we’re putting enough in games to win games, and we’re also making mistakes to lose games,” he said.

“The frustration is that we’ve got an idea of how to win, and what to do, but we frustrate ourselves from making sloppy mistakes.

“After rounds 8 and 9, we’ve just been frustrated. We’ve frustrated ourselves.”