Widnes youngsters land new deals

Widnes have handed new deals to youngsters Grant Gore and Adam Lawton.

Lawton, 19, made his first team debut in Saturday’s defeat at Castleford, while Gore has made three Super League appearances for Denis Betts’ side.

Both players have worked their way through the club’s Youth Development system, and have played on dual-registration with Championship side Workington this season.

Coach Betts said: “Both Grant and Adam have worked extremely hard and fully deserve to be rewarded in this way.

“In Grant’s case, the reward is for his endeavour, effort and perseverance. He’s had set-backs with illness and a couple of other things along the way but on each occasion, he’s fought hard and made his way through to the other side. If he continues to work as hard as he currently is, I’ve got great faith in his effort and energy to succeed.

“Adam Lawton has suffered with quite a lot of injuries over the past couple of seasons, but he’s got great potential.

“He’s a very bright lad and he’s now at an age where he realises the size of the task ahead of him and the amount of hard work and endeavour that’s involved in making a genuine success of being a professional sportsman.

“I’m looking forward to working with these two young men over the next couple of years and playing my part in aiding their development.”

Lawton, who stands at 6ft 7ins tall, was born and bred in Widnes, joining the club at the age of 15, while Wiganer Gore was Academy Player of the Year in 2010.