Widnes coach Allan Coleman will take inspiration from his hometown club Leigh when the Vikings enter the play-offs against York Knights on Saturday.
For the first time since 2011, Widnes reached the Championship play-offs thanks to a win over Barrow at the weekend, ultimately finishing fifth in the table after Sheffield’s surprise defeat to Dewsbury.
Coleman, who works for Leigh owner Derek Beaumont, hinted that he will look to the Leopards for inspiration. Leigh travel to Wigan on Saturday night in the Super League play-off semi-finals, with the Warriors the clear favourites with those bookmakers created by the 8nines team.
He said: “We’re in a very similar situation to Leigh. They had to win from seventh to come fifth, and they went and played fourth away and won. I went for a walk with Derek last week and he said just take that pressure off.
“We won’t train – we can’t! – but we will do some things as a group and enjoy the week. Nobody is going to take this away from us. Do we want to go again? Of course. The carrot dangling is a trip to France, but we know York are a very good them, they’ve improved massively and it’s vital we enjoy it, but we focus on it too, because we can win there, and we have won there.
“We played them at home, it was one try each and they took the penalty goals, and we weren’t great that day. York won’t be looking forward to playing Widnes, that’s for sure.”
The game Coleman referred to was the 12-6 defeat at the start of September, a game which if Widnes had won, they would have virtually secured their play-off berth there and then.
As it was, they had to sweat on victory on the final day of the season, having lost narrowly to Toulouse the previous week and Doncaster.
York were much stronger than when the two sides met earlier in the year, Widnes winning at the LNER Community Stadium for the second successive year, with a 22-18 victory at the beginning of June.
In both games, Ata Hingano was the key threat for York, particularly with his kicking game and rush defence.
But Widnes have proved throughout the season that they are competitive and can stay in any match – and that will surely be of benefit when it gets to play-off rugby.
Coleman added: “We’re a close knit group and you’ve seen all year how much they want to play together.
“I’m immensely proud of reaching the play-offs, but it’s not just me, it’s everybody at the club, the fans. Everyone has been a massive part of it.
“We’re a play-off team, no one can take that away from us.”
The last time Widnes played in a play-off game of any description was in Super League 10 years ago, when they were beaten 22-19 by Warrington, after leading 18-0 in the first half.
In 2011, the last time they played in the Championship play-offs, they also finished fifth, losing 36-20 to Sheffield. The season before that, again from fifth, the Vikings were beaten 38-0 at Barrow in the play-offs.
The last time they tasted victory in the play-offs was in 2009, beating Whitehaven 26-21 at home before going down 32-24 at home to Featherstone, in a game that Shane Grady played in.
Widnes did reach the Grand Final in 2006 and 2007, missing out on promotion to Super League with defeats to Hull KR and Castleford respectively. In 2008, they were beaten 32-16 at the first stage by Halifax after qualifying by finishing in sixth.
Widnes travel to York for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, with the game being broadcast live on BBC Radio Merseyside.
If they win, then a trip to Wakefield or Toulouse awaits – depending on who wins the other eliminator play-off between Bradford and Featherstone. If Bradford win, Widnes or York would travel to Wakefield, if not, then it would be a trip to France.
Photo RLPix.com
